You don't need to be a doctor to know the warning signs for meningitis

Mums and dads can never be reminded too much about what to look for when your kids are ill.

I believe parents have great instinct and know as well as any doctor when their kids are very sick, but here are the facts ALL parents must know.

There are 3 signs to look for when your children are ill that are thought to be early warning signs for meningitis. These are not typical of less serious childhood infections, so should alert you to take action.  The signs are:
Leg pain – stopping him from standing or walking
Cold hands or feet-  even when the rest of him is hot
A blueish tinge around the mouth
The  rash of meningitis appears LATE when the child is already quite ill and in fact a rash does not always occur.  The spots are purple or red and start small before growing to look more like bruises. They DO NOT disappear when they are pressed, unlike a lot of other childhood rashes.  Press on a spot firmly with a transparent glass: the rash of meningitis will not disappear when you do this -call your GP or go to A&E immediately.

  Any child who consistently has a temperature above 39 should see the GP, if the cause of the fever is not known.

There are also warning signs to look for with other childhood illnesses particularly a cough. Warning signs to look for are:

 -fast breathing

-a marked recess under the ribs when the child breathes

-being too tired to feed properly

-coughing so much the child is vomiting.
A cough in a child can  be bad enough to warrant hospital admission.
In bronchiolitis which is a respiratory virus affect babies and toddlers, the  breathing can be bad enough to stop the child drinking properly, quickly leading to dehydration.  Babies with bronchiolitis can require hospital admission for oxygen.  Although whooping cough is uncommon now thanks to vaccination, in babies under 6 months it can lead to breath holding or blue-attacks as well as choking. Pneumonia at any age can require hospital admission for oxygen and intravenous antibiotics.

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Tags: cough, Doctors, Hospitals, meningitis, pharmacy