With the news in Boston recently of two co-eds at a local college getting diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, many people are alarmed. While a very contagious illness if you have contact with an infected person, this is not contagious like the flu. So, there is little concern for wide-spread community spread. But, meningitis can be tricky to diagnose and can be a very serious and sometimes deadly illness. Knowing what symptoms to look for in your child can help you catch it early and get your child to medical attention should there be contact you are unaware of.
Technical Names: Meningitis or Spinal Meningitis
What it is: an infection of the tissue that lines the outside of our brain called the meninges.
Typical Ages for Illness: any age
Typical Symptoms: fever, headache, stiff neck. light bothering eyes.
Etiology: Bacteria and viruses. The bacteria we hear about in the news that the vaccine covers is Meningococcus.
Seasonal Issues: Any season. Can occur in epidemics.
How’s It Spread? Close contact from saliva – kissing, sharing straws, sharing utensils, sharing cups.
Contagiousness: Bacterial meningitis is very contagious so it is important to not just treat the patient but the people the patient has had close contact with to contain the spread of illness.
Diagnosis:
- the definitive diagnosis is a spinal tap or lumbar puncture but sometimes for mild illness the diagnosis can be made clinically.
Symptom Duration: symptoms develop over a few hours to a few days before becoming severe enough for a person to be seen by a physician for a diagnosis to be made.
Treatment:
- antibiotics – possibly in the hospital if bacterial meningitis
- fluids
- other treatments depending on severity of illness
- pain control for headache
- treatment of contacts including immunization
- viral meningitis is usually like a bad flu and resolves within 7-1o days with only symptomatic treatment.
Call Your Pediatrician if your child has:
- high fever
- severe headache
- stiff neck causing worsening of headache or inability to actually bend at neck
- mental status changes
Prevention:
- Immunization! The links below have great descriptions of the history of meningitis vaccinations but immunization has drastically reduced the amount of childhood meningitis from bacterial that used to be big problems such as Haemophilus Influenza type b.
School and After school Activity Issues: As with other illnesses, fever needs to be cleared for 24 hours before returning to school if the illness is viral. If a child has bacterial meningitis, an infectious disease expert will help you figure out when your child is no longer contagious. Usually this is within a couple days of starting antibiotics.
Internet Resources For Parents
CDC Resource Sheet on Meningitis
Meningitis by KidsHealth
Internet Resources For Teens
What is meningitis? (KidsHealth)
Internet Resources For Kids
What is meningitis? (KidsHealth)
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