Give 1mg of Benadryl per pound such that if your dog weighs 30 pounds, you should give it 30 mg of Benadryl. Talk your veterinarian - while antihistamines are generally safe, there are the potential for side effects particularly if your dog has chronic organ failure (renal failure, liver failure, congestive heart failure, etc.).
1 Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain. 2  Meningitis is inflammation of the membranes (called meninges) that surround the brain and spinal cord.  Both encephalitis and meningitis can be caused by bacteria or viruses, and rarely a fungus, or be noninfectious.
Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain, usually caused by a direct viral infection or a hyper-sensitivity reaction to a virus or foreign protein. Brain inflammation caused by a bacterial infection is sometimes called cerebritis. When both the brain and spinal cord are involved, the disorder is called encephalomyelitis. An inflammation of the brain's covering, or meninges, is called meningitis.