Salisbury mum joins call for parents to know ALL the symptoms of meningitis
A survey has found only 5% of parents know all the signs
Meningitis and septicaemia are "more than just a rash", a charity has warned, as a new poll suggests only one in 20 parents know all the symptoms.
The YouGov survey of 1,300 parents in the UK found that mothers were eight times more likely than fathers to know what to look out for.
More than three quarters of parents (78%) knew that meningitis, which is caused by bacteria infecting the lining surrounding the brain and spine, is life-threatening and can kill within 24 hours.
Most also knew that meningitis and septicaemia can cause a rash and many knew the classic meningitis sign of people disliking bright lights.
Other symptoms less well known
However, symptoms more typically associated with septicaemia had the lowest levels of awareness, with cold hands and feet/shivering recognised by less than a third (30%) of parents, followed by breathing fast or being breathlessness (33%) and pale and mottled skin (43%).
People had some awareness of other symptoms of meningitis, such as stiff neck and severe headache.
The poll was carried out for theMeningitis Research Foundationto mark World Meningitis Day.
Symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia can be hard to distinguish from other mild illnesses such as flu, particularly in the early stages of illness.
Those at greatest risk are children under five, followed by teens and young adults.
Claire Wright, head of evidence and policy at the Meningitis Research Foundation, said the easiest way to think of septicaemia is as blood poisoning caused by the same bacteria as meningitis.
She added: "Every day we support people who are coping with the life-changing impact of meningitis and septicaemia, from deafness, to limb loss, to epilepsy or long-term memory issues.
"Yet the bacteria that trigger these illnesses can be defeated in our lifetime through better vaccine development, availability and uptake, improved diagnostic tests and through knowing when to get medical help.
"It's also important to remember meningitis and septicaemia are more than just a rash, which doesn't always appear.This poll tells us that not enough parents are aware of some of the other signs to look out for. We want to change that, so more lives can be saved."
Haydn's story
Jeanette Harrison from Salisbury lost her 10 year old son Haydn to bacterial meningitis in 2011.
One of the first symptoms the St Osmund's school pupil had was muscle pain.
"He said his leg was hurting and he hopped down the stairs, half an hour later he was sick, just once. Most of the morning I was giving him medicine for his temperature. Later that day he said he was hot so I said take your pyjama top off and I noticed a mark right in the middle of his chest and one on his leg, it was a reddish purpley colour and then I saw loads of little spots. That wasn't the first symptom that was the muscle pain which I didn't know was a sign. Everyone just thinks of the rash"
Instinct told Jeanette to call 999 and Haydn was taken to Salisbury District Hospital, by that evening the rash had taken over his body.
"He was basically covered red and purple from head to toe, I don't think we would have recognised him if it wasn't for us blonde hair."
Haydn was transferred to Southampton Hospital where he later needed to have both his legs and his right arm amputated due to the tissue loss from septicaemia.
He then developed an infection and his organs began to fail.
Haydn died with his family around him on Friday 17th June 2011.