Meningococcal disease and Kernig symptom

The pathogen microorganism meningococcus received itsThe name is due to the fact that it affects mainly the meninges (meningeal tissues). Nevertheless, he can get into other organs and tissues of a person, however, the brain remains his number one goal for him. The first manifestations of meningitis (inflammation of the soft meninges) consist in raising the body temperature to 28 or 40 degrees. In general, all symptoms at the onset of the disease indicate a normal respiratory infection.

However, meningitis differs from respiratorydiseases in that, together with a fever, there are many other symptoms that are characteristic only of this disease. They are connected first of all with the disturbance of the normal functioning of the brain tissue. The so-called meningeal symptoms refer to the defeat of the soft meninges. This is a symptom of Kernig (sometimes referred to as Kernig's syndrome), symptoms of Brudzinsky and other symptoms.

These manifestations should be discussed separately, anduntil we focus on the common symptoms of meningitis. Many such patients have weakness and severe headaches, which are caused by increased intracranial pressure and intoxication. This is also caused by vomiting, which is caused by irritation of the vomiting centers in the brain, so it is not accompanied by nausea and after it there is no relief.

Meningeal symptoms do not appear immediately,usually after one day. The Kernig symptom, although it is one of the most indicative for meningitis, is also observed in a number of other manifestations: the headache is aggravated when the patient turns his head several times in the horizontal plane. The muscles of the nape are usually strained (stiffness), which is noticeable when the patient tries passively to tilt his head forward, sometimes it is even impossible to just bring his chin to his chest.

The symptom of Kernig can be characterized not only byfor people with meningitis, but also for those who have some diseases of the knee joints. However, in conjunction with other manifestations of the disease, this symptom makes it possible to establish an accurate diagnosis. Kernig's symptom is that with passive flexion and extension of the leg in the knee and hip joint (with the help of a doctor), there is no complete extension, which is due to both the stiffness of certain muscles of the lower limb and pain.

This Kering syndrome is investigated in two stages. First, the doctor flexes the leg of the patient lying on the back, at a right angle in the hip and knee joints. Then the doctor weakens his pressure on the patient's leg, because of which it is passively unbent. In a healthy person, this symptom does not appear, and the leg returns to its original position without difficulty.

Using the Kernig symptom, you can not installonly the presence of meningitis, but also the extent of infection with the brain. It is also possible to determine the dynamics of the development of the disease and to predict further pathological changes in the nervous tissue.