Can meningitis occur without fever? In certain cases, this occurs, however, with such symptoms of the disease, we should talk about the viral nature of this pathological process. In children at an early age, there is no fever, and signs of meningitis are lethargy, irritability, decreased appetite, and vomiting. There are cases when, during the development of this disease, a decrease in body temperature was observed in patients. Bacterial forms of the disease always differ in its significant increase.
Why does meningitis occur without fever, we will understand in this article.
What is meningitis?
Meningitis is an acute infectious disease that leads to inflammation of the membranes of the brain and spinal cord. It can be provoked by viruses, fungi and various bacteria, for example: enteroviruses, meningococcal infection, hemophilic and tuberculosis bacilli. There is a likelihood of this pathology appearing at any age, but people with weak immunity, head injuries, central nervous system lesions, and premature babies most often fall ill.
With adequate and timely treatment, vital human systems and organs do not suffer. An exception to this rule is reactive meningitis, which is characterized by extremely serious consequences. If treatment is not started on the first day of the onset of severe symptoms, the patient may become blind or deaf. Often this disease leads to coma and even death. As a rule, the transferred symptoms of meningitis without temperature in adults and children form an immunity to the effects of pathogens, but this is not always observed.
Forms of ailment
The disease is primary and secondary. The first type of infectious lesion is diagnosed when, when a disease occurs, the meninges immediately suffer. The secondary form of meningitis is manifested against the background of the underlying disease (otitis media, leptospirosis, mumps, etc.). The disease develops gradually, but in the end it also affects the lining of the brain.
A distinctive feature of these types of infection is the acute nature of the pathological process. The disease develops in a few days and requires immediate treatment to prevent serious consequences. An exception to this rule is tuberculous meningitis, which often does not make itself felt for a long time. How does meningitis occur without fever?
Characteristic symptoms
It is known that the main signs of infection with a meningeal infection are severe headaches and an increase in the thermometer. Doctors say that in almost 90% of cases, the disease develops acutely, and an increase in temperature indicates the activity of the inflammatory process in the membranes of the brain or spinal cord.
This symptom is due to the active production of special biological substances in the body - pyrogens. They are synthesized as a response of the immune system to the entry of pathogens into the body. However, if there are no signs of hyperthermia, this indicates a weakening of the immune system, which can not resist the disease.
Viral form
In addition, meningitis without temperature is often a sign of the viral form of the pathological process. Such an ailment may be a consequence of concomitant diseases - mumps, flu, rubella. Moreover, it is characterized by a short incubation period (2-4 days). At this time, the virus is actively spreading throughout the body, but does not manifest itself, in particular, there is no febrile syndrome. The patient feels lethargic, cough, abdominal pain, runny nose may bother him. Due to the lack of high temperature, doctors often confuse such symptoms with conventional ARVI, which greatly complicates the timely diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
Signs of meningitis without fever
The viral form of meningitis without temperature is different in the nature of the symptoms from the bacterial type of the disease. For this type of inflammation, serous damage to the meninges is characteristic. The course of the pathological process itself is much easier, and the outcome is the most favorable.
Symptoms of meningitis without a serous temperature are manifested in the form of effusion (fluid accumulation), which impregnates the meninges. It provokes their thickening, as a result of which the patient shows signs of an increase in intracranial pressure. The serous form of meningitis does not contribute to the development of atrophy of brain cells, therefore, it often proceeds without fever. Such an ailment is less dangerous, unlike bacterial.
Consider in more detail the symptoms of meningitis without fever. When diagnosing, specialists have to navigate through certain manifestations of the disease, which are usually expressed in the following:
- malaise, weakness, lethargy;
- persistent nausea, vomiting;
- muscle pain;
- runny nose, nasal congestion, pain in the larynx;
- digestive disorders, refusal of food, diarrhea;
- a slight change in consciousness - a desire to sleep, a feeling of stupor.
At the stage of the disease, when there is no increase in temperature, other symptoms in most cases are also not fixed. In the future, at the end of the incubation period of the disease and with the appearance of obvious symptoms, a pronounced meningeal syndrome appears.
Signs of meningitis without fever can be difficult to determine.
This pathological condition is characterized by tonic muscle tension in the body, which is combined, as a rule, with cerebral symptoms. A similar syndrome is accompanied by a high sensitivity of the skin, painful reactions of a person to external stimuli (bright light, noise), tedious soreness in the head. What other signs of meningitis in an adult without fever occur?
The patient often lies on his side with his head thrown back, legs bent, pressed to his stomach. Symptoms of Brudzinski and Kernig may also be observed. With this course of meningitis, the symptoms recede by about 3-5 days, however, it is at this time that the temperature can rise to high numbers. The entire period of the disease lasts 1-2 weeks, on average, the duration of meningitis is estimated at 10 days.
As you can see, this ailment is somewhat mysterious even for specialists, and it comprehends not only adults. And a child may have meningitis without fever.
Symptoms in children
Many parents are concerned about the question - can a child have meningitis without temperature? The answer is yes, and the clinical picture of the pathological process in children and adults is quite similar. For a child, the symptoms by which doctors are guided in establishing a diagnosis are as follows:
- diarrhea;
- refusal of food, lack of appetite;
- spitting up food;
- drowsiness or, conversely, excessive nervous excitement;
- moods, constant crying, lethargy;
- pronounced tension of the pectoral and spinal muscles, as a result of which, in a sitting position, the child often throws his head back, and his body feeds forward;
- in infants - fontanel swelling.
Incubation period
The incubation stage of meningitis in a child with a normal state of immunity lasts an average of up to 10 days. With a weakened protective reaction of the body, when there is no increase in temperature, the pathological process manifests itself in the first 1-2 days. At the same time, parents should be careful about the symptoms of the disease, even if at first glance they look like signs of a respiratory disease. Timely diagnosis helps prevent the development of a secondary bacterial infection, which is often noted with weak immunity.
Unfortunately, doctors had to observe the above symptoms, and medical practice has shown that there is meningitis without temperature in children.
Tuberculous meningitis
This type of inflammation of the meninges often proceeds without hyperthermia. At the heart of this form of meningitis is a lesion of the meninges with a tubercle bacillus. The source of infection is the primary infectious foci - lymph nodes, bones, lungs and other organs. From these parts of the body, tuberculosis bacteria spread throughout the body, provoking the development of a disseminated form of the disease. The infection enters the brain through the hematogenous route, that is, through the bloodstream.
Gradual development
A feature of tuberculous meningitis is its gradual development. The first symptoms are non-specific. The patient may be disturbed by general malaise, weakness, insomnia at night and drowsiness in the daytime, apathy, loss of appetite. Body temperature in most cases does not increase, but subfebrile indicators can sometimes be observed (up to 37.5 C), and often this occurs only in the evening. Gradually, the patient begins to lose weight, vomiting appears, interest in the outside world disappears, behavior changes.
Disease progression
As the pathological process progresses, the severity of the headache increases, insomnia intensifies, nightmares arise, attention and memory worsen. This stage is called prodromal, it takes about 2-8 weeks. Next comes the height of the infectious process. At this stage, the clinical picture consists of the symptoms of damage to the meninges and certain areas of the brain, nerves, and may vary slightly in different patients. The patient reveals specific signs affecting the area of the brain - Kernig symptom, stiff neck, Brudzinsky symptom. Such meningitis without temperature can be in an adult.
At this stage, indicators can fluctuate at the level of subfebrile, but their significant increase can be noted. Hyperthermia in the elderly is sometimes absent. Cephalgia is quite intense in nature, severely exhausting the patient and does not bring relief when changing the position of the body.
Children often have generalized epileptic symptoms, which manifest themselves in the form of loss of consciousness and the development of seizures throughout the body. Any tactile effect (touching, stroking) can cause unpleasant sensations.
The cranial nerves are also affected, and if several of them are involved in the pathological process (3, 4, 6 pairs), then strabismus arises. The patient may experience a split silhouette. Hearing loss and dizziness develops when 8 pairs of such nerves are affected. And if the visuals are affected (2 pairs of FMN) - this is fraught with complications. One of the dangerous consequences of meningitis is atrophy, which is characterized by irreversible loss of vision.
During the height of the disease, cerebral blood supply is disturbed, which leads to the appearance of focal symptoms: weakness (paresis) in the legs or arms, impaired reproduction of speech and understanding, dullness of sensitivity.
Spinal form
The onset of symptoms of spinal cord lesions indicates a spinal form of tuberculous meningitis. In this case, the functions of the pelvic organs in the form of urinary and fecal incontinence, severe weakness in the legs are primarily affected.
The course of the tuberculous form of meningitis can have a fulminant character, which leads to the death of the patient without treatment within 4-8 weeks, or can be sluggishly progressive, which can turn into a chronic type of the disease with the development of pelvic disorders, dementia, hydrocephalus.
The article provided comprehensive information - can there be meningitis without fever. We hope that it will be useful to you and protect you from a dangerous ailment.