Treatment and Prevention
The infection that causes bacterial meningitis is treated with a combination of antibiotics. The antibiotics you receive will depend on the bacteria that are suspected, your age, and other factors. The antibiotics are injected into a vein. You might have to receive the antibiotics for as long as 3 weeks.
For the first few days of antibiotic treatment, you may also be given dexamethasone* (a corticosteroid) to help reduce the risk of meningitis complications. People with meningitis, regardless of the cause, may need supportive treatment such as medications to reduce fever and intravenous fluids.
Children are routinely immunized with the Hemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine. This is an important preventive measure, since the Hib bacteria used to be the most common cause of meningitis in children. For infants, the Hib vaccine is recommended at 2, 4, and 6 months, with another booster shot given between 12 and 15 months of age.
Other recommended vaccines such as those against meningococcal group C bacteria (the most common cause of bacterial meningitis outbreaks in the United States) and pneumococcal bacteria promise to greatly reduce the risk for meningitis caused by these organisms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children be immunized with the meningococcal vaccine at 2, 4, and 6 months of age. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is also being recommended for infants at 2 and 4 months, and again between 6 and 18 months of age.
For adults over 65, a different pneumococcal vaccine is available to reduce the risk of getting meningitis from the pneumococcal bacteria. It's also recommended for people without a spleen or those whose immune systems are not working properly.
If you've been in close contact with someone who has meningitis caused by a Meningococcus or H. influenzae infection, your doctor likely will prescribe antibiotics for you as a precautionary measure.
Kevin Sheth, MD, Department of Neurology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.