I'm wondering if anyone knows about this. All I really know is that viral isn't as bad as bacterial meningitis. DH's granddad was with us a couple weeks ago. He got the flu right after he left and now has viral meningitis. I don't think that's anything I should be too concerned about, right?
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I would call your doctor and ask about it.
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I would absolutely call your doctor and let him know just to be safe. I would think viral would be worse as bacterial can be treated with antibiotics but viral can't be treated.
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Viral meningitis is different from bacterial in that you're not really being exposed to the "meningitis", you're exposed to a virus which is usually not that uncommon (herpes, flu, etc). Only in certain cases does it turn "into" meningitis, if that makes sense. In some ways that makes it less contagious, ie being exposed to someone who has it doesn't necessarily mean YOU will process the virus in the same way. The 'dangerous' version of bacterial is different (n. meningitidis bacteria) in that it mostly causes an infection in the blood or spinal fluid if it's going to cause infection. I don't know if that makes sense, but agree with the others, call your doctor either way, but definitely worry less than if you'd been exposed to someone with the dangerous kind of bacterial meningitis.
ETA: Simpler explanation: http://www.cdc.gov/meningitis/viral.html
"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."
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3 comments