Encephalitis symptoms rarely begin dramatically. They start quietly and that quiet beginning is exactly why so many families miss them.
“She was acting strange,” the mother said, her voice breaking slightly. “Not herself at all. We thought maybe she was stressed about exams.”
The daughter, twenty-three years old, had started with what seemed like flu. Fever, headache, fatigue. Nothing alarming initially. But then came the confusion. She couldn’t remember conversations from hours earlier. Her moods swung wildly from laughter to tears. One evening, she had a seizure.
Encephalitis symptoms can be vague and sometimes easily dismissed: flu-like, headache, memory problems, drowsiness, unusual behaviour. Families often say the same thing at the bedside or afterwards: “We knew something wasn’t right, they just weren’t acting like themselves”.
The father remembered the exact moment he knew this was serious. His daughter looked at him without recognition. Her own father, and she couldn’t place his face. Every 20 seconds, someone, somewhere in the world, is diagnosed with encephalitis: inflammation of the brain. It can be caused by infections or by the immune system going wrong and attacking the brain in error.
Their daughter was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis. Her immune system had mistakenly attacked receptors in her brain. Mortality rates may reach up to 40 per cent in some forms of encephalitis. Survivors frequently experience long-term consequences including cognitive impairment, fatigue, memory loss, and emotional or behavioural difficulties.
“The hardest part,” the mother explained, “was not recognizing encephalitis symptoms earlier. We kept thinking it was stress or flu. We waited days before going to the hospital. Those days mattered.”
She recovered but faced months of rehabilitation. Memory problems persisted. Behavioral changes required therapy. But she was alive, and that felt like victory after learning how close they’d come to losing her.
Yesterday was World Encephalitis Day. Today, families still need to know encephalitis symptoms that could save lives.
F.L.A.M.E.S: The Signs Your Brain Is In Trouble
F.L.A.M.E.S stands for Flu-like Symptoms, Loss of Consciousness, Acute Headache, Memory Problems, Emotional/Behavioural Changes, Seizures. These are the symptoms most commonly found in both infectious and autoimmune causes of encephalitis.
Encephalitis affects three people every minute globally, yet almost 8-in-10 (77%) people do not know what it is. This lack of awareness leads to delays in diagnosis and treatment, resulting in death and poorer patient outcomes.
F is for Flu-like Symptoms. People with encephalitis often show mild flu-like symptoms such as fever, fatigue, headache, or body aches. Viral encephalitis symptoms develop quickly. Early warning signs of infective encephalitis include drowsiness, high fever, nausea and vomiting. These encephalitis symptoms seem ordinary, which makes them dangerous.
L is for Loss of Consciousness. Loss of consciousness is one of the warning signs that separate simple illness from brain emergency. When someone becomes difficult to wake or unresponsive, encephalitis symptoms have escalated to critical levels.
A is for Acute Headache. Not regular headaches. Symptoms of encephalitis vary depending on the affected area of the brain, but often include headache, sensitivity to light, stiff neck, mental confusion and seizures. The headache that comes with encephalitis symptoms is severe, persistent, and often accompanied by neck stiffness.
M is for Memory Problems. Confusion and disorientation are common signs of brain infections. They affect about 40-60% of adults with viral encephalitis. Encephalitis symptoms affecting memory can appear suddenly. People forget recent conversations, lose track of time, or can’t recognize familiar faces.
E is for Emotional/Behavioural Changes. Encephalitis can start with behavioral changes and unusual movement patterns affecting the mouth and face, cognitive decline and impaired function of the autonomic nervous system. Personality shifts, aggression, inappropriate behavior, hallucinations all qualify as encephalitis symptoms requiring immediate evaluation.
S is for Seizures. Seizures are a key warning sign of brain infections. They happen because the infection causes inflammation. This inflammation can mess with the brain’s electrical activity. Seizures as encephalitis symptoms can range from brief absence episodes to full convulsions.
Individually, each symptom might not alarm you. Together or rapidly evolving they should. The message is simple: Think brain in Flames. Think encephalitis.
Red Lights and Red Shirts: Why Yesterday Mattered
World Encephalitis Day takes place on the 22nd February every year. Since its launch in 2014, World Encephalitis Day has reached 225 million people directly in our efforts to grow international awareness of encephalitis.
The #Red4WED campaign lit landmarks red worldwide. Piccadilly Circus in London. Times Square. People wore red and shared stories on social media. The World Encephalitis Day Appeal for 2026 is dedicated to amplifying the voices and experiences of people whose lives have been changed by encephalitis, aiming to raise £50,000.
The World Encephalitis Day Alliance Conference in Denver used the sub-theme “Empowering Hope” for its 2026 gathering, bringing together experts, survivors, and families to share knowledge and support.
But awareness days pass. Encephalitis is brain inflammation that can be life-threatening or cause long-term complications. Treatment varies, but most people require hospitalization so they can receive intensive treatment, including life support. The encephalitis symptoms don’t wait for convenient timing.
When Simple Symptoms Hide Serious Danger
Autoimmune encephalitis develops more slowly than infectious encephalitis. This gradual onset makes encephalitis symptoms easy to dismiss. Someone becomes forgetful. Maybe they’re stressed. They seem irritable. Maybe they’re tired. Small personality changes accumulate until suddenly the person you know has transformed into someone you don’t recognize.
Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, known as “brain on fire” disease, happens when the immune system attacks the brain by mistake. Early signs include feeling flu-like and changes in behavior. People might experience psychosis and hallucinations. Symptoms include psychosis, hallucinations, and mood swings. Other signs are seizures, speech problems, and memory loss.
Many people do not have any symptoms of encephalitis. However, in other cases, people may experience disturbances in motor function, including uncontrollable jerking movements of the head, trunk, or limbs. The variability of encephalitis symptoms challenges even experienced doctors.
A sensation of déjà vu is a common finding in early stages of herpes simplex virus encephalitis. That strange feeling of reliving something already experienced isn’t just odd. It’s your brain signaling distress.
Infectious encephalitis is usually caused by a virus. Viruses are the most common cause of encephalitis. Some different viruses include herpes viruses, viruses you can get if you are bitten by an infected tick, and viruses spread by mosquitoes. But autoimmune encephalitis happens when your immune system mistakenly attacks healthy brain cells.
What Happens When You Wait Too Long
Delayed or missed diagnosis of encephalitis can cause permanent injury to the brain or death. Delays in diagnosis and treatment can lead to poorer outcomes. Every hour matters when encephalitis symptoms appear.
Encephalitis requires urgent hospital admission. Treatment depends on the underlying cause and may include antiviral medications, antibiotics, corticosteroids, immune globulin, plasmapheresis, physical therapy, speech therapy, and mental health support.
Every 20 seconds, someone in the world is diagnosed with encephalitis. The speed of that diagnosis can save their life or significantly alter it. The family who waited days before seeking help? Their daughter recovered but with lasting cognitive difficulties. Earlier treatment might have prevented that permanent brain damage.
Encephalitis strikes 10-15 people per 100,000 each year. Encephalitis affects over 500,000 people worldwide annually with approximately 89,900 deaths. These aren’t just statistics. They’re people whose encephalitis symptoms were missed, minimized, or misdiagnosed.
World Encephalitis Day amplifies awareness, but recognizing encephalitis symptoms needs to happen every single day. The F.L.A.M.E.S. acronym gives everyone a framework for identifying brain inflammation early. Flu-like symptoms combined with confusion? Memory problems appearing suddenly? Behavioral changes that seem out of character? These encephalitis symptoms demand immediate medical evaluation.
The landmarks will stop glowing red. The social media posts will fade from feeds. But encephalitis symptoms will keep appearing in people who’ve never heard of this condition. Share the F.L.A.M.E.S. signs. Remember them. Recognize when your brain or someone else’s brain is in flames. That recognition saves lives, prevents disability, and gives families their loved ones back.
