'Could this be a meningococcal disease or is it meningitis?' is one of the very common questions that parents have when their young child is ill or has a fever. Meningitis and meningococcal disease are serious conditions that can make your child ill at any time, and are alarming because babies and young children become unwell so quickly, with sometimes devastating consequences.
Meningococcal disease may cause meningitis, blood poisoning (referred to as septicaemia) or both. However, remember that they're unusual, that the majority of young children that do get them survive and that if your child has a fever she's much more likely to be suffering from a benign condition such as a virus infection.
Viruses and bacteria are often accountable for meningitis - a rare inflammation of your skin surrounding your child's brain and nerves in the back bone. When due to a virus, meningitis is rarely life-threatening, however it can continue to make your child very unwell. The good thing is that a complete recovery is probably afterwards.
Bacterial meningitis, however, is the dangerous form, but is far less frequent than viral meningitis. It may be fatal unless treated quickly. Your child's still prone to get over bacterial meningitis if she receives treatment, but sadly some babies and young children suffer permanent brain or other damage, or even die in the infection. Effective vaccines are available to prevent some forms of meningitis - although not all.
A variety of germs may cause blood poisoning, but the condition is especially dangerous when brought on by meningococcus bacteria (called meningococcal septicaemia), which might occur together with meningitis or by itself. In general, meningococcal septicaemia is more dangerous and lifethreatening than meningitis, but fortunately is extremely rare.
As with meningitis, spotting meningococcal septicaemia isn't always easy, but the main sign to appear out for is really a rash. The important thing feature from the rash in meningococcal disease is that it does not temporarily disappear when you apply pressure. The rash may begin as tiny pinpricks anywhere on your child's body before spreading quickly and changing into lesions that seem like fresh bruises. Spotting the rash is more difficult when your child has darker skin, and thus check the paler regions of the skin such as the palms from the hands, soles of the feet, the mouth and underneath the eyelids.
Spotting meningococcal disease in the initial phases is hard because symptoms and signs can be quite much like other, more benign illnesses for example viral infections. Be on the lookout of these common indications of meningitis in babies and toddlers:
These symptoms and signs can happen in any order, however they aren't necessarily all present and your child usually - though not necessarily - gets worse quickly in a couple of hours. Trust your instincts - if you suspect meningitis or septicaemia, get medical help immediately. Don't wait until your child gets a rash.
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