Encephalitis - Treatment

The treatment used for encephalitis depends on the cause of the infection. Bacterial encephalitis can be treated with antibiotics. Antibiotics kill bacteria, but not viruses. Viral encephalitis can be treated with drugs that kill viruses. Relatively few drugs of this kind have been developed. Some antivirals that can be used are acyclovir (pronounced a-SIGH-klo-veer), ganciclovir (pronounced gan-SIGH-klo-veer), foscarnet (pronounced fos-KAHR-net), ribovarin, and azidothymidine (AZT, pronounced AZE-ih-do-thigh-mih-deen). These drugs are more effective with some forms of encephalitis than with others.

Other drugs are available for the treatment of the symptoms of encephalitis. For example, corticosteroids (pronounced kor-tih-ko-STAIR-oids) are used to reduce inflammation and swelling. Anticonvulsant drugs can be used to control seizures. Fever can be treated with aspirin or acetaminophen. Aspirin should not be given to childen due to the risk of Reye's syndrome (see Reye's syndrome entry).