Mono...What's the Big Deal?

Most people know the illness Infectious Mononucleosis, or its nickname Mono, as the kissing disease that leaves you feverish and tired for weeks. It is very common in teenagers and young adults, affecting millions in the US alone. Everyone in their teens and twenties either was personally affected or knew of someone who was affected by Mono. It affects about 50% of the US teenage population alone. Its symptoms was first recognized in the late 1800s by Russian pediatrician Nil Filatov and later by a German pediatrician, Emil Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer discovered discovered familial clusters with common symptoms of fever, fatigue, and swollen glands. Mononucleosis as a classified disease was not published until 1920 by Thomas Sprunt and Frank Evans at Johns Hopkins. It's link with the Epstein- Barr Virus was not discovered until 1967 at the Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania by the Henles.

But what exactly causes Mononucleosis? That was discovered in 1967 with the association of the Epstein- Barr Virus to the disease. EBV is one of the most commonly spread viruses in humans, and usually is spread through saliva. In more rare cases, EBV can be spread through other bodily fluids, such as mucus, tears, vaginal secretion, or even blood. EBV especially affects the B lymphocytes in your glands, resulting in swelling. The B cells can spread the disease to all parts of the body, mostly including the spleen, liver, and bodily lymph nodes.

Mononucleosis is the most common disease that is a result of the Epstein-Barr virus. Its most common symptoms include sore throat, fever, swollen lymph nodes or glands on the neck, and fatigue. In more severe cases, body aches, especially in he upper left quadrant of the abdomen, which is a result of an enlarged spleen. There could be an increased risk in rupturing the spleen during mono due to its larger size, and so rigorous activity is advised against. If you take antibiotics for mono, sometimes rashes can occur. In general, these symptoms may last four to eight weeks.

Obviously, if you feel that you have a lot of these symptoms, it would be advised to call a doctor to get diagnosed. There are mononucleosis tests, including a monospot test and EBV test, that screen for antibodies present when mono or  EBV is in the body. Blood clumping in a monospot test indicates the antibody heterophil is present, and so mononucleosis is in the body. A complete blood count may also be done to rule out more serious illnesses such as sickle cell when diagnosing mono. Less common diagnosing tests include liver tests to test if mono has spread to the liver. It is most important to know that if you have any or multiple of these symptoms, talking to a doctor sooner rather than later is highly beneficial to you as well as those you could affect.

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