itchy eyes - meningitis?

[bahacaliforniamexico]

hi, ds is 26 months old and has had itchy, wet eyes since last night. He has a temperature, sniffles, lots of sneezes and a headache. The gp said its not conjunctivitis and that we should take hi to a&e if he deteriorates.

I am really worried, can itchy eyes with tears be a symptom of meningitis? thanks

Sounds like a cold to me op. If it were me I'd give plenty of fluids, calpol and keep an eye on his temp.

I've never heard of it as a symptom personally. What did the doc say he thought was going on?

You wouldn't normally associate itchy eyes with meningitis. Saying that, if you're still worried about him and he's worse than when you saw him with the GP you should definitely get further medical advice, either from out of hours or a and e.

Sounds like a bad cold to me, poor little thing.

thank you, I'm feeling a bit emotional so for your replies. The GP said that he was a little bit worried as ds is showing signs of a headache, has a temperature and pain in his eyes. He said that child would normally not present in this way but because he had only a slightly raised temp 37.7 when we were there and he was able to move his neck, she didn't call the ambulance and send him to a&e. temperature is now 38.4 but he is eating and able to watch tv. He has had conjunctivitis before but I am not sure why his eyes are watery with tears rolling down his cheeks every now and then. Lots of sneezes too. Gp said to keep an eye and take him to a&e if we feel he is getting much worse. I posted to distract myself i suppose.

My DD is nearly 3 and has had a few colds so far. She almost always has gooey eyes with them. In fact she was born with a gooey eye; she's just prone to it (as am I).
Maybe your DS is too.

My dc are 5&3 and often have watery eyes with colds-I do myself if I've been sneezing a lot! If you're worried then do have him checked again. Take care x

No. Never heard of that suggested. At that age they usually say take in if they deteriorate.
What you're thinking of about the eyes is aversion to light. So turning away from anything other than dim light, no flexibility in neck.
Quick test if she's old enough is to get her to kiss her knee. If her neck is flexible enough to do it, then it's a good sign.
But do take her to a&e if she is getting worse.

Has she had mmr? Itchy eyes can be a sign of measles (unlikely but if it's in the area you might want to be aware)

Keep checking his temperature, breakfast, lunch, dinner, then 8pm, then as late as you can before you go to bed. You are looking for a high temp 40+ There will be no meningitis with 38.4

I like this, I found it very reassuring

www.whenshouldiworry.com/resources/Booklet_England.pdf

That looks like a good check list BoyGirl, thank you.

When friends dd gets a cold, always gets a cold in the eye too. It's always gooey and she tears up, even when feeling better, it could just be that. Don't think is associated with meningitis.

Keep checking his temperature and if it deteriorates take him to a&e. I'm sure he's fine I don't blame you one bit for worrying though. Poor mite. Best of luck.

Your welcome, both my boys eyes were affected when they had a virus at Christmas time, however they didn't need antibiotics, which is good really. I hope your child recovers soon.

as he is losing body fluid he needs to be kept hydrated. Also use a humidifier. Hope your ds recovers soon, op.

my 7 mth old grandson has this virus at the moment. He has sticky eyes, a cough, cold and temperature. Hes been like it since Fri - went to doc with it they said just keep fluids up and calpol. Hes no worse nut its not improving very quickly. He looks a poor little soul and is crying almost constantly. Keeping a close eye on him but reassured that hes not getting worse.
Your little ones symptoms sound very similar

Sorry Boygirlboy, you cannot say there will be no meningitis with a temp of 38.4 - I've seen it. That leaflet is saying higher temperatures are more likely to indicate serious infections (though most still won't be) NOT that you can exclude serious infection at lower temps.

Having said that, op, those symptoms sound much more typical of an upper respiratory tract infection especially the itchy eyes and snuffy nose. However I'd agree that if you have any new concerns or you feel they are getting worse then do get them seen again- none of us can safely assess them via the Internet.

A child being able to move their neck does not mean they don't have meningitis.

You do not need to have all the symptoms on the list.

Go with your instincts.

Please don't believe 'there will be no meningitis at 38.4c'. It isn't true. Very ill children can have high fevers or low temperatures.

Clarification, if there is no neck stiffness, no high temp, and no altered mental state, then meningitis is unlikely. There has to be some guidelines for parents, otherwise everything feels like a medical emergency.