Brain Swelling?

Question

Does anyone know about brain swelling and what to do about it? Can you recover from it? This is happening to my older sis and Im scared. She is having a very bad Lupus flare up and may have had a stroke.

Answer 1

Your older sister is, or should be, probable aware of the following details. If so, I regret the repetition. Inflammation of the brain tissue – cerebritis - if caused by an infection, can lead to abscess formation. Cerebritis in lupus patients is usually from blood vessel damage caused by the body's own defence system. If the lupus patient has an infection that causes brain swelling, it could be due to a weakened immune system from lupus treatment or from the disease itself. Application of any advances in the treatment of lupus cerebritis still hinges on proper diagnosis of the condition, and there is still no single specific laboratory test for it. For lupus patients, a flare can be serious and is a reminder that the disease is still with them, no matter how long in the past it has remained quiet. Treatment plans for lupus help quell the onset of symptoms and flares. Those plans may include, Physical and emotional rest. Aggressive treatment of infections. Exercise. Good nutrition, and, Avoidance of direct sunlight and other sources of ultraviolet light. Often, one of the more unexpected flare triggers is medications. What seems to be of help, could actually be of harm. So it is always recommended to check with her doctor before taking a new medication – and before stopping any medication, both over-the-counter and prescribed. And make sure she tells any nurse or doctor she is unfamiliar with, that she has lupus, so that they are aware when prescribing medications. Also, be wary of skin and scalp preparations. Check that she does not have a sensitivity to the item by first trying it on her forearm or the back of her ear. If redness, rash, itching or pain develops, do not use the product. She should check in with her physician prior to receiving any immunization. Routine immunizations, like those for the flu and pneumonia, are an important part of maintaining her health, but she should make sure that her doctor approves before getting the shots.
I add a link for this subject


http://renux.dmed.ed.ac.uk/
edren/EdRenINFObits/
LupusNonRen.html

Hope this helps
matador 89

Answer 2

Typically brain swelling from lupus (also called lupus cerebritis) needs to be managed in the hospital. It IS a serious illness but people can recover from it. The doctors will give a lot of medications to suppress the lupus (including steroids) but unfortunately, they won't be able to say much about how your sister is going to do until things get better. All they can do is to give the medications and wait and see how your sister does.

Try to get some rest yourself - often the watching and waiting is harder for the family than the patient!

Answer 3

Brain swelling is called Encephalitis. It is generally of viral in origin and is seen more in children, due to their poor development of the blood brain barrier due to which the virus and bacteria can cross the barrier easily and enter the brain to cause encephalitis.
Thus we should have heard of Japanese encephalitis, polio encephalitis, and various other types of non-specific viral encephalitis etc.
All these cases require immediate admission into the hospital, proper care and specialist treatment.
Encephalitis is a serious condition as it starts its symptoms with unconsciousness. The prognosis is grave and in cases of rare survival there will be all types of residual palsies, paralysis, diplegias, monoplegias, and quadriplegias…etc.,