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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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6 Year Old With Viral Encephalitis. Taking Antibiotics. Child With Abnormal Behavior. Is This A Treatable Disease?

hello. my little cousin had viral encephalitis . he is only 6 years old and has about two months fever. he is hospitalized 2 months now. at first they thought it was flu so he has been taking flu medicines. but after they saw that the fever wouldn't be lower they started thinking it was something else so they''ve been trying antibiotics on him about two months, now they think he has encephalitis, and used luminal to him so he could sleep 24 hours but he didn't and they use acyclovir but the kid acts like he's drunk , he says bad words that he haven't used before, he can't walk.
and he was a very smart kid before this, the smartest in kindegarden, and he could walk perfectly.
is encephalitis treatable? does it damages brain? im very worried please answer...
Fri, 19 Apr 2013
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Pediatrician,  's  Response

Hi,
Thanks for placing your query here.
I can appreciate your concerns about your cousin.
Viral encephalitis means there is infection & inflammation of brain caused by virus.
There are several types of viruses which can cause encephalitis & only herpes simplex virus is treatable by acyclovir.
For all other viruses there is symptomatic treatment only.
Unfortunately a significant proportion of children affected by viral encephalitis can have neurological sequel. This mainly depends on how much brain damage has occured.
For futher explaination I need to know results of MRI,EEG,CSF, CSF viral PCR etc.
Hope I have answered your query.
If you have any further questions I will be happy to help.
Wish him speedy recovery.
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6 Year Old With Viral Encephalitis. Taking Antibiotics. Child With Abnormal Behavior. Is This A Treatable Disease?

Hi, Thanks for placing your query here. I can appreciate your concerns about your cousin. Viral encephalitis means there is infection & inflammation of brain caused by virus. There are several types of viruses which can cause encephalitis & only herpes simplex virus is treatable by acyclovir. For all other viruses there is symptomatic treatment only. Unfortunately a significant proportion of children affected by viral encephalitis can have neurological sequel. This mainly depends on how much brain damage has occured. For futher explaination I need to know results of MRI,EEG,CSF, CSF viral PCR etc. Hope I have answered your query. If you have any further questions I will be happy to help. Wish him speedy recovery.