Meningitis Symptoms in Teens

Meningitis is a serious illness that can cause lifelong complications or even death if it is not diagnosed and treated in a timely fashion. It causes the membranes around the spine and brain to become inflamed. Teens and children are especially susceptible to acquiring meningitis because of their less active immune systems and frequent exposure to bacteria in schools.

Causes

• According to the Center for Disease Control meningitis is primarily spread in teens through types of bacteria called meningococcus or pneumococcus that are present in saliva or aerosol particles in the nose and mouth. The bacteria can also be contracted during surgery when the membranes of the nervous system are exposed. In rarer cases meningitis can be developed because of cancer in the nervous center membranes or a reaction to anti-bacterial or anti-inflammatory drugs. Symptoms of meningitis usually occur within hours of infection but can occasionally take up to a week to manifest.

Identification

• The symptoms of meningitis can be mistaken for the common cold or influenza during the early stages because they generally include fatigue, nausea, and fever. The symptoms typically worsen within 12 to 24 hours to include stiff or sore neck, sensitivity to light, skin rash around the neck, abnormally cold feet or hands, and even seizures.

Considerations

• Teenagers with impaired immune systems due to chronic illnesses or HIV/AIDS are much more likely to become infected with the bacterial types that cause meningitis. A teenager who exhibits the symptoms should be taken to the hospital immediately as meningitis can cause death within 24 hours according to a report released by Dr. Thompson of Oxford University in 2006 that showed 103 of the 448 children diagnosed that year died within one day.

Prevention/Solution

• Doctors recommend meningococcal vaccination for all children between 11 and 18 years of age to prevent meningitis infection. You can prevent the spread of the bacteria types that cause meningitis by frequently washing your hands, covering your mouth when you cough, and avoid sharing anything where saliva could be transferred such as water glasses or chap stick. If you do become diagnosed with meningitis your physician can prescribe antibiotics as a treatment.

Warning

• Meningitis can cause severe problems in children and teens whose bodies are still developing such as swelling the brain tissue, damaging the nerves in the brain stem which can lead to learning disabilities and deafness, and causing chronic low blood pressure.