Where Does Your Neck Hurt with Meningitis?

… Continued …

1. Meningitis is less likely to cause neck stiffness in babies and young children. In general, a stiff neck is more common in older children and adults with meningitis.
2. The neck can be very stiff (reduced range of motion) or /and painful, which usually will make lowering your chin to your chest not easy or even impossible.
3. The pain is usually more than just sore! Typically, it is followed with other meningitis symptoms such as headache, fever, increased sensitivity to light, or distinctive skin rash.

Again, meningitis doesn’t always affect the neck. But neck pain and stiffness with other unusual symptoms (such as a fever and headache) should not be ignored! This is especially true if the problem persists longer than what you expect.

When to see a doctor?

Listen to your instinct – if you or your children experience some of meningitis symptoms, see your doctor promptly! Because again, the disease can be dangerous or even life-threatening if left untreated, particularly for bacterial meningitis.

Even when the infection has cleared up, there is a chance for patient to have some lingering after-effects (see more in here). Therefore, early and prompt treatment is important for better outcome and prognosis of the disease. With early and prompt treatment, patient should be able to fully recover without lingering effects.

Another infection that can hurt your neck is meningococcal disease, an infection caused by a bacterium called Neisseria meningitidis. It is often severe and dangerous, because it can cause blood poisoning (septicemia). And the bad news, sometimes it occurs with meningitis, making patient more likely to have serious complications.