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What Causes Headache And Neck Ache In A Patient With Head Injury?
Question: My son had a head injury November 2010, and we don't know if these symptoms are related to that. For a few years he seemed to be improving from the injury but had lost some executive functioning.
He is now 17, has been to an ER about a month ago and was thought to have viral meningitis - they did not do the spinal tap to know for sure, but treated for that. At that time he had a headache, neck ache, trouble with light and trouble thinking clearly.
He also had mono in October and they thought it was either a sinus infection causing the meningits or related to the mono. They did not do the spinal tap to know for sure.
Could this be a sinus infection they didn't diagnose?
Now has headache, blurred vision, neck ache, numbness in jaw and testicles, nasal congestion, and chills/fever. He has had trouble sleeping for 4 months.
My thermometer is not working right- it says 93.
What steps should I take to get him help.
We live in San XXXXXXX
He is now 17, has been to an ER about a month ago and was thought to have viral meningitis - they did not do the spinal tap to know for sure, but treated for that. At that time he had a headache, neck ache, trouble with light and trouble thinking clearly.
He also had mono in October and they thought it was either a sinus infection causing the meningits or related to the mono. They did not do the spinal tap to know for sure.
Could this be a sinus infection they didn't diagnose?
Now has headache, blurred vision, neck ache, numbness in jaw and testicles, nasal congestion, and chills/fever. He has had trouble sleeping for 4 months.
My thermometer is not working right- it says 93.
What steps should I take to get him help.
We live in San XXXXXXX
Brief Answer:
Read below.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question and I understand your concern.
I must say I am a little perplexed by the doctors making a diagnosis of meningitis and not making any tests to confirm this diagnosis and the type of microbial cause.
Severe traumatic injury can be a cause for abnormalities of the patients airways causing sinusitis and also abnormal communications with the cavity inside the skull causing meningitis. Judging by your son's symptoms with the neck ache most probable would be a case of recurring meningitis. That doesn't exclude the sinusitis, meningitis could be related precisely to an abnormal communication between the meninges and the sinus, making for the infection to spread from the sinus to the meninges.
So I believe he should be checked in the ER, have a head CT and a spinal tap as well as other routine tests for infection. If infection is confirmed whether sinusitis, meningitis or both should be determined by those tests and possibly antimicrobial therapy started.
When it is a case of recurrent meningitis, head imaging like with CT can study the presence of abnormal communications and at times a surgical procedure to prevent that from reoccurring may be performed.
I remain at your disposal for further questions.
Read below.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question and I understand your concern.
I must say I am a little perplexed by the doctors making a diagnosis of meningitis and not making any tests to confirm this diagnosis and the type of microbial cause.
Severe traumatic injury can be a cause for abnormalities of the patients airways causing sinusitis and also abnormal communications with the cavity inside the skull causing meningitis. Judging by your son's symptoms with the neck ache most probable would be a case of recurring meningitis. That doesn't exclude the sinusitis, meningitis could be related precisely to an abnormal communication between the meninges and the sinus, making for the infection to spread from the sinus to the meninges.
So I believe he should be checked in the ER, have a head CT and a spinal tap as well as other routine tests for infection. If infection is confirmed whether sinusitis, meningitis or both should be determined by those tests and possibly antimicrobial therapy started.
When it is a case of recurrent meningitis, head imaging like with CT can study the presence of abnormal communications and at times a surgical procedure to prevent that from reoccurring may be performed.
I remain at your disposal for further questions.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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