World Meningitis Day

Today is World Meningitis Day. This day is one that is close to heart from me. my son Louie has had meningitis twice, once bacterial and once viral. The first time he was around 2 months old and was already in the hospital for a respiratory infection. He spiked  afever randomly and they ended up doing a spinal tap and he had meningitis. They think he had contaminated formula. He had to have a picc line put in and be on antibiotics for 3 weeks. he was in the hospital a total of a month that time. The second time he was around 4 months old. Had a seizure took him to ER they did spinal tap and he had viral meningitis that time.
                                                  
The theme for World Meningitis Day 2020 is Defeat Meningitis. The campaign will focus on why we need to defeat meningitis and the steps we can all take to make it reality.


 We can all do our part to help #DefeatMeningitis

• Get vaccinated to protect yourself and stop the spread of the disease.
• We can all learn the signs and symptoms so we know when it's urgent to seek medical help.
• We can all help build accessible and inclusive societies to support people who have been affected by the disease.

You might be asking what is meningitis? Meningitis is an inflammation of the fluid and membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. There are three main types of meningitis infection: Bacterial, Viral, Fungal / environmental  

What are the symptoms? Symptoms can be similar to those of the common flu and can develop quickly, over a matter of hours. The main symptoms to look out for are fever, rash, vomiting, headache, stiff neck, sensitivity to light, and drowsiness. The signs and symptoms do not appear in a definite order, may not occur all together, or may not appear at all.

Know the Symptoms

 

Older Children/Adults:

• Fever
• Severe headache
• Behavioural changes
• Sensitivity to light
• Cold hands and feet
• Irritability
• Drowsy or difficult to wake
• Vomiting
• Listless, less responsive
• Diarrhoea
• Pale or blotchy skin
• Blank, staring expression
• Rash or spots that don’t fade with pressure (also called purpura  or petechiae)*
• Rapid breathing
• Seizures, fits or convulsions
• Muscle, leg or joint pain
• Stiff neck

Infants

• Fever
• Unusual high-pitched cry 
• Dislike of being handled
• Difficult to wake
• Loss of appetite, refusing food or drink 
• Blank staring (or vacant) look
• Pale or blotchy skin
• Rash or spots that don’t fade with pressure (also called purpura  or petechiae)*
• Irritability
• Vomiting
• Bulging fontanelle 
• Neck retraction

Those who survive having meningitis have a life changed as a result of long-term effects, such as deafness, brain damage, learning difficulties, seizures, difficulties with physical activities and loss of limbs (due to septicaemia).