If your doctor suspects you have meningitis, he or she will likely put you on a round of broad-spectrum antibiotics to fight potential non-viral types of infectious meningitis. Once he or she has determined the type of meningitis you have — viral, bacterial, or fungal — your doctor will provide a more specific treatment.

Viral Meningitis Treatment

Antibiotics cannot kill viruses. If you have viral meningitis, you will be taken off whatever antibiotic therapy you may have been using.

There is no specific treatment for viral meningitis, which is often mild.

Most of the time, people recover from their viral meningitis in seven to 10 days, with little more than rest, over-the-counter fever reducers/pain medications, and proper fluid intake.

However, if you have meningitis caused by a herpes virus or influenza, your doctor may prescribe an antiviral medication.

For instance, the antiviral drugs ganciclovir (Cytovene) and foscarnet (Foscavir) are sometimes used to treat Cytomegalovirus meningitis in people with weakened immune systems (from HIV/AIDS or other issues), infants born with infection, or severely ill individuals.

In some cases, acyclovir (Zovirax) may be used to treat meningitis from the herpes simplex virus, although it appears to have a positive effect only when given very early in the illness.

Influenza may be treated with one of several different licensed antiviral agents, including peramivir (Rapivab) and oseltamivir (Tamiflu).

Bacterial Meningitis Treatment

If you have bacterial meningitis, you will be treated with one or more antibiotics that target the bacteria causing your infection.

These antibiotics commonly include:

  • Cephalosporin antibiotics, such as cefotaxime (Claforan) and ceftriaxone (Rocephin), for Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitides
  • Ampicillin (a penicillin-class drug), for Haemophilus influenzae type B and Listeria monocytogenes
  • Vancomycin, for penicillin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumonia

A number of other antibiotics may also be used, such as meropenem and the aminoglycoside antibiotics tobramycin (Tobi, Tobrex) and gentamicin (Garamycin, Gentak).

Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) and rifampin (Rifadin) are sometimes given to family members of people with bacterial meningitis to help protect them from catching the infections.

Other Meningitis Treatments

Fungal meningitis is treated with long courses of high-dose IV antifungal medications.

These medications are often part of the azole class of antifungal drugs, such as fluconazole (Diflucan), which is used to treat infections from Candida albicans, the fungus behind yeast infections.

Depending on the type of infection, other antifungals may also be used.

For example, amphotericin B (Ambisome, Amphotec) is the most common treatment for cryptococcal meningitis, caused by the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans.

Amphotericin B may also be used to treat a rare type of parasitic meningitis caused by Naegleria fowleri.

Alternatively, the antifungal agent miconazole and the antibiotic rifampin may be used.

In addition to the above medications, corticosteroids may be used to reduce meningitis inflammation.

Diazepam (Valium) or phenytoin (Dilantin) can help treat seizures, which may occur with bacterial and N. fowleri infections.

Meningitis Vaccines

Vaccines cannot protect you from the non-infectious causes of meningitis, which include cancer, autoimmune disorders, and certain medications.

However, they can protect you from the three most common bacteria that cause meningitis in children and adult — Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and Streptococcus pneumoniae — and certain meningitis-causing viruses.

Meningococcal Disease Vaccines

Meningococcal disease is any illness caused by N. meningitidis.

At least 13 different serogroups, or strains, of N. meningitidis have been identified so far, with five of them (A, B, C, Y, and W-135) causing the vast majority of meningococcal disease cases in the world, according to the Immunization Action Coalition.

In the United States, the meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine (Menomune), which has been available since the 1970s, protects against groups A, C, Y, and W-135.

It's the only meningococcal vaccine licensed for people older than 55, though it can be used for anyone age 2 or older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The meningococcal conjugate vaccine (Mentactra, Menveo) also protects against these four strains.

It’s recommended for everyone between 9 months and 55 years old (Menveo can be given to children as young as 2 months old).

An initial dose should be given between the ages of 11 and 12, with a booster shot at age 16; no booster shot is needed if the first dose is given after age 16.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the first two vaccines for N. meningitidis group B — Trumenba and Bexsero — for people between 10 and 25 years old.

Hib and Pneumococcal Disease Vaccines

Six Hib vaccines are available, some of which are combined with other vaccines. MenHibrix, for example, protects against Hib and meningococcal groups C and Y.

The vaccines are given in three or four doses, depending on the brand. They're recommended for all U.S. children under age 5, and the first dose is usually given at 2 months of age.

Approved in 2010, the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Prevnar 13) protects against 13 types of pneumococcal bacteria.

It's recommended for all children younger than 5 years of age, adults older than 65 years of age, and people older than 6 years old who have certain risk factors.

The pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (Pneumovax), approved in 1983, protects against 23 types of pneumococcal bacteria.

It's recommended for all adults who are at least 65 years old, and everyone older than age 2 with a high risk of pneumococcal disease due to health issues and medications.

Viral Meningitis Vaccines

No vaccines are available to protect against non-polio enteroviruses, by far the most common cause of viral meningitis.

However, vaccines can prevent other meningitis-causing viruses, including mumps, measles, influenza, and chickenpox (varicella).

The measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccine, approved in 2005, protects against three meningitis-causing viruses. Separate MMR and varicella vaccines are also available.

The vaccines are recommended for all children, with the first of two doses given between 12 and 15 months of age.

The CDC recommends that everyone over 6 months old get a flu vaccine every season.

Routine shots of the vaccine are necessary because the formulation of the vaccine is updated yearly to account for the ever-evolving flu viruses.