Encephalitis is a condition that causes acute inflammation of the brain. In the majority of the cases, it is either a viral infection or immune system mistakenly attacking brain tissue and causing inflammation of the brain.
They are more than 18,000 hospitalizations because of encephalitis reported every year. About 15 per cent of encephalitis cases occurs in HIV-infected patients.
Encephalitis usually begins with symptoms like fever and headache. After the initial stage, the symptoms get worse causing seizures, drowsiness, confusion and loss of consciousness and sometimes even coma.
This condition can become life-threatening, but this occurs rarely. Mortality of the individual depends on several factors which include the severity of the disease and age. Younger patients recover soon without any health issues, while elderly patients might suffer from complications and mortality.
The following are the different types of Encephalitis which occurs due to different causes:
It is also called infectious Encephalitis. This typically occurs if a fungus, virus, or bacterium infects the brain.
This type is post-infectious where immune system responds to a previous infection and mistakenly attacks the brain.
The symptoms of Encephalitis are as follows:
The patient experience the following symptoms less commonly
The exact cause of Encephalitis is not known. A viral infection is the most common known cause of it. Bacterial infection and noninfectious inflammatory are also known causes of encephalitis.
This type occurs when a virus or any other agent directly infects the brain. The infection is confined to one part of the brain or may spread to other areas as well.
this condition occurs as a result of the faulty immune system which reacts to the infection and also healthy cells. Instead of targeting infection-causing cells immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells in the brain. This type usually occurs after two to three weeks of initial infection.
Your health care professional may start with a thorough physical examination and medical history. The following are the tests which are recommended by the doctor:
Brain imaging is done to know any swelling of the brain or any other condition that might be causing tumours like symptoms.
This procedure is also called a lumbar puncture. In this procedure, a needle inserted into the lower back and cerebrospinal fluid are taken out. This fluid indicates inflammation or infection in the brain.
Electrodes are fixed to your scalp and brain’s electrical activity is recorded. Abnormal patterns indicate which may help in the diagnosis of Encephalitis.
This procedure is done when the condition of the brain is worsened and the disease doesn’t respond to the treatments.
other lab tests like blood, urine samples are collected to know viruses or other infections.
Treatment for mild Encephalitis includes bed rest, lots of fluids, anti-inflammatory drugs which includes NSAIDs such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and naproxen- helps to relieve headaches and fever.
Certain antiviral medications are used to treat viral Encephalitis which include: Acyclovir, Ganciclovir, Foscarnet. Antiviral drugs are well tolerated and side effects are rarely seen.
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