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caleb is really sick - viral meningitis


boyohboyohboy wrote: Caleb has been running a fever for about three days and the meds were not breaking it, he had no other symptoms other then a headache which is not uncommon for him when he gets sick..
so I took him to the ER last night and they did all these tests on him and said he has meningitis.
they were not sure if it was the bacterial one or the viral one, his white blood cell count is on the fence..
so he is home now, and we are watching the fever..
if the fever isnt gone by monday they are going to do a spinal tap
that scares the heck out of me..
he also heard her talk about it and is scared.

please pray

A&A'smommy replied: Oh no poor baby!!!! hug.gif hug.gif I will keep him in my prayers, and you too!!!

ZandersMama replied: hug.gif p&pt's

bluebear replied: That is VERY scary...praying for Caleb

cameragirl21 replied: Prayers said, Stacy.
When I worked in an er, I held down many kids for spinal tap and they didn't feel a thing as none of them cried, not a single one, except a tiny baby who didn't like the position we were holding her down in.
I really hope he gets better soon but I don't want you to be too scared about the spinal tap either. hug.gif

amymom replied: prayers' said. hug.gif hug.gif

MommyToAshley replied: Oh gosh, poor Caleb!

Prayers said. I hope he feels better soon. Please keep us posted. hug.gif

MoonMama replied: Poor little guy! hug.gif hug.gif Tons of P&PT's being said! Please KUP when you can.

boyohboyohboy replied: calebs temp is staying right around a 100 degrees, I dont think that warrents a spinal tap, but I cant call till 9am when the office opens.
He seems tired and his has dark eyes. I think he looks like he doesnt feel good still but he wont admit it because he doesnt want to go to the hosp. He says there is no headache but I dont know if I can believe him.
I have tried to explain to him that lying right now will only make the out come worse.

I am feeling like he has made a turn for the better, that low grade fever is not tylenol induced.

amymom replied: I am praying he continues to improve.

I think you would be able to tell if he still had a headache. No matter what he says. hug.gif

jcc64 replied: How scary! I hope he recovers quickly and without further incident. hug.gif

TLCDad replied: Prayer said, keep us posted on how he is doing.

Danalana replied: I'm glad his fever is down, and I wanted to reiterate what Jennifer said. When Carter got a spinal tap to test for meningitis, they knew I was worried and assured me that babies only cry because of the position they are held in. They said he didn't cry at all when they stuck him. I hope he doesn't have to have it done, just because I know it's scary for him.

DansMom replied: That is scary. Keep us posted. I'll be thinking of you hug.gif

boyohboyohboy replied: we had to go back to the ER yesterday,
I noticed caleb had broken out in a rash all over his body.
as it turned out, its still part of the viral meningitis.
its the tail end of the disease. He said he isnt contagious now, as his fever has broken.
his body is just getting rid of the virus.

He isnt himself yet, kinda groggy, even though he is sleeping 12 hours at a time.
but he wanted to go to school today.

I am so hopeful the other two kids dont get this. From what I read it can be serious

Danalana replied: Awwww....I'm glad he's almost over it and I pray nobody else gets it!

Calimama replied: I hope he's doing better, and no one else in the family catches it!

Kentuckychick replied: I'm sorry, but I honestly cannot believe that a doctor suspected a child had meningitis and... not knowing which type it was... sent him home without doing a spinal tap to begin with. That just seems insane! (not questioning you at all! just the doctors on that call).

We had a father at our childcare who was diagnosed with viral meningitis back in August after his wife had to call an ambulance because his headache had gotten so bad he couldn't get out of bed. We had to call in a pediatrician and a specialist from a local hospital to make sure it was safe for his children to come to school and to see if we needed to take any special precautions. He said, yep... and nope.

He said viral meningitis is not contagious (of course we all balked because... viral... virus!?) but apparently it's not a virus and is only caused by a virus that is actually extremely common (enterovirus) and though you can catch that virus from being around someone with meningitis, you would have to both catch the virus and then also be one of the very few people who then developed meningitis from it. So hopefully everyone else will stay healthy.

boyohboyohboy replied:
the reason we didnt get the spinal tap the first night was because he was alert and not lethargic, he wasnt acting sick, and his white blood cell count was only 7000 and 11000 is the high end..so it wasnt even that high yet. she said that viral meningitis is not treated with anything so it was more then likely that type not bacterial, so there wasnt a good enough reason at that time to do a spinal tap, he had a chest x ray, blood cultures, and urine done.
I think that I would have refused a spinal tap if they had asked for one, with all these same symptoms.

we were watching him closely and the fever stopped while we were in the er and hadnt returned.

I dont think the dr was wrong to not be so invasive with the facts that we had to work with.

boyohboyohboy replied: oops I forgot to add that our dr said that viral meningitis is contagious and that we were to watch the other kids for a fever, for the same reason as your dr gave, that its a virus.

Kentuckychick replied:
Actually we all thought it was a virus... both doctors we called in were quick to inform us that it was not. They said that the enterovirus, which can lead to meningitis is contagious. In fact, the father from our center was only one of three individuals in their family who'd just gotten over the enterovirus (or so he thought) and the other two -- one 5 and one 2, did not develop meningitis or any symptoms. So if the other kids were to get sick, the chances of them developing viral meningitis from the original virus would not be high.

Amazingly, the main symptoms of enterovirus are very much the same as meningitis -- Headache and high fever. The only real way to tell the difference we were told, is a spinal tap.

Here's the CDC link and quote that they made us post in our center to "make the parents feel better"

http://www.cdc.gov/meningitis/about/transmission.html

Viral Meningitis
Enteroviruses, the most common cause of viral meningitis, are most often spread from person to person through fecal contamination (which can occur when changing a diaper or using the toilet and not properly washing hands afterwards). Enteroviruses can also be spread through respiratory secretions (saliva, sputum, or nasal mucus) of an infected person. Other viruses, such as mumps and varicella-zoster virus, may also be spread through direct or indirect contact with saliva, sputum, or mucus of an infected person. Contact with an infected person may increase your chance of becoming infected with the virus that made them sick; however you will have a small chance of developing meningitis as a complication of the illness.


And this is another really good site... I amazingly still had these saved to my favorites. We had so many worried parents (and us teachers!) when that happened.

http://www.meningitis.com.au/disease_infor...eningitis.phtml

What is the risk of developing viral meningitis?
Viral infections are relatively common, however very few people infected with the vast range of viruses which infect humans develop meningitis. However, occasionally a viral infection may develop into viral meningitis.

The risk of getting viral meningitis following contact with someone who has viral meningitis, is low. However, people who are in close personal contact with a person who has viral meningitis may become infected with the same virus and develop ‘normal symptoms’ associated with the virus.



I hope that helps explain things or ease your worries a little... I know it helped us.

cameragirl21 replied: meningitis in every form IS contagious BUT in order to get it, someone who has it would have to breathe in your face for a whole day. This is why they say the risk of catching it from someone is low...few people allow someone to breathe in their face all day.
I remember this was a concern of mine because I was holding down kids for spinal tap and I had to get very close and they were breathing in my face. While they did not cry or complain about the spinal tap itself, I watched it in detail and it did NOT look good to me at all and I did not relish having to have one so I immediately asked the er docs if I am in danger by holding kids down for this and letting them breathe in my face and if maybe I should wear a protective mask and they told me that in order for me to get meningitis from someone that person would have to breathe in my face all day, not just for the few minutes of a spinal tap.
I'm glad Caleb is better, Stacy. hug.gif

boyohboyohboy replied: caleb is feeling better, he says he is, but he does seem sluggish to me, and he has this really red rash all over his body.
He says periodically he has a headache but its not as severe as it was.
I read that it can take two weeks to recover from this.
I am glad he didnt have the baterial kind. I cant imagine watching them do this test.

A&A'smommy replied: I'm glad he is feeling better!!!! thumb.gif hug.gif

BAC'sMom replied: I hope he is doing better today Stacy. Meningitis can be very scary! hug.gif



I will have to disagree with this statement and I certainly don't want everyone believing breathing in someones face for a whole day is the only way to get meningitis. You can get meningitis by sneezing, coughing, kissing, or sharing food, drinks, or any other things that contain saliva from an infected person.

lisar replied:
Stacy I really hope he is doing alright.

As for the menigitis the 1 and only person that I have ever known to have it was actually put into isolation in the hospital, and when I read up on it, it did say sneezing and coughing can spread it.

My2Beauties replied: Poor baby KUP hug.gif

A&A'smommy replied: How is he feeling today?

boyohboyohboy replied: his rash is still very prominent on his cheeks. and his temp stays at 99 now.
he says he feels ok, but I think he seems more sluggish..
he has been attending school, and I make him go to bed early and not a lot of play..right now.

lots of fluids..
its says it could take two weeks to get over this completely.

thank you for thinking of him.

Kentuckychick replied: I'm not trying to act nasty -- so I don't want anyone to take it that way... but seriously... two doctors (one a pediatrician and the other a specialist from a hospital) came into our program, met with our director, gave us all the information and told us that Meningitis in the viral form is NOT contagious.

I think people are confused honestly... I mean I was at first, but now it makes perfect sense. Viral Meningitis is CAUSED by a virus (the enterovirus normally) which IS contagious. Meningitis itself is the inflamation in the spinal cord and membranes that cover the brain that CAN occur when someone has the enterovirus... but usually doesn't. That inflamation is not what's contagious... the illness that LED to the inflamation is. But again, just because one person develops the meningitis doesn't mean that anyone else who becomes ill with the same virus will.

One of the doctors who spoke to us said that though enterovirus makes up some HUGE percentage of the cause for viral meningitis (it was like 90-95%) only about 10% of individuals who contract the enterovirus ever develop meningitis to begin with.

And actually, it would not take breathing in someones face for a whole day to get the virus. If someone is contagious an they cough, sneeze, etc... on you... it would take the same amount of that germ as any other virus/cold/etc... to make you sick. But you're not all that at risk from catching the virus unless you're just one of those unlucky people who are going to develop the meningitis.

Anyway... not trying to offend anyone... I know what you mean by saying it's contagious, but the meningitis itself is not. Look on every information site or call any doctor... they would tell you the same.

I am glad that Caleb is feeling better. I know that E and J's father was in the hospital for three days and then he was very sore and achy (mainly because of the spinal tap for him) for a few more. He came to pick them up from daycare about a week later and still looked rough but said he was feeling a lot better and just had to take it easy for a while.

A&A'smommy replied: poor baby!!! Hopefully it will be over REAL soon!! hug.gif hug.gif


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