World Day of Encephalitis

Bringing some awareness about a disguised disease
What is Encephalitis?
Encephalitis is a serious condition in which the brain tissue becomes inflamed (swollen) and it can affect any one at any age. This inflammation can be caused either by an infection that invades the brain (infectious encephalitis) or through an autoimmune attack to the brain by mistake (post-infectious or autoimmune encephalitis). There are up to 6,000 cases in the UK each year and potentially hundreds of thousands worldwide.
Encephalitis can be cause by pretty much every virus but not everyone will develop it. A strong immune system plays an important part in this, and so does vaccination.
How can this condition affect my visio n ?
Unfortunately the symptoms vary from one individual to another, but some of the ones that affect your vision are:
- Sensitivity to bright lights;
- Blurred vision;
- Double vision;
- Uncontrollable eye movements, such as side-to-side eye movement .
Because this condition affects the brain tissue and its cells it is very difficult to predict the outcome but usually the symptoms can slowly be reversed once the brain heals.


