Oh, this breaks my heart... (Read 1195 times)

This is right near us. That poor little girl. Just imagining my son in that same situation makes me so sad. k

I know...gosh, I think my son knows how to do that, but we don't encourage him to use the phone, other than when we are already talking and we hand it to him for a few minutes. k

As a side note my children (Jake 7 and Scarlett 3) recently did a course called Amazing Me which was about keeping themsleves safe and ran through what to do in an emergency. We also have fun day fire drils where we practice escaping from different rooms in the house and meeting at the mail box. Amelie (16 months) has rung the poilce twice already this month (the number is 111 here which is too easy) and despite interrogation she can give us no apparent reason . They billed us for the calls and once rang me back to tell me off. Claire xxx

On a not funny note, that poor poor girl. Isn't bacterial menengitis contageous?

I think viral is the contagious one. A friend of mine's little girl contracted bacterial meningitis as a newborn from powdered formula (interesting that food for an infant can be toxic--the liquid formulas are sterile, but the powdered ones are not--one more reason breastmilk is best). She nearly died and now has serious brain damage and is disabled, has issues with hydrocephaly, and has shunts in her head. k

All infectious (i.e., bacterial, viral) meningitis is contagious. Bacterial meningitis is the one you hear about in the news. That is because it takes you from well to dead in a few hours. There are several different bacteria strains that cause bacterial meningitis. Only one is that scary, it is called Neisseria meningitides (creative name, eh). N. Meningitides is the one that is so dangerous and is the one that kills quickly. There is now a vaccine for that, it is recommended for ALL kids going to college and folks joining the military. The other bacterial strains that cause bacterial meningitis include Streptococcus Pneumonia, which is a normal bacteria that is out in the world and is on probably 50% of us at any given time; this also causes ear infections, sinusitis, bronchitis and pneumonia. Another is Streptococcus agalactiae, which is the Group B strep that women are tested for during pregnancy. Group B strep causes meningitis in newborns in the first 72 hours of life and, for reasons that are unclear, about three weeks after birth when born to women having this bacteria. A fourth bacteria that can cause bacterial meningitis is Listeria monocytogenes, which can cause meningitis in infants and adults, but this is less common. Viral meningitis is not uncommon, but in most folks it is not too serious. It causes a headache most of the time, comes on over several hours to days, and can last a week or three. Rarely it causes real problems. You can also get meningitis from parasites, tuberculosis, fungi and cancers, but these are very very rare unless you have a weak immune system or have been travelling to visit Claire.

from powdered formula

While this seems odd to me, it is possible. The causative organism would most likely be the Listeria I spoke about. Again, Listeria can also cause disease in adults. I cannot possibly imagine how they could figure this out, and it would have been worth millions in the settlement with the formula (or the water) company. Far more likely would be the Strep Pneumoniae or Strep Agalactiae, depending on the child's age. And these organisms would not have been spread via formula or water. I'd be curious to hear more details. Yes. Breastfeeding is best when possible. The more the better. Period. But breastfed babies still can get sick from diseases.

Does this mean that someone who is prone to sinus infections is more likely to be at risk for meningitis.

No. In kids, untreated serious ear infections can go into meningitis, but sinus infections do in only very extreme circumstances. In the case from this story it sounds like the mother may have had an ear infection. Most (i.e., 99.999% I'd guess) of ear infections DO NOT do this. Most ear infections get better with no treatment at all.

Anyhow, Google brings up quite a few results re: the risks of meningitis and powdered formula

Ahhh. Yes. Enterobacter sakazakii. Pardon me. That is a fairly rare one indeed. Is that what your friend's daughter had? That is about like getting struck by lightning I believe. Bad stuff, but quite uncommon. Breastfeeding...

oh man, that is sad. I think I'm too out there on the fringe to enter too deeply into this conversation though, LOL. Trent, are you a Dr.? I'm guessing you are but maybe I missed something.

Trent, I forget what type of doc you are...GP? I'd recommend you to anyone--especially if they are sports-minded. k