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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Child Has Sore Legs, Intermittent Fever. Could That Be Meningitis Or Flu?

At what point should I consider that my 9 year old son could have meningitis vs just the flu? The symptoms are both very similar. He does not have a headache or stiff neck or vomiting , but he is achy/lethargic/fever/chills. He is complaining of very sore legs and can barely walk up the stairs...He has had on/off mild fever/chills now for almost 5 days in a row...If I was to take him in to the doctor, what would they do to assess him and rule out meningitis without taking the lumbar puncture? Obviously that is not the road I want to go down unless it was absolutely necessary and meningitis was a serious concern. Without seeing him, what would be your first questions to assess his condition and rule out meningitis? It is flu season and I know it s going around, so I don t want to be a hypochondriac, but the sore legs threw me since he has never complained about that before.
posted on Tue, 6 Nov 2012
Twitter Tue, 6 Nov 2012 Answered on
Twitter Tue, 6 Nov 2012 Last reviewed on
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Emergency Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
Hi Jenner,
Thanks for writing your query.
After reading your post, First thing I will like to say to you is that you should not worry. The symptoms you have mentioned are indicative of viral fever. In meningitis, neck stiffness is present.
Viral fever can result in leg pain due to myalgia(muscle pain).
It persists for few days even after fever has gone. Pain can be relieved by hot fomentation with warm saline water. For severe pain, pain killers can be taken like paracetamol/brufen,etc.
You should get your child examined by a Paediatrician.
I hope this is useful to you. Thanks
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Child Has Sore Legs, Intermittent Fever. Could That Be Meningitis Or Flu?

Hi Jenner, Thanks for writing your query. After reading your post, First thing I will like to say to you is that you should not worry. The symptoms you have mentioned are indicative of viral fever. In meningitis, neck stiffness is present. Viral fever can result in leg pain due to myalgia(muscle pain). It persists for few days even after fever has gone. Pain can be relieved by hot fomentation with warm saline water. For severe pain, pain killers can be taken like paracetamol/brufen,etc. You should get your child examined by a Paediatrician. I hope this is useful to you. Thanks