Brain Fever

Posted by emerjoytvale on August 19th, 2010

An increase in your body temperature above normal level warns you to seek for a health care professional to examine you. You might have an infection. An infection that reaches your brain is a possibility. This inflammatory disease involved parts of the nervous system resulting into an abnormal function of the brain and the spinal cord.  This condition is medically called encephalitis.

Most encephalitis is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. The mosquito maybe becomes infected by biting infected animals such as chicken and bird. After incubating the etiologic agent inside its own body for one week, the mosquito carries the virus to healthy animals such as birds, horses, pigs and humans. Man is the last host in the cycle.

What is unique with encephalitis is that the virus that causes the inflammation of the brain cannot be transmitted from human to human. It can only be transmitted from human to mosquito then to another human being.

With encephalitis, patient experiences fever, headache, dizziness, vomiting and apathy. He or she may experience chills sore throat, conjunctivitis, arthralgia, myalgia and abdominal pain. Later, he or she may experience nuchal rigidity, ataxia, tremors, confusion, speech difficulties, stupor, hyper-excitability, convulsions, and coma and thereafter, if not treated immediately, death.

The consequences of the disease can disturb motor, mental, and endocrine functions. Motor disturbances include persistent convulsion, parkinsonian-like syndrome and epilepsy. Mental disturbances include mental disturbances, mental deterioration, sleep disturbances, mental depression, and lethargy. Endocrine disturbances include Cushing syndrome, either hypoparathyroidism or hyperparathyroidism, and loss of sexual interest or activity.

Treatment for encephalitis is palliative and supportive. Unless patient is comatose, oral fluid should be encouraged. Oral care should strictly be done. Tepid sponge bath is given if the temperature is excessively high in order to lower the temperature. Convulsions must be controlled. Maintain patent airway. Ensure proper breathing pattern. Assess for obstructed circulation. One important aspect to make the patient comfortable with this disease is to keep the patient in a quiet, well- ventilated room. Stretch the linens. Encourage the patient to do oral hygiene. Doing bed bath is also indicated if not contraindicated. Prevention from complications includes turning patient from side to side at least every two to three hours, increasing fluid intake, encouraging high caloric intake, moistening lips with mineral oil and rendering tepid sponge bath if febrile.

Preventive measures are directed towards knowing the host and the kind of vectors. Prevention and control must also be geared towards eradication of vectors by elimination of breeding places if possible, destruction of larva, screening of homes and use of repellants. A broad education to the public about the disease process and preventive measures are important.

Knowing all these things, are you still terrified with brain fever?