When Ashley Lee got sick a month into her freshman year of college, she thought she had the flu. A cold was going around campus, and she had the same symptoms as many of her friends in the dorms at Indiana State University. But by the second day of her illness, she had developed a headache and was feeling weak. Her father got worried, and brought her to the hospital, where she continued to get worse, breaking out in a rash across her limbs and torso. Still, the doctors had no idea what was wrong. It wasn’t until Ashley was transferred to a second hospital that she got her diagnosis: she had meningococcal meningitis.
That was just the start of Ashley’s battle. The doctors prescribed antibiotics to fight the infection, but the disease had progressed significantly already. “I had kidney failure, my heart stopped twice, I had both feet amputated, over 20 surgeries, 3 fingers amputated, and 40 percent of my body is scarred and has skin grafting on it,” Ashley tells us. “I was in the hospital for 3 months. It nearly took my life, and it should have. They told my parents to prepare for the worst but to hope for the best.”
Thankfully, Ashley survived, and went on to graduate in August of 2011. Now she’s on a mission: she wants to make sure that no one else has to suffer the way she does. She shared her story with Her Campus to help raise awareness of this deadly disease, and to help inform collegiettes everywhere about how to prevent meningitis.
For many collegiettes, meningitis is just one of the many vaccinations you have to check off your list before you head to life in the dorms, but it is actually one of the most serious and deadly diseases that college students are at risk for. Meningitis literally means “inflammation of the meninges,” which is the lining around your brain and spinal cord. And as Ashley’s story proves, it is as scary as it sounds. But we’re not here to scare you—we’re here to help! We found tons of information to keep you as informed as possible about meningitis. Read on to understand what it is, how to recognize it, and most importantly, how to prevent it.
What is Meningitis?
There are many different types of meningitis, but one of the most dangerous types is meningococcal meningitis, which is caused by the bacteria known as meningococcus (Neisseria meningitidis). This type of bacterial meningitis progresses rapidly and is highly contagious, making it one of the most serious diseases in a college dormitory setting. It’s spread person-to-person, through respiratory and throat secretions. That means coughing, kissing, and sharing eating utensils are some of the easiest ways to spread meningitis!
Even so, the incubation period of meningitis is anywhere from two to ten days, meaning in that window of time your symptoms haven’t developed yet so you may be spreading it without even realizing. But once the infection makes its way to your meninges (reminder: “meninges” are the lining around your brain and spinal cord!), the inflammation there is serious, and the disease can move quickly. People infected with bacterial meningitis usually have flu-like symptoms, including a high fever, chills, and loss of energy. There are a few symptoms that can raise a red flag though, such as a rash, headache, and a stiff neck. And although meningitis can be treated with antibiotics, it’s important to get treatment as soon as the symptoms begin.
Am I at Risk?
We spoke with Dr. Sharon Humiston, the Associate Director for Research at the Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) and a Specialist in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, to find out more about the risk that bacterial meningitis poses for college students. “One of the highest risk times is when you’re a college freshman, moving into the dorms for the first time,” Dr. Humiston tells us. The contagious nature of meningitis has long been a risk factor when there are many people living in close quarters, and it has caused local epidemics at boarding schools, military barracks, and college dormitories, she tells us. According to materials published by the IAC, the rate of invasive meningococcal disease among people aged 17-20 years of age is about twice that of the general U.S. population.
Thankfully, though, just because college students living in dorms are classified as an at-risk population by the Center for Disease Control, it doesn’t mean the disease is inevitable. “The numbers are low, even if it’s 3,000 cases per year, there are millions and millions of people who are susceptible for this,” Dr. Humiston tells us. “Your individual risk is low.”
What Will Happen if I Get Meningitis?
But just because the risk is relatively low, it’s no reason to let your guard down. “The disease itself is unbelievably devastating,” Dr. Humiston tells us. For those who do contract bacterial meningitis, it is an extremely serious disease. If the infection moves quickly, your body can go into shock or a coma within a few hours. Even with proper medical treatment, some patients die within several hours, according to research by the IAC. “About ten percent of pediatric patients who get meningococcal meningitis die from it,” Dr. Humiston tells us.
Of the other ninety percent who contract meningitis, ten to twenty percent end up with lasting problems, including hearing loss, brain damage, kidney failure, or even limb amputation. “The bacteria causes the small blood vessels to spasm, so you see the fingers and toes turning purple, and sometimes people end up with full limb amputations,” Dr. Humiston tells us. “Some of the really sad cases, it’s not just the blood vessels of your arms and legs, it can be your face, it can be your nose.”
For Ashley, the disease has been particularly devastating. “I never thought that one day I’d be looking down and I wouldn’t be able to see my own two feet,” She tells us. I never thought that I would be losing three of my right hand fingers. It just turns your life upside down.”
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How to Recognize Meningitis
One of the dangers of meningitis is the difficulty in detecting it. As we mentioned earlier, meningitis shares a lot of symptoms with the common cold and the flu. Fever, chills, and feelings of lethargy are all signs of meningitis, but there is no singular telltale sign. But there are a few red flags of some of the major symptoms that Dr. Humiston notes. “Persistent fever, persistent vomiting, a really bad headache, severe pain the neck… a weird purple rash is very worrisome.”
There is also a quick neck test that you can use to try to identify meningitis. “If your meninges are inflamed, and you stretch them, it hurts. So if you move your neck down, and it hurts to look at your feet, or look up, that can be a sign that your meninges are starting to be inflamed,” Dr. Humiston explains. But, she says, it’s still not a guarantee. “Sometimes you have also have muscle soreness just from the flu. It can be just muscle soreness, but if your other muscles aren’t sore, but moving your neck hurts, that’s a bad sign.”
Because the rapid progress of the disease is one of the biggest dangers, it’s important to pay attention to the timeframe of your symptoms. “If someone has a rapidly evolving disease, where they suddenly have a fever, it’s time to go to the doctor,” Dr. Humiston says. “The problem is that it’s hard to recognize. Very often, by the time that people recognize it, the person is really sick.” As always, collegiettes, it’s better to be safe than sorry. If you think you have the symptoms of meningitis, it’s always best to head to your student health center or a nearby hospital or your primary care doctor.
How to Prevent Meningitis
Because meningitis moves so quickly, learning the symptoms might not be enough. The best defense is always a good offense, and that holds true with meningitis, too. The same basic tips you aleady know apply here, too. The Mayo Clinic suggests frequent hand washing to cut down on the spread of germs, maintaining your immune system with exercise, rest and nutritious food system to make yourself less prone to illness, and covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze. Since meningitis is spread by mouth, it’s also not a good idea to share drinks or food, especially in winter and spring when the risk of contracting meningitis is the highest. Plus, not sharing drinks will help keep you from getting mono or that nasty cold spreading around your dorm, so it’s good to avoid anyway.
Although Dr. Humiston admits that sharing saliva isn’t a great thing for your health, she recognizes that it’s hard to live in a germ-free environment, especially in college. Germs are practically everywhere on a college campus. “Even if you’re not living in dormitories, you’re in contact with people who are,” Ashley cautions.
So with germs floating all around you, how can you keep from getting sick? “In terms of prevention, short of living in a bubble, get vaccinated,” Dr. Humiston says. Some colleges require a meningococcal vaccine before enrollment, but it’s always best to check with your doctor to make sure you’re fully protected. If you received the vaccination early, you might be due for a booster shot. And, depending on your medical history, you might need a few shots. Thankfully, the meningitis vaccine is safe: it contains no live strain of the virus, so getting vaccinated does not put you at risk for contracting meningitis.
Some schools offer the vaccine at the Student Health Centers, but many schools require you to be vaccinated at least ten days before stepping on campus. Check with your school’s health center about policies and whether or not the vaccine is available. Although there are other ways to contract meningitis, including the less dangerous forms like viral meningitis, the vaccine is the absolute best form of protection and the best way of lowering your risk for the disease.
Ashley’s story drives this point home. “I was not vaccinated,” she admits. “This doesn’t have to happen. If I was vaccinated, odds are that I would not be speaking you to today because this would not have happened to me.”
Find Out More
Ashley’s message is clear. “Even through all of that mess, it actually has shaped me to become a better person. I don’t like to feel like a victim.” And the best way she has of taking charge of what happened to her is through raising awareness about her story. “I’m trying to make a positive out of it, and help other people not have to go through it,” she tells us.
If you want more information on meningitis, check out the National Meningitis Association, where you can read and watch videos about stories of individuals affected by meningitis. And, of course, talk to your doctor to make sure you’re as protected as you can be.
Photo Credit:
Brian Hoskins
Benjamin Earwicker
Julia Freeman-Woolpert
Brian Hoskins