Scots student rushed to hospital after mistaking meningitis for Covid symptoms

A student who thought she had Covid was rushed to hospital after she was actually suffering from deadly meningitis. Edinburgh University student Alice Jenkins woke up on May 18 with aching limbs and a temperature and assumed she had the virus as her flatmates in student halls had tested positive the week before.

The students were planning a blowout after exams finished and were supposed to be going clubbing that night but Alice, 19, spent all day sleeping.She eventually Facetimed her mum, Sarah, 58, complaining she was feeling poorly.Alice, from Esher, Surrey, woke up from a nap she was dripping with sweat and had a rash.Her mum Sarah told her to do a 'tumbler test' - pressing a glass against the rash to see if it disappeared.When it didn't, she told Alice to dial 999.Sarah, who serves as a magistrate, was clued up on the symptoms of meningitis as a neighbour's daughter had died of it aged only 14 years old.Her quick-thinking meant Alice, who studies PPE, was able to get medical treatment immediately, which meant she has suffered no lasting damage - unlike many young people who can end up with hearing loss, paralysis or brain damage from the illness.Alice said she was embarrassed to call 999 and a friend phoned for her.She was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh where she became so ill she was unconscious - and says she thinks the experience was more harrowing for other people, as she can barely remember it.Within 24 hours she was aware of medics around her talking about paralysis, but both parents rushed to be with her.On May 19 she was taken to the infectious disease unit at the Western General Hospital, which she described as being like out of American Horror Story.She was discharged on May 24 and said she