One of the more dreaded ailments to touch children, teenagers, and adults is infectious mononucleosis (mono), also known as glandular fever. The cause is an extremely prevalent virus known as Epstein Barr (EBV). EBV is actually one of the more common viruses for humans and, in fact, lies dormant in some cells of the body for entire lifetimes. It causes mono roughly 35-50 percent of the time when it attacks young adults and adolescents.
Unfortunately, EBV does not have noticeable symptoms and thus begins its reign as mono without warning. It is for this reason that there is no cure nor any type of vaccine for the condition, which is also a very contagious disease. However, it is unusual for anyone to get mono through the air or from contact with blood. Passing on the disease normally requires more intimate contact or some kind of contact with the saliva in the mouth. It should be noted, however, that many people actually carry and transmit EBV every day. This is why isolation of the patient is not often recommended by doctors.
The incubation period for mono is 4-6 weeks. This is the length of time that it takes for the infection to take hold and for symptoms of mono to finally appear. If someone is going to infect another person with mono, it will mostly likely be during this time.
On the long list of mono symptoms are fatigue, headaches, fever, sore throat, skin rash, cough, loss of appetite, and swollen lymph nodes, glands, and/or spleen. Since mono cannot be cured, physicians treat the symptoms until the patient is well.
Actually, it can take weeks and even months for a person to fully recover from a bout of mononucleosis. In a small number of cases, it can affect the heart and central nervous system. However, it is rarely fatal.
In general, the worst cases do not last longer than four months, but in situations where the disease lingers for six months or more, the diagnosis is changed to chronic EBV infection. In all cases, whether for infectious mononucleosis or the more advanced chronic fatigue syndrome, lab tests are required to confirm the presence of the disease. Among the requirements to be accessed as mono, there must be an elevated white cell count and a positive reaction to what is known as the mono spot test, which is easily conducted with a small blood sample that is mixed with other substances.
As a rule, the first of the mono symptoms to take root is a sore throat, characterized by redness in the throat along with inflammation. Fever is probably the most common of the mono symptoms. This can be extremely dangerous for young children as temperatures can reach as high as 104 degrees, sometimes causing them to seizure.
Swollen lymph nodes are frequently discovered in mono patients as well, especially in the neck area, but also in the armpit and groin areas. The combination of these swollen glands and inflammation of the throat can cause respiratory issues, primarily difficulty in breathing. Basic cold conditions such as sneezing, coughing, and a runny nose are signs of this.
While infectious mononucleosis is often a nasty and frustrating disease to have, most recover from it just fine as long as treatment for the various symptoms of mono begins promptly.
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