Essex vet nurse who survived bacterial Meningitis urges people to learn disease symptoms
She was in hospital over her 30th birthday
A 31 year old mum from Essex who survived bacterial Meningitis is urging people to familiarise themselves with the symptoms of the disease and to get checked out if they're concerned.
Ipek SeyisIpek Seyis, from Chafford Hundred, got bacterial Meningitis, which is caused by bacteria infecting the lining surrounding the brain and spine, last year and was in hospital during her 30th birthday.
As a new poll by the Meningitis Research Foundation has found just one in 20 people know what symptoms to look for, Ipek is urging people to get to know common symptoms for the disease.
The poll shows most know to look for a rash and a dislike of bright lights but fewer know to look out for shivering, breathlessness and mottled skin.
Ipek says she didn't know all of the symptoms until she was diagnosed: "I'd been having these headaches for 2-3 days which were similar to the kind you get when you're slightly dehydrated or run down, so I thought I just needed to drink some more water.
"My son was also 6 months old at that time, so running after him everywhere was quite exhausting and I put the headaches down to that, but then they started turning into migraines.
"I tried taking paracetamol but it was progressing, and I was getting dizzy with the floor moving under me.
"I then got the most excruciating headache I've ever experienced in my life. There was pressure all around my head, with a searing pain, and it felt as though any kind of pressure, like a cough, would cause something to snap in my head...
"It was really bizarre and I felt really, really nauseous - I couldn't move my head properly and I was not in a good state, but because I wasn't too familiar with the Meningitis symptoms, I put it down to a really bad migraine, took some paracetamol and tried to sleep it off, which clearly wasn't a good idea once we found out what it was!"
Ipek is also trying to warn people to take the disease seriously, saying that, whilst children and teens are most commonly associated with Meningitis, anyone can get the disease: "It wasn't at the forefront of my mind when I was becoming unwell because I've only ever known babies and students when they go to university to have it, so it's not something I've ever associated adults with, but no, it can absolutely can happen to anyone."
Ipek is now recovered, has been signed off by her neurologist and is once again working full-time, as a neurology vet nurse at Southfields Vet Specialists, helping treat animals that can also suffer with Meningitis.
She hopes that sharing her story will raise awareness of the disease and its symptoms, and will save others: "My advice to everyone would be to really familiarise yourself with all the symptoms, and if you have any gut instinct that something doesn't feel right, just follow it...
"Even if you just want to make sure, or if you think you're going to come across as paranoid, just go and get checked out because it is not worth waiting. Get it checked out as soon as you can."