Meningitis: Trust Your Instincts campaign launch

23.01.12

'Trust your instincts' urges charity Meningitis UK

A LIFE-SAVING campaign has been launched this winter urging people to trust their instincts if they suspect a case of meningitis.

A Meningitis UK-commissioned survey reveals that the UK public trusts GPs far more than other professions such as bankers, politicians, and journalists.

It showed 43 per cent of people trust GPs implicitly compared to just three per cent for bankers and one per cent for politicians, estate agents and journalists.

However, findings also show that only 25 per cent of people will trust their instincts and take further action if they are still worried after receiving advice from a doctor.

The charity wants people to have the confidence to trust their instincts if they suspect meningitis and to keep pushing at the doctor's surgery if they still suspect the disease.

Cases of the disease traditionally peak in February and Meningitis UK is advising people to know the symptoms and keep checking if they suspect signs of the disease which attacks the body quickly.

Celebrity GP, author and patron of Meningitis UK, Dr Phil Hammond, said: "As a doctor, meningitis is the disease which you are terrified of misdiagnosing.

"It is a race against time to save a life which is why I believe strongly that listening to your gut feeling is the right thing to do and can help doctors make an earlier diagnosis.

"Missing the signs of meningitis can have the most devastating outcome for a family so I would encourage people to have the confidence to speak up and question their doctor if they still fear meningitis."

Meningitis can strike down anyone, of any age, in less than four hours.

During colder months when immune systems are weakened and viruses circulate, dangerous bacterial forms of meningitis strike.

Head of development at Meningitis UK, Kate Rowland said: "We hear of so many cases where lives have been saved by people acting on their gut instinct and seeking medical attention immediately.

"It is fantastic that people have so much trust in their GPs, however on average a doctor will see one case of meningitis in their whole career and the symptoms are notoriously difficult to diagnose.

"This is why we want to work with GPs to help them spot meningitis by encouraging people to trust their instincts and have the confidence to question the doctor if at all in doubt. People know themselves and their children best.

"The disease can progress very quickly after visiting the doctor so it's important to keep checking for the symptoms and to re-seek urgent medical attention if they appear."

The classic signs of meningitis are a headache, stiff neck and dislike of bright lights. Other symptoms include fever, vomiting and diarrhoea, and confusion and drowsiness.

Symptoms typical of septicaemia which can also occur are cold hands and feet, leg pain and abnormal skin colour.

The early symptoms of meningitis are often confused with the common cold and the specific symptoms such as the rash often appear late.

Babies and young children can't say how they're feeling so it's important to look out for other symptoms such as a high pitched cry, dislike of being handled, blotchy skin, pale or turning blue, a bulging soft spot on the baby's head or poor feeding.

The charity is offering the public a free fridge magnet which, for the first time, separates the specific and general symptoms of the disease.

To request your free symptoms fridge magnet or to find out more about Meningitis UK's Search 4 A Vaccine Campaign, call 0117 947 6320 or visit: www.meningitisuk.org

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PRESS CONTACTS

For more information about Meningitis UK, call press officer Melanie Jago on 0117 303 33 41.

NB: Regionalised statistics on how much people trust their instincts are available.