What are the symptoms of Reye syndrome?
Typically, Reye syndrome occurs when a person is beginning to recover from a viral illness. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, lethargy, and indifference. The child may exhibit irrational behavior, delirium, aggressiveness, or rapid breathing. Fever is not usually present. The course and severity of the illness vary. Reye syndrome can be mild and self-limited, or it can progress rapidly, causing death within hours of onset, usually from brain swelling. The progression may also stop at any stage.
Reye Syndrome can cause the following symptoms: • The same symptoms as an illness such as chickenpox or influenza • Slowness or listlessness • Changes in personality or behaviour such as hyperactivity, confusion, aggression, or anxiety • Frequent vomiting, but this does not usually happen with babies or young infants • Dry-heaving, convulsions and delirium • Loss of consciousness which can lead to a coma Reye Syndrome occurs 3 to 5 days after the beginning of an infection or illness caused by a virus, or during recovery from the infection or illness. Reye Syndrome can be misdiagnosed as encephalitis or meningitis (swelling of the brain), diabetes, drug overdose, poisoning, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), or a psychiatric illness.
