Treatment and Prevention
The infection that causes bacterial meningitis is treated with antibiotics.
Since many bacteria have become resistant to penicillin, combinations of
different antibiotics may be used nowadays. You might have to take the antibiotics
for as long as three weeks.
Children over one month of age are often given anti-inflammatory medication.
This reduces the risk of deafness or other brain-related effects of meningitis.
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. Newer 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 now recommend that children be immunized with the new meningococcal vaccine (MenC-conjugate) at 2, 4, and 6 months of age. The new pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is also being recommended for infants at 2, 4, 6, and 12 to 15 months of age. For adults over 65, a different 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.
There are other vaccines available for protection against different strains
of meningococcus bacteria. They are only recommended for people in high-risk
situations, such as a local outbreak or travel to regions that have higher rates
of meningitis. 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.
*All medications have both common (generic) and brand names. The brand name
is what a specific manufacturer calls the product (e.g., Tylenol®).
The common name is the medical name for the medication (e.g., acetaminophen).
A medication may have many brand names, but only one common name. This article
lists medications by their common names. For more information on brand names,
speak with your doctor or pharmacist.