Reye’s Syndrome; Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment

Symptoms of Reye syndrome

Symptoms of Reye syndrome are varied and depend for the most part on the virus that caused it. Since influenza viruses are the most commonly implicated, the most common symptoms include:

• Runny nose
• Generalized body aches
• Coughing, sneezing and a sore throat
• Gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea, abdominal pain, and vomiting.
• Skin rash may be the only presenting symptom in many cases, especially when the causing virus is varicella, the one causing chicken pox.

Having those symptoms is, of course, not suggestive in the least that your child will develop Reye syndome, but they are usually the main initial symptoms of those who later developed the condition.

Regarding symptoms that are more specific to Reye syndrome, they develop in the following order:

• Worsening of symptoms of the original disease days after its start.
• Severe vomiting that starts a few days after the original disease. This vomiting increases by time and becomes uncontrollable by medications.
• Feeling of sleepiness and lethargy alternating with irritability. This also progressively increases and then fits occur. When fits start, the condition becomes severe enough to damage the brain and coma follows.