One of the most frightening things about certain diseases is that they can seemingly occur for no reason. You couldn’t have done anything to prevent it, and there was nothing you could have done differently. Other times, diseases can be caused by taking preventative precautions, receiving vaccinations, making healthy lifestyle choices, or avoiding particular situations. Meningitis is a disease that can encompass many of those factors. You may come across many different forms of meningitis, including: bacterial, viral, fungal, parasitic, and non-infectious. They may also present as acute, chronic, mild or aseptic. In this paper I am going to focus my attention on bacterial meningitis; acutely, it is the most common form.
Bacterial meningitis …show more content…
Through this, a physician is able to obtain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Blood may also be drawn and a complete blood count (CBC) will be performed. Both of these samples will be analyzed in a laboratory to test if the disease is present in the body. The cultures grown in the lab will determine the particular type of bacteria that has caused the meninges so that the patient can proceed with the correct treatment. The CSF of an individual with bacterial meningitis will often have an increased white blood cell count, elevated protein levels, and lower than normal glucose levels. It is possible to treat bacterial meningitis if it is caught early enough. That is why it is important to seek medical attention right away if this disease is suspected. Commonly, if the type of bacteria is known, antibiotics will be used to treat the disease and reduce the risk of death. Antibiotics may be used alone, or in conjunction with other medications. Penicillin and cefotaxime are two of the antibiotics most frequently used to treat meningitis. Some bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to penicillin; therefore this would be an example of using medicine combinations. The use of steroids is also a possibility for treatment, but is less often used. There can be a great deal of debris build up in the ventricles containing CSF. A course of action that is sometimes necessary in combating this is draining the excess fluid. The CSF normally should run clear and doesn’t naturally contain a flow of white blood
Bacterial meningitis …show more content…
Through this, a physician is able to obtain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Blood may also be drawn and a complete blood count (CBC) will be performed. Both of these samples will be analyzed in a laboratory to test if the disease is present in the body. The cultures grown in the lab will determine the particular type of bacteria that has caused the meninges so that the patient can proceed with the correct treatment. The CSF of an individual with bacterial meningitis will often have an increased white blood cell count, elevated protein levels, and lower than normal glucose levels. It is possible to treat bacterial meningitis if it is caught early enough. That is why it is important to seek medical attention right away if this disease is suspected. Commonly, if the type of bacteria is known, antibiotics will be used to treat the disease and reduce the risk of death. Antibiotics may be used alone, or in conjunction with other medications. Penicillin and cefotaxime are two of the antibiotics most frequently used to treat meningitis. Some bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to penicillin; therefore this would be an example of using medicine combinations. The use of steroids is also a possibility for treatment, but is less often used. There can be a great deal of debris build up in the ventricles containing CSF. A course of action that is sometimes necessary in combating this is draining the excess fluid. The CSF normally should run clear and doesn’t naturally contain a flow of white blood