Patient's question:
Yesterday, while riding a bike, I accidentally fell and injured myself, and my head hit the ground, causing a repeat head impact. I'm worried about getting meningitis, so I want to understand a few things about this situation. Will I get meningitis after the repeat head impact?Doctor's answer:
After being hit in the head, encephalitis will never occur again, so you can rest assured. However, you can go to the hospital for a CT scan to check if you were injured during the impact. Encephalitis refers to an inflammatory condition caused by pathogens attacking the brain tissue. The majority of the causes are viral, but it can also be caused by bacteria, fungi, spirochetes, rickettsiae, parasites, and other infectious agents. In some cases, it may be an autoimmune disease, unrelated to brain trauma.