Since I can contract meningitis from kissing...?
Yes you can get meningitis from kissing. That is considered close contact. You may not think you are paranoid, however you actually do sound a bit paranoid. Sorry... At any rate, before you go and start kissing on some one or anything else like it you may want to get to know them first. If it is a concern that they are a "carrier" you will at least know them enough to know how their health is long term. Meningitis can be a fatal disease, however you do have more than hours before it becomes a fatal issue. Feeling like you do (a bit paranoid) I imagine if in the rare circumstance you were close enough to someone who actually had meningitis and did contract it; I am sure you would be in the ER receiving treatment as soon as symptoms appeared .... meningitis or not. Good luck with your issues.
Made out with boy, Meningitis?
there could be a possibility that you could have picked it up, I would contact your doctor and have him run a work up to see if you have it. Better to catch it early then late as its not as uncommon as people think. To diagnosis meningitis they need to do what is called a lumbar puncture and it can be painful , also do you know what type he had because as most people don't know but there are different types the most common being bacterial meningitis and different kinds of bacteria can cause meningitis.Best bet is to contact your doctor and tell him what happened and your symptoms.
Get Meningitis Shot or No?!?
No vaccine is ever useless. Had there been efficient vaccines back in the 1970s, I wouldn't have had to suffer the measles as a kid. I survived, but it wasn't fun at all. Can you imagine how it feels for a kid to suffer from inexplicable skin itches and high fever? As an adult, of course, you can sit your disease out and hope that your immunity system will do the job right, but for a kid, it is just horrible pain and an inexplicably bad situation. Now go get your shot, don't hesitate. The more people in a crowd that are immune, the lesser the risk for other people in the crowd that the virus can spread. There are, basically, no useless vaccines. But, evolution's a b'tch, and presents us every year with new variations of flu viruses, and as we're not as fast yet as to timely react to them, the flu vaccination from last year will probably be useless against the new strain, and even the one from this year may prove to be a failure. It is true that a vaccine provokes an immune reaction, and some people get a round red spot around where the needle was set. But that is normal! Take a sewing needle and puncture your skin somewhere, and you'll also see a red spot. A vaccination takes about two seconds, that's just like "Needle in, needle out", and you'll almost feel nothing. So fear of needles is no excuse for not getting vaccinated, and if you have that fear, you still have a responsibility to not endanger your fellow people, and must overcome it. Modern vaccines are usually injected into muscles, you can choose, arm or buttocks, right or left, and you won't see a single drop of blood. Being vaccinated helps you, and it helps other people. That's my most important point to make: A disease you can't get can't spread to other people. Even if you don't care for yourself, which is your own decision, your responsibilty towards your fellow people should dictate that you take every measurement possible to save them from diseases.
How easy is it to catch meningitis?
There are two types of meningitis, bacterial and viral. Viral meningitis would be caught the way any other virus is, through the air and the bacterial usually with direct contact with a person who has it or an item that they have recently touched. I haven't ever heard stories about how fast meningitis kills people or how contagious it is. I have known 2 people in all my 60 yrs that have had it and both are fine now.
Can you get anything from kissing?
I have gotten mix answers from people. I heard from just a peck you cant get anything. If you can get things from drinking off people and all that then it makes me think from just a peck you can get something. Maybe herpes?
Can you get meningitis from a water bottle?
I know it's weird, but my mom once told me that leaving a water bottle out too long (as in not refridgerating it) can cause bacteria- including the kind that cause meningitis to form. From what I've read about meningitis, my understanding is that the bacteria are already in people's bodies, and the immune system is typically able to fight off the infection- except in an extremely small number of cases. Is this true? Or, can the bacteria develop on water bottles and get into the body, thus causing a meningitis infection? Any clarification would be great!
Why is drinking out of the same water bottle sometimes considered gross but kissing is completely fine?
I can only answer based on what little l know: When humans exchange saliva during a kiss, or an adorable baby may slobber on you, or even a puppy, the mind's pleasure center is activated in varying degrees. But to share a drink, even with that same person you may have kissed, the mind is not stimulated in the same way.The mind can imagine saliva mixed with soda or water. It , your mind does not illicit the emotions such as fear, pain, sorrow, lust, joy. It thinks logically about germs, etc.But in a different situation, such as sharing water with a stranger in a desert or by force, your mind thinks survival.The mind and emotions is an interesting topic .
Is there anything wrong with a parent kissing their Child on the lips?
I’ve never done it nor have most people I know. In fact I’ve never seen anyone kiss their child on the lips. I do associate lip - kissing with sexual behavior to some degree, simply because — like touching particular body areas — it’s something you do pretty exclusively with an intimate partner.I also think lip - kissing is far more likely to transmit illness than a hug or peck on the cheek. I’d never have been comfortable kissing my infants or small kids on their lips for this reason alone.Having said that, I’d really hesitate to call the practice inherently wrong. I can certainly imagine a community or culture where it’s accepted. I think about the USA where two men holding hands is practically a hanging offense, compared to other cultures where it’s an acceptable sign of affection.~*~Update after some research: there is a risk of transmitting herpes to a child when an adult’s mucous membranes touch the child’s (mouth kissing). About half of all adults have it now and most contracted it between the ages of 1 and 5. You can transmit it without having a visible cold sore.One newborn died of it when it spread to meningitis. Her parents were negative for HSV so the doctors say it was someone else kissing her or otherwise touching her that ended up in her death.So at this point I’d say, err on the side of caution and don’t kiss your kids on the lips and CERTAINLY don’t let anyone else. It’s not as if that’s the only way to show affection. I gave my babies/kids tons of physical affection without putting my mucous membranes in contact with theirs.Cold Sores in Children: About the Herpes Simplex VirusHow to protect your baby from herpes infection | Your Pregnancy Matters | UT Southwestern Medical Center