Quick Checklist of Meningitis Symptoms

Meningitis is a very serious illness. Seeking medical care as quickly as possible can save your life. The symptoms of meningitis are important signals.Eighty seven percent of the people who are diagnosed with meningitis have had headaches and this, as so, is the number one symptom. The second most common sign of meningitis is a stiff neck, know as nuchal rigidity.

The way that this is tested is asking the patient to flex the neck forward. Because of meningitis' proximity to the brain, symptoms also may include a sudden high fever and a mental state which is altered.In addition and often association with the headaches is phonophobia. Phonophobia is the inability to tolerate loud noises.

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Some medical journals will refer to phonophobia as ligyrophobia, although this term is more often associated with a mental condition, although the two can be used interchangeably.Photophobia is another symptom of meningitis. Photophobia is the inability to tolerate bright light. Photophobia and Phonophobia often lead to sufferers of meningitis to complain of an "overwhelming of the senses.

"Meningitis also often leads to irritability. In more severe cases the patient may even reach to the point of seizure. Small children, with an undeveloped mind in a state such as this, are some times found to be delirious. In infants, when meningitis is most serious, swelling of the fontaneele, the soft spot, may happen.This is due to the child's skull being unable to keep it's normal shape with the swelling present.

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It is even possible to diagnose meningitis after death has occurred. The inflammation that comes with meningitis stays with the body after death. This is also true even if the patient has died of other causes, although this is less common. Because of this, bodies containing early signs of meningitis are often sought after by universities for use of cadavers.

They are considered a great asset and resource to teaching students about the effects of meningitis.If these signs are showing, it is often cause for a blood test. If more serious or to show precaution, an x-ray machine may be used on the patients chest to test for meningitis. The most effective, but most risky test is a spinal tap to analyze the cerebrospinal fluid. This is, however, very risky and may result in a cerebral mass lesion.

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