It is one of the most common human viruses and people can become infected by it sometime during their life - in the US, as many as 95% of adults between 35 and 40 years.
People are often unaware they carry the virus, which is spread through blood or saliva, sharing a drink, or sharing eating utensils. Because of the close interaction between pupils and students, the age group between 15 and 25 years has the highest infection rate
Signs and symptoms
After an incubation period of between four to eight weeks, (shorter for children), the first symptoms appear.
Typical signs of mono are:
- Fever (mild to severe)
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Enlarged and tender lymph nodes on both sides of the neck
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Sore throat
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Fatigue (sometimes extreme)
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Aching muscles
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Headache
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Puffy and swollen eyes
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Loss of appetite
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Weakness
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Dizziness and/or disorientation
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Night sweats
At the doctor's office
The family doctor may find an enlarged spleen and/or liver and jaundice (yellowed skin and eye whites).
Usually the outward signs and symptoms are enough for the doctor to make the diagnosis, which will be backed-up by blood tests. (Although these sometimes come back negative for the monospot -test.)
With mono, the white blood cells rise significantly. Liver function tests are also high; there can be anemia (lack of iron) and low platelets count. (Blood cells involved in clotting.)
Just give me antibiotics, and I'll be fine
There is no treatment and/or cure for mono. Antibiotics won't help because mono is a viral infection. Only in cases of a secondary throat infection, doctors may describe antibiotics.
The “only” thing the patient can and must do is listen to the doctor's advice, which usually consists of:
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Take lots of rest
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Drink lots of fluids
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Limit activity, especially in the first 2 weeks after the diagnosis. Avoid strenuous exercise, until the doctor gives the green light. The enlarged spleen may rupture, creating a life-threatening situation.
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Use of painkillers, but no aspirins! The blood cells involved in clotting are low, making you prone to bleedings.
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Gargle with salt water or suck on lozenges to relief the sore throat.
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No need to be quarantined, but don't kiss and don't share your glass with others.
Usually the symptoms ease after a week or two, but if they recur or don't seem to get better, you have to visit your doctor again.
Feel better? Back to normal? Or perhaps not.
It may be two to three months before patients feel completely normal, and it all depends on how much rest they give themselves. The more they rest, the quicker the recovery.
If they return to school, or their job, too soon, there can be a relapse, which takes even longer to bounce back.
The most difficult part of this “disease” is the fact patients have to be very patient during the time their body fights the infection.
Different infection forms of mono
Mono establishes a lifelong, dormant infection in some cells of the body's immune system, which sometimes shows up during routine blood tests (without the signs and symptoms). The patient doesn't even realize he has been infected with mono.
There are different forms of infection:
- Primary
- Past infection (shows from the blood tests)
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Reactivation, which sometimes can occur without outward symptoms to the carrier.
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Chronic EBV infection, which may happen when the illness lasts more than 6 months. Further tests have to be done to see if there are no other illnesses with similar symptoms.
A chronic mono infection can merge into the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Non-active and hard to accept
All in all, it's a viral infection that causes the patient feeling drained of energy, lethargic, sometimes even depressed. Especially for busy people, mono can be difficult to accept. The only thing they can do is lay in bed and sleep.
Listen to the “red-flags”
If these people listen to their body, take their time, and don't push themselves too hard, they can be up and around within two months.
But if they refuse to listen to the “red flags” the body waves at them, in the end they will be the “losers”, for it will cost them double time to recover.
And as with all medical questions: when in doubt, see your doctor! Better safe than sorry.
