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Meningitis signs

Hey ladies, i dont want to scare anyone but wanted to mention.
i read in the paper earlier that cases of meningitis are on the increase in my area, Wigan/North West.
it gave the signs to look out for in a baby so thought i would mention as i thought it was mostly just a rash that didnt disapear under glass but apparantly thats one of the last symptoms to appear.

anyway in babies your looking for:
Irritable with a high pitched whine
upset at being held
stiff body
jerky movements

bit of a crappy saturday night subject but wanted to tell you all

Replies

  • Thanks x

    I have just put my two yr old to bed and can hear the high pitch whine from here! Its all so hard to know whats serous illness and just usual stuff they pick up - will have to go and check her now! x
  • I think they also get an aversion to the light, and an achey neck (although dont know how you'd recognise this in a baby).

    I have a friend who works as a childrens nurse and is currently on a serious illnesses ward where they deal with things like TB, Measles, meningitis etc. She said in younger children/babies chicken pox can become infected and this can lead to meningitis which I'd never heard before, I thought CP was relatively harmless but it goes to show we should always be cautious.

    Thanks for the other advice aswell, Its good to know what to look out for.

    xxxx
  • lol, think thats prob just cos she wants to stay up SMJ44! I know what you mean tho, if the symptoms can be caused by other things, how do you know what it is??
  • I think this is a good subject to bring up i read about a baby having meningitis in Soton hospital, it good to beaware of the signs.SMJ44 i know what you mean about not knowing because Erin had really high temps this week i kept thinking is it serous or just a cold/virus thing you end confusing yourself with worry!! I was very unwell as a baby when i was first born when my mum took me home and i never had any wet nappies for over 24hours and i was seriously ill and my mum said she just knew. So i think trust you instincts.

    Katie there are vaccines for it but there are many strains of it and there also two different types bacterial mengitis and viral meningitis thats about all i can remember from my training i never had to nurse anyone with meningitis luckily but i know there are different types, no memory these days
  • My oh's nephew was in a coma with it when he was about 3, he'd burnt up and luckily my mil had kept him cool all day, they took him hospital and he slipped into a coma...just like that!
    they tried a few dif medications but when they found the one for the right strain he just snapped out of it...just like that! was so wierd! he was home in a few days!
    i worry about it cos if mil had not kept him cool he might not be here, how did she know? i hope i have that much sense if cam ever got ill!
  • Just a couple more symptoms they can get:

    bulging fontanelle
    freezing hands and feet with a fever
    difficult to wake

    This is a good topic as we should all be aware of it. I wonder why it has increased near us though listef?
  • Donk know kirsty, it was in the wigan reporter. A 19yr old lad in Platt Bridge died last week. It said 56 cases in a 6 week period over xmas! Me and cam are not leaving the house now...ever! lol!
    xx
  • lol @ staying in.. when david was tken in with suspected meningitus he was grey in colour, whimpering, burning hot, not taking bottles, but you gota be so cautious he was fine in the morning, just grotty and by 7pm they thought he was a gonner... thankfully that was 3 months ago now and I have a 4 month old gorgeous happy baby boy!
  • I know that there are many different strains of meningitis. I also know from experience that it is not a plesant thing to have and I was 11 when I had it. I was lucky and it was caught early which meant I avoided a stay in hospital.

    PLEASE ALSO BE AWARE THAT I DID NOT HAVE ANY OF THE SIGNS OF MENINGITIS THAT ARE USUALLY TALKED ABOUT.
    My only symptom was earache that came on suddenly and could not be settled in the normal ways.
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