Neonatal Bacterial meningitis at 3 days

[Dixo]

Hi all,My daughter was diagnosed with acute bacterial meningitis 3 days after birth. Was in ICU for 2 weeks and then discharged. She is now 4 months old and is hitting all the developmental milestones for her age. QN: At which month can a Paed authoritatively know if the baby didn't get any side effects of the disease?? Her next Paed appointment is at 6 months. Thank you in advance for your answer as am so anxious .

[euagelia]

I think that this is a question that cannot be answered! So far my'experience has taught me that step by step is the idea..meaning that every day that passes and you see your baby develop normally then it is a good sign for the future development

[Dixo in reply to euagelia]

Hi,it's been a while! Just an update from this side...My daughter is now 11/5 and she has hit all her developmental milestones...she is now cruising as well as crawling...hopefully by next month she could make some steps. How old is your daughter now and is she walking now?? Thank God for his grace but I still have the anxiety as a result of the shock

[Dixo]

Thank you for advice! I hope your daughter finds her appetite and enjoys her Cyrpriot food!

[quaile]

Hi, my son had BM and septecemia 1 day after birth and was also in ICU for 2 weeks and currently is also hitting all of his milestones at 6 months. Not sure if this is right but my doctor said that they should be able to tell at 8 months if there is any serious side effects. I am anxious like you. X

[Dixo in reply to quaile]

Hi,we are in the same position!! But thank God your son came out safe. Am sure at his 8 months review ,he will be given all the green lights! But wow,BM is a serious condition to recon with and all strength to you and others!Thanks for your reply it made me feel better

[quaile in reply to Dixo]

Yes it's very scary and even more so not knowing if any after effects may arise in the future. I have an essay of questions to ask the paediatrician at his next appointment.

We didn't realise at the time just how serious it was.

Glad to hear your little girl is reaching her milestones and hope she continues to do so.

[Dixo in reply to quaile]

Hi,it's been a while! Just an update from this side...My daughter is now 11/5 and she has hit all her developmental milestones...she is now cruising as well as crawling...hopefully by next month she could make some steps. How old is your daughter now and is she walking now?? Thank God for his grace but I still have the anxiety as a result of the shock

[Dixo]

Do you mind sharing with me the essay?

[misswinky34]

And me too?? My son has neonatal BM and he's 1 month old. I keep thinking of things to ask and it would be really handy to be able to look here and remind myself 👍🏾

[Dixo in reply to misswinky34]

Hi,has your son been discharged as yet?? How long was he in the hospital?? I hope everything is fine with him...but give him a lot of tummy time to strengthen the neck coz mine had neck issues coz she had to sleep on one side..her neck was really soft at 2 months but she is now stronger . A virtual hug to you!

[Dixo in reply to misswinky34]

Hi,it's been a while! Just an update from this side...My daughter is now 11/5 and she has hit all her developmental milestones...she is now cruising as well as crawling...hopefully by next month she could make some steps. How old is your son now and is she walking now?? Thank God for his grace but I still have the anxiety as a result of the shock

[misswinky34 in reply to Dixo]

hi 👋 hes just turned 8 months, had our ups and downs.hes being treated for GERD as a result of comfort feeding when he was going through the meningitis treatment. we had no clue he had it because it was silent reflux. He starting having weird seizure like episodes which scared the lights out of us, which they have said is sandifers, a rare side effect of the reflux. So we were back in the hospital a couple of times for that. Milestone wise we seem to be doing well, hes not crawling yet but hes literally on a knife edge away from doing it. He seems fine! I know how you feel about the anxiety, that's still very much a problem for me. 😢 i had been referred to a counsellor but soon after getting home with Charlie my husband got very ill after complications of surgery. So i was kind of thrust in to looking after a newborn ad a husband, as well as the other two kids. I'm very conscious about germs, and I'm military now with the kids when it comes to hygiene. Even though they said it will never be pin pointed where is started, if i had my own way i would have him wrapped up in a sterile bubble!! i will fight my own demons at some point.

anyway I'm so pleased your little one is doing well. You must be very proud of her ❤

thanks for getting in touch 😊❤

[quaile in reply to Dixo]

That's brilliant that your daughter/son are both reaching their milestones. Completely understand the anxiety side of things, I have been reffered to therapy as they believe I have a bit of ptsd because of it all.

My son is doing really well he's 13 months now and has been walking for the last few weeks, also saying a few words such as hiya and biscuit.

We have to go back and have his hearing tested again as he is showing signs of a very slight problem but in the grand scheme of things that's nothing.

The main issue we've had, not sure if it's related to all of the antibiotics he had (he had them all) as they were unsure of the strain of meningitis he is allergic to all dairy and any member of the soya family such as pulses/peas. Docs though it was gerd/silent reflux. He had the weird like looking seizures like you've had with your son misswinky34, tried all the reflux meds before they would give me a prescription milk. Hopefully it's something he will grow out of. Thankfully we figured it out his face was covered with eczema and screamed all day and night which made me even more anxious as thought it could be after effects. Xx

[misswinky34]

No we're on home leave so we're allowed home on an evening back to hospital during the day as we've 21 days of IV anti biotics

We were admitted a week ago today. Had 5 days on children's ward as full time patients now we're home on evenings. Which I'm finding difficult if I'm honest. I just feel like I'm staring at him all the time worrying. I feel better when we're at the hospital 😔

[quaile]

Hi, just had my sons 8 month check. I went in with all of my questions but to be honest not many could be answered.

He is doing very well apart from a dairy allergy which may or may not be related he has now been officially discharged from the hospital. 😁

We will just have to wait and see if any after effects crop up as he gets older.

How are your little ones doing?

[Dixo in reply to quaile]

Hi,great that he is doing great! No need to worry because at 8 months,any after effects should have been present. Thank God baby came through well. My daughter is almost 6 and is all healthy...she had some left,then right Torticollis(neck tilting to one side)but she recovered from both in less than a month . Let be hopeful coz some babies have visible effects immediately after discharge so don't worry as long as all milestones are hit!

[quaile]

Aren't speech problems and learning disabilities quite a common side effect.

[Dixo]

Depends on the severity of the infection,e.g,some babies who go into commas and seizures...convulsions(are more ill)than babies who contract BM,get intervention before having seizures and convulsions.

[quaile]

Also one thing I'm curious of and didn't get to ask the doctors.

Adults that have meningitis can suffer for years afterwards with headaches, dizziness when they get colds they feel dreadful. Would our little people feel the same?

[Dixo]

I don't think our little ones will have the effects like older ones. It's like the little ones normally are born fighters once they fully recover from the infection (when for example there are no visible after effects like hydrocephalus or muscle stiffness)...I know you still kinda have the anxiety coz you can't believe how lucky your little one was considering how BM severe is...sometimes I also can't believe how lucky my little one is and I keep wondering about after effects but consultant said normally by 4 or 6 months,abnormal signs would be prevalent. Just thank the gods or God for having seen us through