Meningeal syndrome

Meningitis - an inflammation of the meninges. This disease has been known for a long time and has always been very difficult. And even today, despite the fact that in the arsenal of medicine is such a powerful weapon as antibiotics, meningitis caused by meningococcal disease remains one of the most serious diseases. There are also viral meningitis, are less severe, but also difficult to treat.

Causes and types of meningitis

Meningitis can occur at any age, but most often it occurs in children. The causes of meningitis:

• bacterial (meningococcal infection, secondary meningitis caused by other pathogens when infection moves to the meninges with other bodies) - purulent meningitis;
• viral (usually enterovirus) infections, tuberculosis Tuberculosis - a full recovery is not guaranteed Syphilis - serous (without pus) meningitis.

Meningeal syndrome - a complex character of any type of meningitis. It is a headache, nausea, vomiting, skin sensitization, the special position of the patient, the tension (stiffness) neck and some other symptoms that suggest that the inflammatory process involved lining of the brain.

Headache meningitis always happens, it occurs due to irritation of sensitive nerve endings that are in the lining of the brain.

Nausea and vomiting are also very characteristic signs of meningeal syndrome. Vomiting is inextricably linked with a headache and did not related to meals, as there is due to irritation of the vomiting center in the central nervous system products of inflammation.

Increased skin sensitivity to touch and increased sensitivity to sound and light - it is also a consequence of irritation of the central nervous system.

The patient with meningitis usually takes a very special characteristic pose: head thrown back, the body is stretched, stomach in, the upper limbs are pressed against the chest, the lower - to the stomach. This so-called meningeal posture arises because information convulsive muscle, which in turn arises under the influence of the central nervous system.

Stiff neck is shown by the fact that as a result of the convulsive muscle tension in the nape of the patient's head throws. If you try to tilt the patient's head forward, then it sharply increased headache and increased protective neck muscle spasm, does not allow flexing.

One of the earliest signs of meningitis is the inability in knee extension legs, previously bent at a right angle at the knee and hip joints (Kernig). If you try to straighten the leg at the knee joint second leg bent at the knee and given to the abdomen (lower symptom Brudzinskogo).

Another permanent feature, part of meningeal syndrome - involuntary flexion of the legs in the knee joints when casting his chin to his chest in the supine position (upper symptom Brudzinskogo).

Symptoms of meningococcal meningitis

The disease usually begins acutely, with shaking chills, high temperature rise. Within a few hours there are signs of growing meningeal syndrome: neck stiffness, symptoms and Kernig Brudzinskogo.

Characteristically general sensitization. It appears facial flushing, restlessness. Disorders of consciousness and mental disorders often appear on the 2-4 day of illness. Possible agitation, delusions, hallucinations, or, on the contrary, lethargy, drowsiness. Often (especially in children) there jerking of muscles and general convulsions.

A number of patients as a result of edema and swelling of the brain or bleeding in the brain appears cranial nerves with loss of vision, hearing, and so on. There may be a violation of thermoregulation with a sharp decrease or, conversely, an increase in temperature.

At 3-4 days of illness often joins herpes infection: blisters on the skin and mucous membranes, which are accompanied by the deterioration of the general condition and temperature rise. In young children at this stage are often joined by pneumonia Pneumonia - Symptoms and Causes .

Meningitis can be complicated by any complications of internal organs, and necrosis (tissue necrosis meninges), inflammation of the tissue of the brain (encephalitis), and various hormonal disorders.

Hydromeningitis

Serous meningitis may develop in various bacterial infectious diseases (tuberculosis, syphilis Syphilis - punishment of Venus   and others), virus (enterovirus infection) nature, trauma or tumors of the brain or spinal cord.

Thus, meningitis Meningitis - an inflammation of the meninges Caused by enterovirus occurs primarily in children. It begins acutely, with a high temperature rise, severe headache and repeated vomiting. All these phenomena are kept up to 10 days. Meningeal syndrome occurs 2-3 days, less pronounced than in menenigokokkovoy infection. The course of viral meningitis as more benign.

Any meningitis - a serious disease that should be treated only in a hospital.

Galina Romanenko

What logoneurosis

Logoneurosis - a violation of speech in the form of stuttering caused by neurosis Neurosis - reaction to the nervous shock   (functional or transient disorder of the nervous system, arising under the influence of stress). Stuttering can have other causes, not only neurosis - a variety of injuries and diseases of the brain.

Logoneurosis always caused by trauma, which is reflected in the course of the disease. As soon as the lengthening period after trauma, stuttering gradually passes (time heals). Often people with logoneurosis have predisposing factors to the disease: neurosis or stuttering parents, especially their own functioning of the nervous system, especially the nature (increased vulnerability, exposure to trauma and so on).

As shown

The manifestations logoneurosis combines common signs and symptoms of neurosis neurotic speech disorders. Common signs of neurosis are melancholy mood, a sense of inferiority, constant anxiety, sleep disorders, anxiety dreams Dreams: how to understand our dreams   (often frightening nature), slowly falling asleep, frequent awakening, decreased appetite, increased sweating, hot flushes throughout the body, and so on.

Against the background of neurotic symptoms appear and other symptoms - a neurotic defeat speech, which can be of three types: a compulsive fear of speech (glossophobia), hysterical mutism (dumbness) and hysterical stammer, as well as the defeat of speech mixed.

Logoneurosis - is not only stammer, he can proceed without stuttering (manifested, for example, hysterical mutism), but in practice it is very rare.

Logoneurosis against the backdrop of fear speech

Logoneurosis against the backdrop of fear speech called glossophobia. Glossophobia expressed after the emergence of a strong mental effects occurring periodically (usually on the background of the psyche traumatic situation) suspense that it will not turn out. This expectation leads to a chain reaction: there is fear of speech in which a patient is paralyzed as it sounds playback mechanism. Fear of speech for logoneuroses always fickle, it appears only in the traumatic situation, in a relaxed environment, he may be missing.

Fear of speech is sometimes so pronounced that the patient is not capable of anything at all to say - developed numbness, called logofobicheskim mutism and manifests itself only in specific, traumatic patient situations.

Fear of speech - one of the main reasons logoneurosis which leads not only to loss of speech, but also to stuttering Stuttering - when you need a comprehensive approach .

Logoneurosis in the form of hysterical mutism and hysterical stammering

There is also a mechanism of occurrence of hysterical logoneurosis in which severe trauma inhibits the speech centers in the brain, that is, self-defense is included ancient way called conditionally "apparent death". The patient does not fear speech - he can not talk because he had to completely disable it (but not vote - called loss of voice Athos). This dumbness called hysterical mutism: the patient is silent all the time, not just in his traumatic situation. Hysterical mutism almost always occurs for a short time and disappears after a few hours or days, rarely lasting longer.

After the disappearance of hysterical mutism often appears hysterical stutter, which is not accompanied glossophobia. As a result of trauma again (but to a lesser extent than in hysterical mutism) inhibited speech function and appears stuttering. Hysterical stuttering as shown variably depending on how environment injure the patient.

Treatment

Logoneurosis Treatment should be complex. First of all, as far as possible must be eliminated stressful situation. Is the treatment of neurosis, for that appointed restorative, relaxing the muscles of the larynx and soothing drugs, physiotherapy, massage and physiotherapy. Of great importance in the treatment of psychotherapy has logoneurosis - apply techniques such as rational psychotherapy (explanation of the essence of the disease), suggestion (suggestion) in the waking state and the dream state, the patient's auto-suggestion training (auditory training) and so on.

At the same time patients logoneurosis necessarily work therapist Speech - when to resort to the help of a doctor Which conducts speech therapy examination of the patient, and then the correction of stuttering. A necessary condition for successful correction logoneurosis is active stance patients themselves, who need to know that no miracle cures they will not help if they do not make efforts for his recovery.

Galina Romanenko