Can meningitis be detected by blood test?

Many parents are very angry when their children are diagnosed with meningitis, because the child has undergone a routine blood test when he or she had a fever. In fact, a routine blood test can only rule out that the child’s high fever is not a blood disease, but cannot rule out whether the child has meningitis. Diagnosing meningitis requires checking cerebral effusion, which is not as easy as imagined. This article introduces the relevant content about pediatric meningitis. Parents with children can take a look at early prevention.

Meningitis is a common pediatric disease that mainly occurs in children under 5 years old. Most of them are caused by bacteria invading the brain due to high fever. Meningitis may cause a decline in children's intelligence, and even untimely rescue may lead to some sequelae. Generally speaking, meningitis requires a routine blood test, so that better prevention and treatment can be done after the examination.

In mountainous areas, many parents are unable to detect the symptoms of their children for a while. Generally, infants and young children with meningitis in the early stages of the disease will be unable to wake up and have a high fever of about 38 degrees. They often vomit, so because of frequent vomiting, the children cannot eat anything and will vomit everything after eating.

The main symptom is crying. Because of restless sleep, the child is easily awakened. After waking up, he keeps crying and making a fuss. He cannot sleep properly, but he is always drowsy. More serious symptoms include headache. However, because the child is young, he will not just cry and make a fuss. When this phenomenon occurs, we should consider that the child is crying because of a headache. In addition, there will be muscle stiffness, especially in the neck and shoulders.

Generally, routine blood tests and brain CT scans are normal, but this does not necessarily mean that meningitis will not occur. We also need to examine cerebrospinal fluid to determine whether meningitis exists. Meningitis is mainly caused by viral infection, so children should go to the hospital for examination as soon as symptoms occur to confirm the specific condition and then carry out appropriate treatment.

It is difficult to detect meningitis in the early stages. The specific condition is usually determined through a routine blood test and symptoms. Many children cry all the time, and their parents may think that their children just have a cold or fever, which is not serious. This will cause the best treatment period for meningitis to be missed.