Signs and Symptoms of Mono-The Kissing Disease
Posted: Saturday, August 09, 2008
by Teresa Ortiz
Freelance writer/Speaker
"Mom, something is wrong with me, I can't breathe." As I turn to respond to my son's somewhat broken voice, my jaw dropped at his appearance.
His face was so swollen; his eyes were beet red and he could barely open them. My first thought was a spider bite. I asked him if he remembered being bitten by something at work. This wouldn't be out of the ordinary since he works nights unloading freight from long haul trucks.
I immediately called the clinic and they suggested I take him to urgent care. As we sat in the waiting room, I noticed a lump the size of an egg protruding from his neck. He pointed out a lump shaped like a golf ball under his chin. What is going on?
The doctor noticed his stomach and sides were swollen as well. "Have you ever had mono", the doctor asks. My son and me, chuckle at the possibility that he would have the "kissing disease". Mono can't be this serious, can it?
The nurse drew blood and an hour later came back with a positive test result. The doctor went on to say that it is imperative he get plenty of bed rest, no physical activity, no lifting and definitely no sports whatsoever. "Excuse, me", I say. Justin went on to tell the doctor that he just came off a nine-hour shift, and all he did was lift boxes. He told the doctor that he felt like he was going to die. He never experienced such weird pain and he kept feeling faint. Naturally, I looked at my son and asked him why he didn't call me to come pick him up. Although I shouldn't be surprised. He takes his responsibilities seriously.
The doctor told my son he was lucky his spleen did not rupture, and what he was experiencing was the effects of pushing his body farther than he should have.
As I sit there and process all of this information, I was taken back to my high school days when everyone joked about this kissing disease. It was no big deal, or so we thought. But then again, no one in my circle of friends ever had it, so how would we know.
I'm brought back to the present as the doctor returns with the list of symptoms and appropriate care instructions.
The list reads like this:
Symptoms of Mononucleosis:
* Tiredness
* Headache
* Muscle aches
* Sore throat
* Nausea
* A loss of appetite
* Swollen glands
~~~~~~
Four weeks ago, my son switched from the day shift to the night shift; this took some getting used to. His sleeping and eating habits were dramatically affected. Three weeks ago, we moved-he was helping his dad move furniture all day and then worked two 11-hour shifts, back to back. In the midst of this, we noticed he wasn't eating well and he seemed lethargic. We thought nothing of it, as he was obviously tired from his lack of sleep.As the days went on, we noticed red and glossy eyes. We kept asking him if something was wrong. He just kept saying he was tired. We all agreed that this night job wasn't working out and he needed to give notice. In the meantime, there was a gradual change in behavior--quiet, not eating and those glossy eyes. Some might have thought he was "getting high". It did seem to fit, but somehow we knew this wasn't the case. Then the headache came. At this, I took him to the doctor. His doctor said he might have bronchitis due to the sore throat and headaches. Great, we thought. After completing his round of anti-biotic, he was worse instead of better. What was obviously the beginnings of mono, could have been perceived as a child smoking pot, and even led his doctor to believe it was something else.
~~~~~~
As we went over Justin's recent activity with the doctor, we learned that a sudden change in activity and lack of sleep weakened his immune system. It all made perfect sense.
As I continued to read this information sheet, I was surprised to learn how serious this virus can be:
How long will it last -- What to watch for:
* 4 – 6 weeks recovery time
* An uncommon complication can be an abscess on one or both tonsils. Seek immediate medical attention if symptoms persist longer than two-weeks.
* No heavy lifting or physical activity due to the possibility of an enlarged spleen, which can rupture, causing severe bleeding which requires surgery.
* It can take several weeks, and in some cases several months, for the body's immune system to overcome the virus.
How to prevent the spread of mononucleosis:
The virus that causes mono is called the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). It is spread mainly through saliva. (Hence the nickname "kissing disease".) There is no known cure for this virus.
Therefore, you should avoid the following:
* Sharing food
* Sharing eating utensils
* Drinking from the same container
* Kissing
Taking care of yourself:
* Get lots of rest
* Take ibuprofen for the fever, sore throat or muscle aches.
* Drink more fluids
* Call your doctor is the symptoms get worse instead of better
~~~~~~
From the first sign of glossy eyes and fatigue to the correct diagnosis in Urgent care, it was three weeks.
I could beat myself up for not responding to this sooner, but not having experienced this before, it didn't seem like anything other than a cold. Now I know different. Justin spends at least 15 hours a day sleeping. After one week, the swelling in his face has gone down, but he still has the big lumps in his throat, making it difficult to breathe.
I suppose the biggest lesson in all of this is that if an antibiotic is not working as it should, don't assume it's just a cold. Call your doctor immediately; make a list of your child's symptoms. If they resemble the above in any way, ask the doctor to test for mono. If my son had gotten proper rest early on, he wouldn't be as bad as he is today.
On a lighter note, his biggest frustration with this is he cannot ride his dirt bike. "I'm wasting valuable practice time", he says. There is a race scheduled for the end of September. I may have to handcuff him to his bed to keep him from going if he is not 100% better by then.
Teenagers.
* Information source: Clinical Reference Systems 2008 Copyright. http://www.mdconsult.com
(C) Teresa Ortiz
This Article has been viewed 3,594 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
More commentshi t,that was beautifully written, i am so glad you wrote this, i don't think many of us know the seriousness of this virus, i didn't. my kids didn't get chicken pocks until they were 14, 17, and 19, and i couldn't believe how serious it was. my daugther told me the one day was the worst day of her life. we throw words and names around, but until we go through it ourselves, sometimes we don't know the severity. i wish your son well,thanks for sharing,my best,sueHi Sue, I didn't have any clue either. I did hear that the older you are, the worse the chicken pox can be. I can imagine your your daughter felt. Thanks for the well wishes!
Hi Teresa,Thanks for sharing the info, I hope that Justin feels better very soon! I'll keep him in my prayers. Have a great weekend! :)LisaHi Lisa! Thanks so much for the prayers!! I hope you have a wonderful weekend as well.
I had a similar experience 5 years ago when my son had appendicitis. Not knowing the symptoms we ended up prolonging the illness until it was pretty extreme. It started with what appeared to be stomach flu--vomiting and slight fever. After several days of bedrest he still was tender in the lower abdomen and was starting to walk slightly hunched over, like an old man. We called the doctor but were reassured that it was the flu. After a week, he still had a fever and we started wondering if something was more seriously wrong. Finally we took him in. The dr. didn't recognize it at first and took several tests. The next day he called and scheduled an ultrasound. As soon as the nurse looked at the ultrasound we were sent immediately to the hospital for surgery. His appendix had burst and because we had waited so long, it had started to turn gangrene. He spent a week in the hospital recovering.All this to say, I so understand your experience as a parent. We felt so badly that we hadn't taken it more seriously and had allowed it to get to such a serious stage.Thank you for all the information. Several weeks after our son had his appendectomy a friend's son had similar symptoms. We were able to tell her, without hesitation, to get to the doctor asap, and sure enough, it was appendicitis. Your article will no doubt help someone else diagnose the illness more quickly!Good job!!Hi Lisa,Thanks for adding your experience here, I know it will help others as well. I am so sorry his appendix burst, but praise God it was caught in the early stages of what could have been an extremely serious situation. (As if if wasn't bad enough.)And praise God, your experience was helpful to another so quickly. I think it's great and helps us to deal when we can be a source of encouragement to others.Again, thanks for adding your story here. Lord bless you abundantly!!I suppose we can't be too hard on ourselves for not being all-knowing.
Teresa, what many don't know is that this is common in schools, especially high school where they share quite a bit and frequently it is spread from person to person and many times it never has anything to do with "kissing". It is one of those that stay with a person and unless they take care they can relapse. Great article as usual.Hi Anon, thanks for contributing. I appreciate the comments and the kind word. I just hope his girlfriend doesn't end up with it. That would not be good.God bless you!
Teresa, yes my daughter had it in her senior year and while high school is an age where you might expect anything it doesn't mean your child got it from kissing., In fact they sahre quite abit that would be a possibilty from gum to food to drinks without concern. So much for warnings to youth. The sad part id this stays with you forever and you must insure you are always in shape. Good job.Hi Robert, I did here it was pretty common for the high school age. No wonder, I remember sharing food and drinks all the time!Ya, the paperword said that you can keep it in your system once you get it and can relapse at anytime you run your body to thin.No more working nights for him. :-) God bless!!
Hi Teresa,I hope your son is well on the mend by now. Trying to keep them down once they feel better is a challenge, though, so good luck with the dirt bike thing. Wishing you a stress free week!PatriciaHii Patricia,Thanks for the well wishes! Same to you, and yes, it will be a challenge :-)God Bless you!
Good article. It has some great information.Hi Candles,Thanks for reading and the comment. I do hope it is useful information at some point for someone :-)God Bless you Always!
Teresa, Epstein-Barr is so common, but few people realize all it can turn in to. Thanks for explaining the symptoms and for sharing your family's personal experience. You have had a whirlwind few weeks! I will be praying for health, peace and rest for all of you.Hi Lorrie, that is what the paper said. I didn't know that so many people walk around with the dormant virus. It has been a crazy few months. I told the girls this morning, that I finally feel like "me" today. It's been awhile. Thanks for the prayers. My husband is working on the floors and is pretty tired from working 7 days a week for the last 2 months. He will have a few days off next week. Thank God. We/He definitely needs the prayers for strength and energy. Yesturday was my first day back at church in weeks. Hopefully he will make it back next week. He's running on empty.Have a blessed week! love ya!
Hi Teresa;
I'm so glad you got your son to the doctor. Several years ago I too had mono and it was no joke. The pain itself is horrible to deal with. You would've thought I had a rubber ball in my throat from the swelling.
I'll definitely keep him in my prayers for continual strength and healing.Hi Deborah ! Thanks for your response. Apparently a lot of people have had it. I am surprised I never saw this before. I feel for you.Thanks so much for the prayers! Everyone has been so gracious in that area and he is feeling better everyday!Lord bless you bunches!Hi Deborah--its good to see you joined us here at searchwarp!!
Hey! thanks so much for writing this. i am twelve yrs old and i hv mono. its really hard because i have loads of homework and my teachers r rly strictbut now i no tht i just need to rest and shouldnt bother with hw! haha thnks again!beststephanie fHi Stephanie,thank you for reading. I am so sorry to hear about your mono--yes, get lots of rest and drink lots of water! Justin was better in 5 weeks and did not have a relapse because he followed doctors orders. He also drank lots of Orange, Pineapple, and Bananna Juice. He said it was great. You should have your mom buy you some :-)I will be praying you get better quickly.Don't forget your homework :-) God bless you, Stephanie
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