Is meningitis without fever?

1 Mechanism of development of the disease

The most common etiology of inflammation of the brain envelopes is a viral infection. Of course, bacteria can initiate the development of pathology, but they are much less common. In most cases, it is the etiological factor that determines the symptoms of meningitis. The disease is more common in children. This is due to the fact that the blood-brain barrier in them performs their protective function much worse than in adults.

So why is there a temperature rise in meningitis? What symptoms accompany the disease? Most often the disease begins acutely and resembles a cold.

The temperature rises due to the immune response to the invasion of the infection in the meninges.

This is due to the release into the blood of substances called pyrogens.

Later, severe headaches begin which are caused by increased intracranial pressure, and then - chills and unpleasant sensations in the muscles and joints.

In rare cases, meningitis develops without fever, but for a similar course of the disease, a combination of many causes and contributing factors is necessary. It is the high temperature that allows the specialist to suspect the presence of infectious pathogens in the organ.

With further development of the disease, more characteristic signs appear, such as stiff neck muscles. With the defeat of the cranial nerves, it is also possible to develop strabismus. Viral meningitis most often has a more favorable outcome than a bacterial infection, which is characterized by high lethality. It should be remembered that with meningitis, a different manifestation of fever is possible:

1. Moderate temperature is from 38 to 39 ° C.
2. High - from 39 to 42 ° C.
3. Ultra-high - from 42 to 42,5 ° С.

2 Diagnosis of

In most cases, the diagnosis of infectious pathologies does not cause difficulties due to the presence of fever. To clarify the causative agent of the inflammatory process, a puncture can be prescribed to take the cerebrospinal fluid.

In some cases, a situation arises when the temperature does not rise. Most often this occurs in children with concomitant infectious lesions of the nasopharynx. Then it is customary to talk about the development of meningitis as a secondary disease.

Like most other infectious diseases, meningitis affects people with a weakened immune system. It is the immune response to the pathogenic microbes and viruses that penetrate the body that prevents them from further reproduction and thereby impair the functions of the organs. The rise in temperature is a kind of protective mechanism, which does not always work when the brain and its membranes are affected.

Therefore, prevention of meningitis requires compliance with personal hygiene, avoiding contact with infected people and a way of life that helps maintain the functioning of immunity at a high level.