How can you help bacterial meningitis?

Question

I have it.

Answer 1

Can It Be Prevented?
Washing your hands really well and often is one way to defend against meningitis and other infections.

Although bacterial meningitis can seem scary, the chance of getting it is quite low. It's most likely to happen in places where lots of people get together - like schools and college dorms. This is why doctors now recommend that teens who are about to go to high school or head off for college get vaccinated against meningococcal meningitis. Many colleges actually require their students to get meningitis vaccines. Depending on the type of vaccine a person gets, it can last between 3 and 10 years. It's also sometimes recommended for people traveling to countries where meningitis is more common.

There are also vaccines for some other types of meningitis. If you have a medical condition that affects your immune system, for example, a doctor may also recommend a vaccination against the S. pneumoniae type of bacteria. But vaccines don't exist for all types of bacterial meningitis.

When to Call the Doctor
If you have meningitis symptoms, call your doctor right away. Early detection and treatment of meningitis is very important to avoid serious health problems.

If you've been in close contact with someone who has bacterial meningitis, see your doctor, even if you have no symptoms. The doctor might prescribe antibiotics to help prevent you from getting the infection. A fast diagnosis can also keep the infection from spreading to others.

What Do Doctors Do?
To diagnose meningitis, a doctor may do a spinal tap, in which a small amount of the cerebrospinal fluid is removed and tested in a lab. If the meningitis is bacterial, this can help the doctor decide which type of antibiotic to prescribe. To find out more about the infection, sometimes the doctor will also do a brain scan (called a CT scan).

Bacterial meningitis is treated in the hospital with intravenous antibiotics (for example, through an IV - a drip that delivers the correct dose of a medication directly into a person's vein). Antibiotic treatment for bacterial meningitis may last for a couple of weeks, although a person may not need to spend the full time in a hospital. Lyme meningitis is usually also treated with IV antibiotics, although this can be done at home.

Doctors may also prescribe corticosteroids to protect a person from hearing damage as a result of bacterial meningitis. If there are problems caused by the infection, the doctor will need to treat those problems, too. Sometimes people can have permanent brain damage from the disease - especially if it is not diagnosed and treated quickly - so if you have symptoms, it's important to get checked out and treated right away.

If the meningitis is viral, it usually goes away on its own (antibiotics are not effective in treating this type of meningitis because it's not caused by bacteria). The doctor will recommend as much rest as possible to help the recovery. He or she may also recommend medication to help relieve any headaches or body aches.

Answer 2

If you are hospitalized and on antibiotics, well and good. If you are well enough now to be using a PC and typing questions here, you are on the way to recovery. Don't worry. Take all the prescribed treatment, rest and eat sensibly. Best wishes for a quick and complete recovery!

Answer 3

If you have it, you are diagnosed and in the hospital under a strict antibiotic regime. If you are sitting at home wondering what to do, you either have an incompetent doctor or a mental delusion.

Answer 4

You need to be in a hospital on strong IV antibiotics immediatel!. It is a fatally infectious condition, that can be life threatening in a matter of days or hours. Go to ER. now!

Answer 5

Go to your doctor and ask what antibiotics would be good for it.

Answer 6

That stuff kills people! Be very careful! I you think you have it or someone you know has it, watch out! It's BAD NEWS!