Encephalitis - Symptoms of encephalitis
- Introduction
- Symptoms of encephalitis
- Causes of encephalitis
- Diagnosing encephalitis
- Treating encephalitis
- Complications of encephalitis
- Preventing encephalitis
- Prevention
The symptoms of encephalitis are initially mild, but they can quickly become more serious.
Encephalitis usually begins with flu-like symptoms, such as:
- high temperature (fever) of 38C (100.4F) or above
- headache
- nausea and vomiting
- joint pain
After this initial stage, more serious symptoms can begin to develop within hours or days, which may include:
- changes in mental state, such as confusion, drowsiness or disorientation
- seizures (fits)
- changes in personality and behaviour
- loss of consciousness
Flu-like symptoms that rapidly get worse and affect a person's mental state should be treated as a medical emergency. Dial 999 immediately to request an ambulance.
Other symptoms of encephalitis can include:
- sensitivity to bright lights (photophobia)
- inability to speak
- inability to control physical movements
- stiff neck
- hallucinations (seeing and hearing things that aren't there)
- loss of sensation in certain parts of the body
- partial or total vision loss
- involuntary eye movements, such as side-to-side eye movement
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