Don't be a macho man

When I look back it seems like madness that I didn't go to the doctor sooner. Although I could never have imagined what was making me ill, I knew even before I went to hospital that something was badly wrong. But I ignored the warning signs. I had a lot to do at work all that week, then I was rushed off my feet at home, helping look after our two-year-old daughter. So that's how I ended up in the Accident and Emergency department of University College Hospital on a Friday morning.

The doctors suspected almost immediately what was wrong: meningitis. I was stunned. Meningitis? All I knew about the disease was its frightening, destructive powers. How on earth could a fit, healthy 32-year-old suddenly collapse from it?

It had started one evening five days before - with a headache. I don't normally get headaches. I took a couple of paracetamol and tried my best to ignore it. My wife, Natalie, and I both work and have a lot to do in the evenings. She is four months pregnant and Jessica, our daughter, tires us out at the best of times.

I didn't feel like going to work the next morning but I'm not much of a one for calling in sick. "How bad can it be?" I thought. I managed okay - the headache was still there but a steady stream of paracetamol helped. By the evening, when I went to a family meal, I was still feeling low. My limbs ached, as if I had flu, and everyone commented on how pale I looked.

I had a bad night's sleep. I was restless. My temperature rocketed. I sweated buckets. At one point I even got the shakes. All these symptoms, I only later learned, were possible indications of viral meningitis, a condition that, I now know, peaks during the early summer months.

But I still didn't call the doctor. I trooped off again to work the next day. It seems astonishing now. I thought, in some perverse macho way, that I could ride out the illness, whatever it was. It's the sort of attitude that infuriates my wife.

After another couple of days, I realised I wasn't getting better. I lost my appetite. I kept sweating and the headaches returned. I felt as if the whole of the outside of my skull was throbbing. My neck also began to stiffen up - not as if I had been working for too long at a computer, but a very strange, neural sensation. Again, I later learned, these were further signs of meningitis.

By a bad stroke of luck, my doctor's surgery is closed on Thursday afternoons. I resolved to go home, get into bed and, assuming I didn't feel any better in the morning, go to hospital. When I woke, I could scarcely move my neck. Natalie drove me to the hospital with Jessica. I soon realised the gravity of the situation, even before the doctors told me they suspected meningitis.

My temperature was way too high; my blood pressure was up; my urine showed I was dehydrated; a rash had appeared on my legs. I was given strong painkillers and a drip to rehydrate me. It was almost a relief finally to give in to the illness. But the realisation also sank in that I had been pretty stupid not to have sought help sooner. My machismo could have killed me.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the lining of the brain (the meninges). The doctors explained that there were two main kinds - bacterial, which is much more serious, and viral. The problem in the early stages of diagnosis is that many of the symptoms are the same for both forms of the disease. The bacterial kind strikes within hours and can be fatal. About 2,500 people a year catch it, of which about 250 die. Officially, only 800 cases of viral meningitis are recorded each year, although many more go undiagnosed.

Even though the hospital suspected I had viral meningitis, they took no chances. I was pumped full of antibiotics to fight any possible bacterial infection. While viral meningitis is not contagious, the bacterial kind can be passed on to others who have been in close contact, so Natalie and Jessica were banned from seeing me.

Over the next 48 hours, I had endless blood tests, a brain scan, an ECG check on my heart, and a chest X-ray. The definitive test for meningitis came last - a lumbar puncture, better known as a spinal tap, when a small amount of fluid is drained from the spine.

The tests were clear and I felt positively thrilled to be told I only had viral meningitis. Fortunately, the cure is rest. I didn't need to take any more antibiotics and, because it is not contagious, I could see Natalie and Jessica again. I was discharged from hospital the same day.

Recovery from meningitis is far from easy, however. The after-effects of bacterial meningitis and septicaemia (blood poisoning), which is also caused by meningococcal bacteria, can be extremely severe for those who survive. Some patients suffer brain damage and hearing loss. Lesser symptoms include depression, headaches, tiredness and mood swings, which can last for months or even years.

Victims of viral meningitis tend to recover more quickly, because it tends to be less severe. Indeed, experts believe thousands may unwittingly catch the disease but never realise it. "The 800 official cases of viral meningitis each year are the tip of the iceberg," says Will Guyatt of the Meningitis Trust. "A lot of less-severe cases are like a heavy summer flu. People just go to bed, rest and make a full recovery, so they aren't diagnosed."

The Meningitis Trust is this week launching a new campaign to raise awareness about viral meningitis, which peaks during the summer months. "The most common germ that causes viral meningitis is called an enterovirus and lives naturally in the gut," says Guyatt. " Transmission of the bugs is most commonly caused by poor hygiene. A simple and effective way of fighting the germs is washing your hands."

My own recovery was slower than I expected. The headaches and neck ache subsided in hospital, but I was shattered for more than a week afterwards. After a fortnight at home, I still didn't feel myself. Now I am back at work after a month away. I have been told not to work long hours which would put my body under too much strain. Even now, I don't feel 100 per cent.

But what I've learned is to listen to my body. Meningitis strikes when there is a weakness in the immune system. Doctors are often not sure why. In the case of viral meningitis, it is usually not worth the trouble to investigate in any case. But experts say there is anecdotal evidence that among healthy adults, stress, a heavy workload and lack of sleep can make someone more susceptible to the disease.

When the warning signs were flashing, I should have acted much sooner. If it had been bacterial meningitis instead of viral, I might not be writing this at all.