Could DS have meningitis?

[mom2boys]

DS is 10. Last week had a stomach virus - lasted only about 12 hours. His temp was actually low around 96.5. Last week he complained of a sore neck.
Yesterday he started complaining that his shoulder "really hurts" - started in the afternoon, still complaining at bedtime. He had been shoveling snow on Sunday and he wrestled over the weekend, so I figured he it was just muscle strain.
He was visibly exhausted at bedtime last night. He woke up still tired this morning. He didn't eat any breakfast & has gone back to sleep.

 

[golfgal]

Usually with meningities they have a high fever. Can he bend his head down toward his chest? That is one thing they look for too.

http://www.meningitis-trust.org/disease_info/symptoms.php?category=18&section=2

 

[kilee]

Usually the onset is quicker than what you are describing. Sounds more like a virus, possibly the flu. To be safe though you should contact your physician and at least speak w/ someone there.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Doesn't sound like it.

 

[TheRatPack]

I noticed that when I took my 11 1/2 year old son in to the doctor the last time for his boosters they were offering a new shot for this. It must be more rampant these days.

 

[SamIAm21]

Well meningitis is nothing to fool with. Don't ask us, please call a Dr. ASAP!

Usually though, there's a horrible headache and a stiff neck with the inability to touch your chin to your chest!

 

[DisneyPhD]

Our peds office has an call in nurse line. When in doubt I call.

The link provided by golfgal is a good one. After looking at that if you think it might be call or go to the Doc. However from the info you have provided it isn't, or too soon to tell. The onset is usaully very fast, so if he isn't feeling worse in a few hours I would not worry about it. Hope he feels better soon. I think someone in this family has been sick since Jan. It is getting old.

 

[Puffy2]

Based on what you have written , I doubt it. Here are some things to ponder, but always take your phycians advice over any internet comments

Menningitis usually presents with high fever, fatigue.

You may notice (or may not, this is very subtle) very pale face and leg pain.
This is really when a doc should be contacted to get the most benefit out of treatment.

Late signs are the stiff neck (ask them to try touching their chin to their chest, doing so will either be impossible or cause severe pain)
and rash (pin point dots - this is a late sign and is very serious).

 

[anut4disney]

Okay not to scare you but please take your son to a doctor now. Better safe than sorry, belive me I know what I speak of.

When my daughter was 2 years old she had a slight fever and a runny nose, I called the doctor and the receptionist told me that there was something going around not to worry. The next day my daughter was so lathargic that I thought she had gone deaf overnight because she wasn't answering us. Rushed her to the doctor and she did have meningities.

She was in the hospital for 2 weeks and for a while we didn't know if she would make it but she did come through. She lost her hearing in her left ear and she had to readjust her brain because it messed up her equalibrium.

She is now 25 years old and graduated from college last year and most people don't realize that she has a hearing problem. Equalibrium is fine except when she had a high fever (tends to mess it up) and when she goes in the ocean she has to stand there for a minute or so to get here bearings on the waves.

She didn't have the normal symptons at all so I would have it checked it for peace of mind if nothing else. Good luck and

P. S. There are two types - if son were to have it, it would not be the same as my dd's.

 

[Parkhopper]

Please take your child to see a doctor. When he was 6 years old, my DS was complaining of not being able to turn his head and he was running a slight fever (he almost NEVER runs fevers). They said that he did not have meningitis because he could lower his chin to his chest, but sent him to a ear nose and throat specialist. Turns out he had a VERY serious infection in the soft tissue of his throat. He was hospitalized within hours and was on IV antibiotics for several days before he began to get better.

Please, please get your child to see a trained professional right away!

Suzi

 

[azgal81]

I had meningitis when I was four and almost died. I was with my parents visiting my grandparents and I developed a really high fever my grandma told my mom we had to take me to the hospital now but the nearest hospital was an hour away. So they stopped at the doctor first to get some medicine for me and to calm my fever a little bit. When we arrived at the hospital they told my parents stopping at the doctor to get medicine saved my life.

Doesn't sound like your DS has meningitis no fever. Sounds like it's probably just the flu but who knows it might be something worse. I would take him in just in case. The doctors are trained experts the DISboard is not!

 

[catherine]

My DD had meningitis in Aug and she was really poorly. She had all the typical symptoms headache, stiff neck, high temp etc. Then she started with the rash. Luckily I am a nurse and knew that's what it was. We got her down to A&E very quickly and within 5 minutes of getting her there she was having IV antibiotics. Within an hour the rash was covering her body. She's now perfectly ok because the antibiotics were administered so quickly. If anyone suspects that their child has meningitis it is vital that they are seen by a medical professional ASAP. However I think that if your DS has been showing symptoms of something for a week, he would be really ill at this point if it was meningitis! I would still get him checked out though, in case he is starting with something else.

Hope that he is feeling better soon!

 

[lulugirl]

I agree w/ many of the previous posters, take him to the pediatrician.

 

[anut4disney]

Wondering how your ds is doing?

 

[mom2boys]

Wondering how your ds is doing?

Thanks for asking. He seems fine now. After the posts and doing some more research, I decided it didn't sound like menengitis after all. He never ran a high fever. I think the sore muscles were a combination of wrestling and shoveling nearly a foot of snow. I also noticed that his "sick" days coincided with wrestling practice. He went out this morning to play with the cat and toss the baseball before school - all on his own initative.

 

[anut4disney]

Glad to hear everything was okay.

 

[luvmydogs]

My ds10 had bacterial meningitis when he was 3. To say he was 'beyond ill' is an understatement at best. He had constant vomitting, went from 40 to 29 pounds, had 105-106 fever, couldn't move his head or neck and had photosensitivity--all while hospitalized and under antibiotic treatment. He was misdiagnosed for almost two weeks and was nearly unconcious when hospitalized--he needed a spinal tap for positive diagnosis. Bacterial meningitis is rare, contagious, always very serious, and has complications including hearing loss, brain damage, spinal cord damage and death. Viral meningitis, although making one feel *very* ill, has a much better prognosis, and clears itself without antibiotics.

I would never in a million years presume to diagnose someone online, but from our past experience, it doesn't sound like meningitis to me. If you're concerned, though, *please* call your doctor.

*ETA--just read your update--glad he's better!