Disease Information for Meningitis, aseptic/viral

Synonyms:

Abacterial meningitis, Aseptic meningitis viral, infection viral central nervous system meningitis, Meningitides Viral, Meningitis viral, Meningitis viral (disorder), meningitis abacterial, MENINGITIS VIRAL, Unspecified viral meningitis, viral infection central nervous system meningitis, Viral Meningitides, Viral meningitis, Viral meningitis (disorder), Viral meningitis unspecifd, Viral meningitis unspecified, Viral meningitis unspecified (disorder), virus meningitis

(less)

Abacterial meningitis, Aseptic meningitis viral, infection viral central ne... (more)

Definition:

The more common symptoms of meningitis are fever; severe headache; stiff neck; bright lights hurting the eyes; drowsiness or confusion; and nausea and vomiting; In babies; the symptoms are more difficult to identify. They may include fever; fretfulness or irritability; difficulty in awakening the baby; or the baby refuses to eat; The symptoms of meningitis may not be the same for every person; Viral ("aseptic") meningitis is serious but rarely fatal in persons with normal immune systems; Usually; the symptoms last from 7 to 10 days and the patient recovers completely; About 90% of cases of viral meningitis are caused by members of a group of viruses known as enteroviruses; such as coxsackieviruses and echoviruses; These viruses are more common during summer and fall months. Herpesviruses and the mumps virus can also cause viral meningitis. How is viral meningitis diagnosed? Viral meningitis is usually diagnosed by laboratory tests of spinal fluid obtained with a spinal tap; The specific cause of viral meningitis can be determined by tests that identify the virus in specimens collected from the patient; but these tests are rarely done; How is viral meningitis treated? No specific treatment for viral meningitis exists at this time; Most patients completely recover on their own; Doctors often will recommend bed rest; plenty of fluids; and medicine to relieve fever and headache; How is the virus spread? Enteroviruses; the most common cause of viral meningitis; are most often spread through direct contact with respiratory secretions (e g saliva; sputum; or nasal mucus) of an infected person; This usually happens by shaking hands with an infected person or touching something they have handled; and then rubbing your own nose or mouth; The virus can also be found in the stool of persons who are infected; The virus is spread through this route mainly among small children who are not yet toilet trained; It can also be spread this way to adults changing the diapers of an infected infant; The incubation period for enteroviruses is usually between 3 and 7 days from the time you are infected until you develop symptoms; You can usually spread the virus to someone else beginning about 3 days after you are infected until about 10 days after you develop symptoms; Can I get viral meningitis if I’m around someone who has it? The viruses that cause viral meningitis are contagious; Enteroviruses; for example; are very common during the summer and early fall; and many people are exposed to them; However; most infected persons either have no symptoms or develop only a cold or rash with low-grade fever; Only a small proportion of infected persons actually develop meningitis; Therefore; if you are around someone who has viral meningitis; you have a moderate chance of becoming infected; but a very small chance of developing meningitis-----[CDC information website 2007]---------------

(less) (edit)

The more common symptoms of meningitis are fever; severe headache; stiff ... (more) (edit)

139 related Findings found. Compare "Meningitis, aseptic/viral" to ...?

Free DiagnosisPro Mobile Edition For iPhone, Handheld Devices And Most Cell Phones

What is DiagnosisPro?

DiagnosisPro is a free, accurate and time saving differential diagnosis tool that reminds you instantly of diagnostic possibilities and minimizes medical errors.

Overview

  • Covering over 15,000 disease manifestations such as symptoms, labs, ECG, X-ray, CT-Scan, MRI, Ultrasound, pathology, microbiology results and more.
  • Compiled from hundreds of world's most respected medical resources covering internal medicine, emergency medicine, pediatrics, office OB-GYN and more.
  • Designed for physicians by physicians to enhance quality of care and prevent diagnostic errors.
  • Detailed disease information for more than 7000 diseases.
  • Disease comparison tool to compare any two diseases side by side.

Join Our Community

Suggest improvement to our data or add your interesting cases to share with tens of thousands of other physicians worldwide.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

This website is accredited by Health On the Net Foundation. Click to verify. We comply with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here.

This site is designed primarily as a reminder system for use by qualified physicians and other medical professionals. By using this site you understand and accept that DiagnosisPro.com shall not be used as a diagnostic decision-making system and must not be used to make a clinical diagnosis or replace or overrule a licensed health care professional's judgment or clinical diagnosis (full terms of use).

© 2008 MedTech USA, Inc. (last modified on 11/21/08)