Light Sensitivity
Extreme light sensitivity or photophobia is another common sign of meningitis. It causes difficulty with vision in sunlight or under bright lights, squinting, migraine-like headaches and eye pain. After being exposed to the viral, bacterial or fungal infection, many symptoms like light sensitivity develops quickly (usually within a couple of hours) or sometimes in 1 or 2 days. Photophobia is also considered an early symptom of meningitis, so if it develops qiuckly, you should consider looking other common signs and symptoms of meningitis and see your physician before it worsens.
As meningitis causes inflammation of the optic nerve, you may experience blurring of vision and diplopia (double vision). In a majority of cases, the inflammation will eventually go down and your signs like light sensitivity and blurred vision will return. However, in some severe cases, meningitis can cause partial or full blindness in one or both eyes. Sometimes meningitis causes optic nerve damage beyond repair, which is an important reason why it’s critical to get yourself examined and treated as soon as possible.