How to tell the difference between a normal bruise & a meningitis bruise?

Meningitis: If you're referring to petechiae (small blood spots), they can occur identically in conditions other than meningitis, but the diagnosis of meningitis will depend upon other aspects of the clinical presentation (fever, headache, nausea & vomiting, nuchal rigidity, alterations in sensorium or level of consciousness, neurological abnormalities, etc.). Go to an ER ASAP if you have these symptoms.

Easy! Read on...: Some kinds of meningitis can indeed bring easy bruising, specifically when caused by the meningococcus bacteria and sometimes pneumococcus (which mostly causes pneumonia). But never as the only symptom, only in people already deathly ill with meningitis: high fever, horrendous headache, altered consciousness, etc. If you otherwise feel well, easy bruising for sure isn't meningitis.