All About G

Infectious mononucleosis, (also known as the kissing disease, or Pfeiffer’s disease, in North America as mono and more commonly known as glandular fever in other English-speaking countries) is seen most commonly in adolescents and young adults, characterized in teenagers by fever, sore throat, muscle soreness, and fatigue.

The typical symptoms and signs of mononucleosis are:

* Fever—this varies from mild to severe, but is seen in nearly all cases. * Tender and enlarged/swollen lymph nodes—particularly the posterior cervical lymph nodes, on both sides of the neck. * Sore throat—White patches on the tonsils and back of the throat are often seen * Fatigue (sometimes extreme fatigue)

ahem My symptoms at this moment (it’s day 2)...

– Tender and enlarged swollen lymph nodes (the posterior cervical lymph nodes, to be exact) – Sore throat (not pathces yet… it’s only day 2) – Fatigue… extreme fatigue…

Some patients also display:

* Enlarged spleen (splenomegaly, which may lead to rupture) and/or liver (hepatomegaly) * Petechial hemorrhage * Abdominal pain * Aching muscles * Headache * Loss of appetite * Jaundice * Depression * Weakness * Skin rash * Dizziness or disorientation * Uncontrolled shaking at times * Dry cough * Enlarged Prostate * Supra-orbital oedema—the eyes become puffy and swollen—may occur in the early stages of infection – Muscle ache (I know I’m sore from track, but I can tell what’s from track, and what’s not, and I’m achy as in not from track… plus my body feels like it weighs a ton)
-Headache (a really nice one, I might add… not a migraine yet, thank God) – Loss of appetite? (Actually, that’s true, because I’m not as hungry as I would be normally… which sucks because I gave blood yesterday _) – Weakness (again, my body feels like it’s a block of lead) – Dizziness/disorientation (well, I do feel dizzy, but I thought that was from my headache?) – Uncontrolled shaking (well, that’s from the fact that I gave blood, and that I haven’t been eating much since then)

So… yea… I went in to get tested for strep throat… but I was thinking about it more… I hope I don’t have mono. That would REALLY screw me over for the semester. But then again…

Symptoms of strep throat include:

* Sore throat * Red and Black patches in the throat. * Difficulty swallowing * Tender cervical lymphadenopathy * Red and enlarged tonsils * Halitosis * Fever of 101 F/38C or greater * Rash [1] * Frequent cold chills * Absence of cough * White spots on tonsils * Desquamation (peeling skin on fingertips) a few weeks after treatment – Sore throat (uhhh… duh?) – Difficulty swallowing (yup) – Tender cervical lymphadenopathy (if it’s the same thing as tender posterior cervical lymph nodes, then yes) – Red and enlarged tonsils (were they red when the nurse checked them? I don’t recall) – Halitosis (I’ve always had bad breath XDDD) – Frequent cold chills (yep, though I don’t have a fever) – Absence of cough (yup, definitely)

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Hopefully, I’m over-reacting.

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