Symptoms of Viral meningitis
Symptoms of Viral meningitis
The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources
for Viral meningitis includes the 52
symptoms listed below:
- Symptoms of meningitis:
- Possible symptoms of infant meningitis:
- Usually viral meningitis starts suddenly. Babies may have a more gradual illness - refusal to eat, sleepier than usual, and fussy. Babies younger than 18 months may develop a rigid or tender back and extreme fussiness that cannot be consoled. Bulging fontanelle (soft spot) occurs less in viral meningitis and, if it does, is usually a late sign.
- Some viral meningitis results in a rash that may cover most of the body or just the arms and the legs. The rash is red and flat, though it may be raised in some areas. It is not the same as the rash in meningococcal meningitis, which is small, with pinpoint bright red spots covering most of the body.
- Enterovirus meningitis may also cause a sore throat and conjunctivitis.
- General discomfort, uneasiness, or ill feeling (malaise)
- Sore throat
- Nausea and vomiting
- Drowsiness
- Abdominal pain
- Chills
- Rash
- Muscle pain
- Abnormal sensitivity to light (photophobia)
- more information...»
Research symptoms & diagnosis of Viral meningitis:
Viral meningitis: Complications
Review medical complications possibly associated with Viral meningitis:
- Communicating hydrocephalus
- Acute hydrocephalus (see Brain swelling)
- Long-term neurological sequelae from uncomplicated viral meningitis are rare. Sequelae including seizure disorders, hydrocephalus, sensorineural hearing loss, weakness, paralysis, cranial nerve palsy, learning disabilities, blindness, behavior disorders, and speech delay in children have been reported, especially for infants and young children
- Encephalitis may develop, though this is rare. Infection may last much longer in a person with a depressed immune system
- more complications...»
Viral meningitis Symptoms: Book Excerpts
Diagnostic Testing
Diagnostic testing of medical conditions related to Viral meningitis:
Research More About Viral meningitis
Do I have Viral meningitis?
Viral meningitis: Undiagnosed Conditions
Diseases that may be commonly undiagnosed in related medical areas:
Home Diagnostic Testing
Home medical tests related to Viral meningitis:
Wrongly Diagnosed with Viral meningitis?
The list of other diseases or medical conditions
that may be on the differential diagnosis list of alternative diagnoses
for Viral meningitis includes:
See the full list of 14
alternative diagnoses for Viral meningitis
Viral meningitis: Research Doctors & Specialists
- Neurology (Brain/CNS Specialists):
- Stroke & Vascular Specialists:
- Senior Health Specialists (Geriatrics):
- more specialists...»
Research all specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.
More about symptoms of Viral meningitis:
More information about symptoms of Viral meningitis and related conditions:
Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms
Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list
of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions,
or drug side effect causes of that symptom.
Medical Books Online about Viral meningitis
Medical Books Excerpts
Excerpts of published medical book chapters related to Viral meningitis
are available from published medical books
for more detailed information about Viral meningitis.
Medical Books Excerpts
- HEADACHE
- "Algorithmic Diagnosis of Symptoms and Signs" (2003)
- [ read ]
- Headache
- "In A Page: Pediatric Signs and Symptoms" (2007)
- [ read ]
- HEADACHE
- "Differential Diagnosis in Primary Care" (2007)
- [ read ]
- Headache
- "Handbook of Signs & Symptoms (Third Edition)" (2006)
- [ read ]
- Headache
- "A Pocket Manual of Differential Diagnosis" (1999)
- [ read ]
- Headache
- "Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition)" (2005)
- [ read ]
- Meningitis
- "Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition)" (2005)
- [ read ]
- Headache
- "Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition)" (2006)
- [ read ]
- Photophobia
- "Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition)" (2006)
- [ read ]
- Headache
- "The 10-Minute Diagnosis Manual: Symptoms and Signs in the Time-Limited Encounter" (2000)
- [ read ]
- Kernig's sign
- "Alarming Signs and Symptoms: Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice Series" (2007)
- [ read ]
- Headache
- "Signs & Symptoms: A 2-in-1 Reference for Nurses" (2007)
- [ read ]
- Photophobia
- "Signs & Symptoms: A 2-in-1 Reference for Nurses" (2007)
- [ read ]
- Headache
- "The Diagnostic Approach to Symptoms and Signs in Pediatrics" (2006)
- [ read ]
- Headache
- "Nursing: Interpreting Signs and Symptoms" (2007)
- [ read ]
Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.
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Patient Surveys for Viral meningitis
Symptoms of Viral meningitis: Online Medical Books
16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE!
Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration,
for more information about the symptoms of Viral meningitis.
Encephalitis:
Signs and Symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Sudden onset of fever, headache, vomiting, meningeal irritation (stiff neck and back), drowsiness, coma, paralysis, seizures, ataxia, psychoses
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Headache:
Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Initially, migraine headaches usually produce unilateral, pulsating pain, which later becomes more generalized. They’re commonly preceded by a scintillating scotoma, hemianopsia, unilateral paresthesia, or speech disorders. The patient may experience irritability, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and photophobia. (See Clinical features of migraine headaches.)
Both muscle contraction and traction-inflammatory vascular headaches produce a dull, persistent ache, tender spots on the head and neck, and a feeling of tightness around the head, with a characteristic “hatband” distribution. The pain is usually severe and unrelenting. If caused by intracranial bleeding, these headaches may result in neurologic deficits, such as paresthesia and muscle weakness; narcotics may fail to relieve pain in these cases. If caused by a tumor, pain is most severe when the patient awakens.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Meningitis:
Signs and Symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Nuchal rigidity, Brudzinski’s and Kernig’s signs, exaggerated deep tendon reflexes, opisthotonos, sinus arrhythmias, irritability, photophobia, deep stupor, coma
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Meningococcal infections:
Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Features of meningococcal bacteremia include sudden spiking fever, headache, sore throat, cough, chills, myalgia (in back and legs), arthralgia, tachycardia, tachypnea, mild hypotension, and a petechial, nodular, or maculopapular rash. Headache and stiff neck can also occur as the infection extends to the meninges.
In about 10% to 20% of patients, the disease progresses to fulminating meningococcemia, with extreme prostration, enlargement of skin lesions, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), and shock. Without prompt treatment, death from respiratory or heart failure occurs in 6 to 24 hours.
Characteristics of the rare chronic meningococcemia include intermittent fever, rash, joint pain, and an enlarged spleen.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
West Nile encephalitis:
Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Mild infections of the virus are more common and include fever, headache, and body aches, usually accompanied by a skin rash and swollen lymph glands. Severe infections can be manifested by headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, occasional convulsions, paralysis and, rarely, death.
The incubation period for West Nile encephalitis is anywhere from 5 to 15 days after exposure. Most patients who are bitten by an infected mosquito won’t develop symptoms. It's estimated that only 1 in 300 people who are bitten by an infected mosquito will actually get sick.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Encephalitis:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
All viral forms of encephalitis have similar clinical features, although certain differences do occur.
Usually, the acute illness begins with sudden onset of fever, headache, and vomiting and progresses to include signs and symptoms of meningeal irritation (stiff neck and back) and neuronal damage (drowsiness, coma, paralysis, seizures, ataxia, and organic psychoses). After the acute phase of the illness, coma may persist for days or weeks.
The severity of arbovirus encephalitis may range from subclinical to rapidly fatal necrotizing disease. Herpes encephalitis also produces signs and symptoms that vary from subclinical to acute and commonly fatal fulminating disease. Associated effects include disturbances of taste or smell.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Headache:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
Migraine headaches and muscle contraction headaches have different signs and symptoms.
Migraine headache
Initially, a migraine headache usually produces unilateral, pulsating pain that later becomes more generalized. The headache is commonly preceded by a scintillating scotoma, hemianopsia, unilateral paresthesia, or speech disorders. The patient may experience irritability, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and photophobia. (See Clinical features of headache, page 364.)
Muscle contraction headache
A muscle contraction headache produces a dull, persistent ache; tender spots on the head and neck; and a feeling of tightness around the head, with a characteristic “hatband” distribution. The pain is usually severe and unrelenting.
If caused by intracranial bleeding, the muscle contraction headache may result in neurologic deficits, such as paresthesia and muscle weakness; narcotics fail to relieve the pain in these cases. If the headache is caused by a tumor, pain is most severe when the patient awakens.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
West Nile encephalitis:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
Mild WNV infections are more common than severe infections and include symptoms such as fever, headache, and body aches, often accompanied by swollen lymph glands and a skin rash. Severe infections present with symptoms such as headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, occasional convulsions, paralysis and, rarely, death.
The incubation period for West Nile encephalitis is 5 to 15 days after exposure.
CLINICAL TIP: Researchers estimate that only 1 in 300 people who are bitten by a mosquito infected with WNV actually develops the disease.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Assure coverage for resistantStreptococcus pneumoniae with vancomycin if there is a concernfor meningitis:
Meningitis Signs and Symptoms
(Avoiding Common Pediatric Errors)
Patients with central nervous system (CNS) infections, regardless of the
etiology (bacterial, viral, or other), generally present with similar clinical
features. The systemic signs of CNS infection include fever, malaise, and
impairment of essential organs (heart, lung, liver, or kidney function). For
older children and adults, the classic signs and symptoms suggesting CNS
infection include headache; stiff neck; fever or hypothermia; changes in
mental status, including hyperirritability evolving into lethargy and coma;
seizures; and focal sensory and motor deficits.
Infants and young children, however, may lack obvious signs of meningitis, and present with simple temperature instability rather than fever. Otherwise, lethargy, irritability, vomiting, and poor feeding are often signs of
CNS involvement in this group. Nuchal rigidity or a bulging fontanelle is
present in <50% of infants and young children with meningitis.
>
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Avoiding Common Pediatric Errors, 2008
Meningitis:
Meningitis - signs & symptoms
(The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult)
- Pain
- Fever
- Nausea and/or vomiting
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult, 2008
Meningitis:
Presentation
(Pediatric Infectious Disease)
Patients with bacterial meningitis typically present with high fevers, headache,
and an altered mental state. The classic clinical triad of bacterial meningitis
is fever, nuchal rigidity, and a change in mental status, although only two
thirds of patients with bacterial meningitis actually have all three of these
symptoms. Kernig
’s sign is a clinical examination technique whereby 90% flexion of the hips
causes subsequent painful extension of the legs. Brudzinski
’s sign is involuntary flexion of the knees and hips after passive flexion of the
neck while supine. Although these clinical signs have traditionally been used
to evaluate for bacterial meningitis, recent studies in adults have found that
Kernig
’s and Brudzinski’s signs actually have a low sensitivity for predicting the presence of bacterial
meningitis. The entire clinical picture should be used in determining whether
to obtain a lumbar puncture.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Pediatric Infectious Disease, 2004
Article Excerpts About Symptoms of Viral meningitis:
The symptoms
of meningitis may not be the same for every person. The more common
symptoms are fever, severe headache, stiff neck, bright lights hurt the
eyes, drowsiness or confusion, and nausea and vomiting. In babies, the
symptoms are more difficult to identify. They may include fever,
fretfulness or irritability, difficulty in awakening the baby, or the
baby refuses to eat. (Source: excerpt from Viral (Aseptic) Meningitis: DVRD)
Viral meningitis: Onset and Incubation
Onset of Viral meningitis: Can occur as early as infancy.
Medical articles and books on symptoms:
These general reference articles may be of interest
in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:
Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis
About signs and symptoms of Viral meningitis:
The symptom information on this page
attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Viral meningitis.
This signs and symptoms information for Viral meningitis has been gathered from various sources,
may not be fully accurate,
and may not be the full list of Viral meningitis signs or Viral meningitis symptoms.
Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Viral meningitis may vary on an individual basis for each patient.
Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they
are indeed Viral meningitis symptoms.
Each year you hear about small outbreaks of meningitis. It is highly contagious and sometimes fatal. Learn why the classic symptoms of a high fever...
Whenever you go to a hospital or clinic for a major procedure or diagnostic test, one of the many forms you are given to sign is an "informed...
Sexual contact can sometimes result in problems. An unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases may be some of those consequences. But by...
Stress takes its toll by making us anxious, depressed and not able to function as fully as we'd like. What many don't know is that stress can...
See full list of 4 related videos
» Next page: Diagnostic Tests for Viral meningitis
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