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Meningitis—When the Common Cold Becomes Scary
Hello everyone. Hope you all are riding out cold and
flu season this year with minimal suffering. I saw a commercial about meningitis on television recently and
thought I would do an article about it. Meningitis is scary.
It can start with a cold or the flu or a minor infection and
can kill you. But is it common? Not really. Do you have
to squeal your tires to the ER every time you get the
sniffles? Probably not. But you should be aware of what
the signs and symptoms are.
So what is it? Meningitis is a catch-all-term meaning
“inflammation of the meninges” which may or may not
be caused by an infectious agent. Meninges (men-injeez) are the membranes that cover and protect our brain
and spinal cord. Infectious agents are bacteria, viruses,
and fungi. So basically, you get an infection such as a virus (a cold or influenza) or a bacterium (bacterial pneumonia or maybe a wound infected with bacteria) and it
doesn’t stay where it started. It gets worse and goes into
your blood stream and then into your spinal fluid where it
gets into your meninges. Your immune system is not very
prevalent here and your body is not able to fight off the
infection. Then its bad news bears.
This is uncommon. So don’t freak out.
Signs and symptoms of Meningitis in people aged 2 and
up:
 History of recent illness
 Sudden high fever (>100.4)
 Stiff/Painful neck (especially when you bow your head
to your chest)
 Unrelenting and severe headache that seems different than normal
 Severe nausea and/or vomiting
 Confusion or difficulty concentrating
 Seizures
 Sleepiness or difficulty waking
 Sensitivity to light
 No appetite or thirst
 Skin rash (sometimes)
Extreme weakness
Signs and symptoms of Meningitis in newborns and children up to age 5:
 High fever (>100.4)
 Constant crying
 Excessive sleepiness or irritability
 Inactivity or sluggishness
 Poor feeding
 A bulge in the soft spot on top of a baby's head
(fontanel)
Stiffness in a baby's body and neck
Populations at risk for meningitis are very young children
(newborns to age 5), high schoolers, college kids, the elderly, pregnant women, and anyone that has a depressed
immune system.
Complications can be severe, especially with bacterial
meningitis. Treatment is necessary!
It can lead to:
 Permanent hearing loss
 Memory difficulties
 Learning disabilities
 Permanent brain damage
 Gait problems
 Seizures
 Kidney failure
 Shock
Death
If you come to see your primary care provider or to the
ER and it’s suspected that you may have meningitis; they
will run blood tests, do radiological testing (CT scan, MRI,
XR), and you might possibly get a spinal tap. A spinal tap
is the Gold Standard Test for meningitis. The doctor will
use a needle and syringe to draw spinal fluid out from
your spine and it will be tested in the lab for infection.
Again, meningitis is not common. I don’t mean to frighten everyone. Just be aware of a cold or the flu that becomes way worse than ever before. And if you’re not
sure, but concerned, just give us a call. (719) 743-2421.
Stay healthy everyone!
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/
meningitis/home/ovc-20169520
https://www.cdc.gov/meningitis/index.html
~Rebecca Elmshauser, RN
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