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)
…
Hopefully, I’m over-reacting.
Oct 04 2007