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Symptoms of Meningitis in a Child

Meningitis occurs when the lining of the brain and spinal cord become inflamed. This lining is called the meninges. Meningitis may occur as the result of a bacterial infection or virus. Viral meningitis usually runs its course and goes away on its own, but bacterial meningitis requires prompt medical treatment. Meningitis can only be diagnosed through a spinal tap procedure.

  1. Neonatal Meningitis

    • Infants who are diagnosed with meningitis at the age of 2 to 3 months are considered to have neonatal meningitis. Regardless of whether the cause is viral or bacterial, the condition can be quite serious with life-threatening symptoms such as extremely high fever. Without treatment, neonatal meningitis can lead to mental retardation, blindness, deafness and even death.

    Viral Meningitis

    • Viral meningitis is usually milder that bacterial meningitis and the symptoms generally clear up on their own. Individuals who have viral meningitis typically recover from the infection without treatment within about 10 days. Viral meningitis is usually contracted from a virus in the enteroviruses group such as coxsackie. Coxsackie is the enteroviruse responsible for the viral infection known as hand, foot and mouth disease, but it can transform into viral meningitis. The herpes simplex virus can also become viral meningitis. Also, viral meningitis can be caused by the mosquito-born West Nile Virus; in this case, the illness lingers on longer and can be more serious than other forms of viral meningitis.

    Bacterial Meningitis

    • Bacterial meningitis is usually worse than viral meningitis. The symptoms may be more severe and life-threatening. Bacterial meningitis may be caused by bacteria in the B streptococci (GBS) group or by the bacteria known as Haemophilus influenzae type B. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1,400 to 2,800 individuals suffer from bacterial meningitis. Of those individuals, about 16 percent are infants. Bacterial meningitis generally requires strong doses of antibiotics to clear the infection. Babies with bacterial meningitis may require a hospital stay for as long as two weeks.

    Typical Meningitis Symptoms

    • The most common symptoms of any type of meningitis include a high fever, headache, stiff neck and light sensitivity. Babies with viral meningitis may also be lethargic or irritable. They may also refuse to eat or have stomach problems such as vomiting and diarrhea. Some may have a rash of blotchy skin that appears pale or bluish. Infants may also have trouble breathing and their soft spot on their skull may bulge.

    Prevention

    • Infants today receive the Haemophilus (HiB) vaccine to prevent bacterial meningitis caused by Haemophilus influenzae type B and they also receive the pneumococcal conjugate to prevent pneumococcal meningitis. Adolescents ages 11 and older are now encouraged to get the meningococcal vaccine to protect them from meningococcal meningitis.

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