Does anyone know anything about Meningitis?

Question

My sister went to the ER tonight and her doctor said that she may have meningitis. Does anyone know what the chances of a 15 year old girl having this disease? The only symptom she has is the dizziness. But the doctors know for sure that she has A urinary track infection. Do the symptoms of the UTI compare with the symptoms of Meningitis? Please, any advice will be appreciated. Pray for her

Answer 1

The symptoms of meningitis are high temp, severe headache and neck pain. To really diagnose it correctly the doctor should have done a spinal tap. That procedure removes some cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) and then it's sent to the lab for analysis. Based on the labs findings and culture reports the doctor can determine if she has meningitis. If the doctor didn't do this, then I don't know why he would think she has meningitis. I don't think the symptoms of a UTI compare with symptoms of meningitis. However, for some strange reason, I have heard that some people with UTI's can have weird symptoms such as disorientation, dizziness, and mental impairment. As far as a 15 year old getting meningitis? Anyone can get it at any age if the conditions are right. Some kids can carry certain bacteria in their oral cavities such as Haemophilus influenzae serotype b, as a normal flora, which can become invasive and cause meningitis. It's not a common disease, but very serous, so the diagnosis must be done by a competent medical doctor. If she really had meningitis, I don't think the doctor would have let her go home.

Answer 2

I will hope your sister does NOT have meningitis. Fevers, lethargy, stiff neck, vomiting, sensitivity to light/noise, etc. are symptoms of meningitis. Sometimes the symptoms are mistaken to be the flu or cold when it's meningitis. Meningitis can be deadly or damaging. And with your sister being 15, well meningitis has been hitting schools and such (where there's lots of people/friends spreading germs by sharing drinks and sneezing/coughing without covering mouths and such, the stress from schoolwork/tests/etc.) can bring the immune system down some.

If it turns out to not be meningitis, I'd suggest she look into getting vaccinated. The risk of getting meningitis will increase by the time she is a freshman in college living in the dorms for the first time. Nobody should ever have to get meningitis. I'm lucky I only ended up being deaf from the disease, there are plenty of other survivors who are far worse off, or have died.