Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffIf you have only mild symptoms, you may not need to see your doctor at all. However, if you have signs or symptoms of a more serious infection, your doctor will probably tell you to go to the nearest emergency room for care. At the hospital, you will likely see a doctor who specializes in nervous system disorders (neurologist) and possibly, a doctor who specializes in infectious diseases.
Symptoms often come on quickly, giving you little time to prepare. However, if you have a few minutes before you're seen by your doctor, here's some information to help you get ready for your appointment, and what to expect from your doctor.
What you can do
- Write down any symptoms you're experiencing, including any that may seem unrelated to the reason for which you scheduled the appointment.
- Make a list of all medications, including both prescription and over-the-counter drugs, as well as any vitamins or supplements that you're taking.
- Ask a family member or friend to go with you, if possible. Sometimes it can be difficult to remember all of the information provided, and you may not feel well enough to make decisions without help. And, depending on the severity of your infection, you may be confused and unable to make decisions on your own.
- Write down questions to ask your doctor.
For encephalitis, some basic questions to ask your doctor include:
- What's the most likely cause of my symptoms?
- Are there other possible causes for my symptoms?
- What types of tests do I need? What's involved in those tests?
- What treatments are available, and which do you recommend?
- Are there any brochures or other printed materials that I can take home with me? What Web sites do you recommend?
In addition to the questions that you've prepared to ask your doctor, don't hesitate to ask questions anytime that you don't understand something.
What to expect from your doctor
Your doctor is also likely to ask you a number of questions, such as:
- When did you first begin experiencing symptoms?
- Do you recall any recent insect bites?
- Do you spend a lot of time outdoors or work in a profession such as landscaping?
- Have you ever had a sexually transmitted disease?
- Do you have any chronic illnesses?
- Have you traveled to other countries?
- Encephalitis and meningitis fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/encephalitis_meningitis/detail_encephalitis_meningitis.htm. Accessed March 21, 2009.
- Tyler KL. West Nile virus infection in the United States. Archives of Neurology. 2004;61:1190.
- Johnson RP. Viral encephalitis in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 12, 2009.
- Willoughbly RE Jr, et al. Encephalitis, meningoencephalitis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, and acute necrotizing encephalopathy. In: Long SS, et al. Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/127224884-3/819357724/1679/50.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06687-0..50049-7--cesec19_1078. Accessed March 21, 2009.
- Eastern equine encephalitis fact sheet. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/arbor/eeefact.htm. Accessed March 21, 2009.
- St. Louis encephalitis fact sheet. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/sle/Sle_FactSheet.html. Accessed March 21, 2009.
- LaCrosse encephalitis. Directors of Health Promotion and Education. http://www.dhpe.org/lacenceph.asp. Accessed March 21, 2009.
- Peters CJ. Infections caused by arthropod- and rodent-borne viruses. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2895916. Accessed March 21, 2009.
- Encephalitis. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec16/ch217/ch217c.html. Accessed March 21, 2009.
- Voelker R. Effects of West Nile virus may persist. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2008;299:2135.
- Insect repellant use and safety. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/qa/insect_repellent.htm. Accessed March 22, 2009.
- Follow safety precautions when using DEET on children. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://www.aap.org/family/wnv-jun03.htm. Accessed March 22, 2009.
