Our 7 year old was finally released from the hospital today after a bout with viral meningitis. There are stark differences between the bacterial type and viral one. Bacterial is more rare but often deadly. The viral type can be caused by any number of initial viral infections. So, today when his spinal tap revealed no presence of bacteria, it was clear to them that it must have been viral. He’s running fevers still as well, which indicates viral since a bacterial infection would be expected to see fevers decline with continued IV antibiotics.
How To Know If Your Child Has Meningitis
Kids get fevers all the time, so it’s tough sorting out why they have a fever and whether it’s a cause for concern. In our case, our son was complaining of a sore neck. This is a tell-tale sign, especially in children. Immediately, my wife brought him in to be checked out and they confirmed he had the symptoms of meningitis, which is a swelling of the meninges which is the sack surrounding the brain. Often times, with bacterial meningitis, a child can be brain damaged or killed within a day, so it’s critically important to spot meningitis quickly. In the case of viral meningitis, there isn’t really much they can do since viruses don’t respond to any existing treatments.
Another sign pointing toward viral meningitis for our case was the fact that our other children had coxsackie flu the week prior. Even though our 7 year old showed no symptoms, upon researching further, we read that “enteroviruses” like coxsackie flu often result in viral meningitis later.
So, he’s home, we’re glad.
