Meningitis!! Please Help!

[TTSD]

Okay.. my brother's gf is comatose and heart failed twice from possible bacterial meningitis (not yet fully confirmed). My brother was developing symptoms as well.. severe chills, flu-like symptoms. Me and my dad had brief exposures to my brother (just proximity exposure).

I just have a slight headache possibly from dehydration and too much alcohol. Should me and my dad get checked out for meningitis as well, or wait for more concrete symptoms?

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[Alexander99]

Go to the hospital now. Meningitis is one of the few conditions where you can go from healthy to dead within 24 hours. Why take the risk?

 

[14931]

more concrete symptoms like death?

 

[TTSD]

<sigh> Better find out where my insurance card is..

 

[Cerberus]

Go to the hospital now! I had spinal meningitas as a kid and let me say its not a whole loot of fun

 

[Kashue]

We still have finnpipette missing in action...

Word to the wise: Don't be putting stuff you think is bad for you up your nose.

 

[Samoa]

The thing is, if you don't have anything more than a headache and history of exposure, they may send you home without much workup. Or they may do a lumbar puncture and find nothing.

HOWEVER, if your brother's gf has *meningoccal* meningitis, go anyway, even if there's a high probability you'll leave feeling stupid. Better stupid than dead. But if it's any other kind of bacteria, I'd wait for more concrete symptoms.

 

[TTSD]

<WHEW> My brother's test came back clean.. sort of.. they said he might have had a small infection for a while.. so I guess I still have to go and get myself checked out.

 

[Cerberus]

Originally posted by Kashue
We still have finnpipette missing in action...

Word to the wise: Don't be putting stuff you think is bad for you up your nose.

alas poor finnpipette

My Haiku to finnpippette

finnpippette no mask
finnpippette bromophenol
finnpippette no more

 

[calcrew14]

Originally posted by Samoa
The thing is, if you don't have anything more than a headache and history of exposure, they may send you home without much workup. Or they may do a lumbar puncture and find nothing.

HOWEVER, if your brother's gf has *meningoccal* meningitis, go anyway, even if there's a high probability you'll leave feeling stupid. Better stupid than dead. But if it's any other kind of bacteria, I'd wait for more concrete symptoms.

Exactly, that's the most appropriate way to go. But considering that time is the essence and the real thing can kill in 1-2 days. There is always a time that I wouldn't mind the pre-emptive treatment with antibiotics even though it was non-conventional. Many practitioners are forced to go with this short cuts or detour too.

For quackery pre-allo souls, you all know that you can get antibiotics without prescription from any pet stores.
This is not an advice though. Just want to keep you aware of certain situation.

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by Cerberus
alas poor finnpipette

My Haiku to finnpippette

finnpippette no mask
finnpippette bromophenol
finnpippette no more

i hope we hear from him at least by monday when everyone should be back on sdn in full strength...

and to TTSD....just go and get it checked. like the popular saying goes... better safe than feeling stupid.

 

[aphistis]

Nobody else has mentioned it, so I will.

You suspect you might have a life-threatening condition, and you come to a <em>pre-med</em> board for advice?

 

[calcrew14]

Originally posted by TTSD
Okay.. my brother's gf is comatose and heart failed twice from possible bacterial meningitis (not yet fully confirmed). My brother was developing symptoms as well.. severe chills, flu-like symptoms. Me and my dad had brief exposures to my brother (just proximity exposure).

I just have a slight headache possibly from dehydration and too much alcohol. Should me and my dad get checked out for meningitis as well, or wait for more concrete symptoms?

You have mentioned all the good reasons to stay put above. Most of the pre allo quacks including me shouldn't have any problem to 2nd, 3rd, 4th.....and so on.

 

[ndi_amaka]

Is your brother's gf gonna be okay???

 

[ewing]

Originally posted by calcrew14
For quackery pre-allo souls, you all know that you can get antibiotics without prescription from any pet stores.
This is not an advice though. Just want to keep you aware of certain situation.

Do they sell Gram stain kits as well? Or is that just the bigger rural farmer supply places?

 

[TTSD]

Originally posted by ndi_amaka
Is your brother's gf gonna be okay???

I don't know.. though the initial prognoses do not look good at all. This is what I hate the most.. when just probably being at the wrong place at the wrong time can be fatal.. this is life.

She's probably not suffering anymore, but I fear for my brother.. I don't know what to do..

 

[ndi_amaka]

Originally posted by TTSD
I don't know.. though the initial prognoses do not look good at all. This is what I hate the most.. when just probably being at the wrong place at the wrong time can be fatal.. this is life.

She's probably not suffering anymore, but I fear for my brother.. I don't know what to do..

Being that she is in a coma she probably didn' know she had it for a very long time....that's horrible. I hope your brother and the gf will be okay.

 

[chuck deli]

Just my $.02...but why are you asking a bunch of wanna-be med students? Man, are you nuts? Go ask a professional! Being dead will really hurt your chances of getting an acceptance.

 

[ckent]

Hmm. I would need to know several things before advising you (such as your immunization status, what type of bacterial meningits your brother's gf had, how sick your brother was, and how much contact you actually had with your brother, and the time course of all of these events). Obviously, since it's not possible to take a thorough medical history here, I'd advise you to see your doctor too. You might need to be prophylaxed with an antibiotic if your symptoms and story are really all that concerning. In general though, Neiserria Meningitis *usually* isn't all that contagious and is spread only by close contact. That being said, occasionally, particularly virulent strains seem to emerge with a cluster of meningeal outbreaks occuring (actually, in a somewhat similar pattern to SARS and most infectious diseases, if you look closely).

 

[Brickhouse]

Originally posted by chuck deli
Just my $.02...but why are you asking a bunch of wanna-be med students? Man, are you nuts? Go ask a professional! Being dead will really hurt your chances of getting an acceptance.

yeah, no **** - I mean, we all like to be cocky and sound more knowledgable than the next gunner but for the love of god!

OP, my thoughts are with you, I do hope for recovery for your friend and peace with the outcome.

and stop drinking so much! lol....

 

[calcrew14]

Originally posted by TTSD
Okay.. my brother's gf is comatose and heart failed twice from possible bacterial meningitis (not yet fully confirmed)...........

What can a pro do specifically without a confirmation. And for any contagious disease, deadly or not, the local health department wouldn't just sit. You brother and the girl friend's family must have been contacted already. They should have known what to do, if there is any?

 

[TTSD]

Originally posted by calcrew14
What can a pro do specifically without a confirmation. And for any contagious disease, deadly or not, the local health department wouldn't just sit. You brother and the girl friend's family must have been contacted already. They should have known what to do, if there is any?

Yeah, that's a good question.. the CDC should've been on this like white on rice.. especially given the high probability that it could be spreading since my brother and his gf (and their idiot doctor who said it was leukemia) probably came in contact with a lot of people over the past few days.

 

[trauma_junky]

CIPRO!

 

[calcrew14]

Originally posted by ewing
Do they sell Gram stain kits as well? Or is that just the bigger rural farmer supply places?

No need to work up, man. Never needed one.

Yes, you are talking about better sources than pet stores. Many medicines are smuggled from south of the border. But there are other sources from all over the world too. People escaped war from places all over the world. Do you think these people needed any precription when they were at home? Bad habbits do persist. Don't put your fingers on any gunners. Too easy. There are lots of stubborn patients who think that they know more than any MD here (in USA). I am just trying to keep up with them.

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by indo
if i'm ever exposed to ebola i'll be sure to post on SDN first!

thanks for giving us the heads up...

 

[calcrew14]

Ebola? No problem, I have Norton antivirus!

 

[ewing]

Originally posted by calcrew14
Ebola? No problem, I have Norton antivirus!

 

[chuck deli]

Yes, and I'm sure if a cure for Ebola is created, the first place it'll be posted is in the SDN Pre-Allo forum.

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by chuck deli
Yes, and I'm sure if a cure for Ebola is created, the first place it'll be posted is in the SDN Pre-Allo forum.

comes to show the quality of people we have on this site

 

[sunni]

Yes, and I'm sure if a cure for Ebola is created, the first place it'll be posted is in the SDN Pre-Allo forum.

Yeah, so about this Ebola cure- there was some wacko guy on CNN last week talking about how brave he was to be the first human in the clinical trial of the Ebola vaccine, and the PI from NIAID was there too, but they didn't let him talk much/ It's made from synthesized proteins, and no one is actually being exposed to Ebola blah blah blah..

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