West nile virus neck stiffness

He or she may also do a lumbar puncture to test cerebrospinal fluid for signs of infection. How is West Nile virus treated? Your healthcare provider will figure out the best treatment based on: How old you are Your overall health and medical history How sick you are How well you can handle specific medications, procedures, or therapies How long the condition is expected to last Your opinion or preference There's no specific treatment for West Nile virus-related diseases.

If a person gets the more severe form of the disease, West Nile encephalitis or meningitis, treatment may include intensive supportive therapy, such as: Hospitalization Intravenous IV fluids Breathing support ventilator Prevention of other infections such as pneumonia or urinary tract infections Nursing care What are the complications of West Nile virus? However, the virus can cause life-threatening illnesses, such as Encephalitis inflammation of the brain Meningitis inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord Meningoencephalitis inflammation of the brain and its surrounding membrane Can West Nile virus be prevented?

If you spray your clothing, there's no need to spray repellent containing DEET on the skin under your clothing. When possible, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants treated with repellents containing permethrin or DEET since mosquitoes may bite through thin clothing.

Don't directly apply repellents containing permethrin to exposed skin. Consider staying indoors at dawn, dusk, and in the early evening. These are peak hours for mosquito bites, especially those mosquitoes that carry the West Nile virus. Limit the number of places for mosquitoes to lay their eggs by getting rid of standing water sources from around your home. To boost your protection from insect repellent, remember: Sweating, or water may call for reapplication of the product.

If you aren't being bitten, you don't need to reapply repellent. Use enough repellent to cover exposed skin or clothing. Don't apply repellent to skin that's under clothing. Heavy application isn't needed for protection. Don't apply repellent to cuts, wounds, or irritated skin.

After returning indoors, wash treated skin with soap and water. Don't spray aerosol or pump products in enclosed areas. Don't apply aerosol or pump products directly to your face. Spray your hands and then rub them carefully over the face, avoiding your eyes and mouth.

Some experts suggest that it's acceptable to apply repellent with low concentrations of DEET to infants older than age 2 months. For children younger than age 2, only one application per day of repellent containing DEET is recommended. When using repellent on a child, apply it to your own hands and then rub them on your child. Avoid children's eyes and mouth and use the repellent sparingly around their ears.

Don't apply repellent to children's hands because children tend to put their hands in their mouths. Don't allow a young child to apply his or her own insect repellent. Keep repellents out of reach of children. Don't apply repellent to skin under clothing. If repellent is applied to clothing, wash treated clothing before wearing again. Always consult your healthcare provider for more information.

Symptoms No symptoms in most people. Symptoms of severe illness include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. Severe illness can occur in people of any age; however, people over 60 years of age are at greater risk for severe illness if they are infected 1 in 50 people.

People with certain medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, and people who have received organ transplants, are also at greater risk.

Recovery from severe illness might take several weeks or months. Some effects to the central nervous system might be permanent. About 1 out of 10 people who develop severe illness affecting the central nervous system die. Diagnosis See your healthcare provider if you develop the symptoms described above. Your healthcare provider can order tests to look for West Nile virus infection. To learn more about testing, visit our Healthcare Providers page.

It can also increase lethargy, and it may be difficult to wake the patient from sleep and keep them awake. If the swelling continues to worsen, it could eventually cause the patient to become completely unresponsive and slip into a coma. People with this more severe symptom can experience long-term effects from the inflammation, but it varies widely and is dependent on the patient and additional infections and diseases from the virus.

The good news is that less than 1-percent of people who contract WNV end up with serious symptoms or other diseases from the virus. The longer the severe symptoms of WNV go untreated and unmonitored, the greater the potential for permanent damage. The longer a person is in a coma without being tested, monitored, and treated, the greater the potential for serious, lasting effects. Any serious symptoms should be examined by a doctor for a course of treatment or support to help the patient.

Severe cases of WNV can lead to convulsions, shaking tremors, or seizures if encephalitis an inflammation of the brain or meningitis an inflammation of the tissues around the brain and spinal cord occur, causing serious neurological symptoms. Tremors are typically limited to the upper extremities and are often misinterpreted as seizures , whereas seizures can occur in some cases. According to research funded by the National Institutes of Health NIH , tremors can be permanent, along with memory loss and loss of balance.

The chances of this happening varies depending on the secondary disease, for example, those with encephalitis are less likely to fully recover. Serious cases of WNV can, rarely, cause acute vision loss if the swelling around the brain puts pressure on the optic nerves of the eye or enters the optic nerve itself. Even though total vision loss is very rare in cases of WNV, it can occur.

In some cases, the vision problems and eye pain are temporary, and the virus can affect several parts of the eye. A study published by the Oxford University Press determined that permanent damage can occur to the optic nerve. The study highlighted the speed at which WNV has spread in the United States, and the potential for permanent loss of vision and eye pain.

Depending on the patient, the vision loss and pain can be relegated to one or both eyes and recovery of vision can occur in one eye but not the other. It is also possible to have zero pain in one eye, with lasting pain present in the other eye. The numbness and paralysis associated with West Nile encephalitis is known as acute flaccid paralysis, a fatal syndrome that mimics polio with a total loss of muscle function to one or more limbs.

Paralysis from WNV or resulting diseases and infections is very rare but possible. This further reinforces the fact that any symptoms more serious than the mild flu-like symptoms from West Nile fever should be examined as soon as you get them. Go to your doctor or the emergency room if serious symptoms are observed. There have been patients that have fully recovered from paralysis, with no lifelong effects.