WARNING: MENINGITIS DOING THE ROUNDS IN OUR AREA! MENINGITIS SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS Although bacterial meningitis is usually more severe, the signs and symptoms of bacterial and viral meningitis can be similar. It is often not possible to know whether a child has bacterial or viral meningitis based upon symptoms alone. The most common symptoms include: ◾Newborns may develop a fever accompanied by nonspecific symptoms (eg, poor feeding, vomiting, diarrhea, rash). The infant may have a stiff neck or bulging fontanel (soft spot on the skull) and may be irritable, restless, or lethargic. ◾Older children may develop a sudden fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, confusion, stiff neck, and complain that light bothers their eyes. ◾Meningitis can cause seizures, and decreased level of awareness. ◾Certain types of bacterial meningitis may be associated with petechiae (picture 1) and purpura (red to purplish spots on the skin that do not blanch with pressure) (picture 2). ◾The symptoms of viral meningitis can resemble those of the flu, including fever, muscle aches, runny nose, and cough. One type of viral meningitis causes a slightly red to pink skin rash. ◾In some cases symptoms worsen slowly, over one to two days, while in other cases the symptoms worsen rapidly over hours.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 09:48:29 +0000
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