Mononucleosis history and symptoms
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-In-Chief: Lakshmi Gopalakrishnan, M.B.B.S. [2]
Overview
Symptoms of infectious mononucleosis are fever, sore throat, and swollen lymph glands. Sometimes, a splenomegaly or hepatomegaly may develop. Heart problems or involvement of the central nervous system occurs only rarely, and infectious mononucleosis is almost never fatal.
There are no known associations between active EBV infection and problems during pregnancy, such as miscarriages or birth defects.
Although the symptoms of infectious mononucleosis usually resolve in 1 or 2 months, EBV remains dormant or latent in a few cells in the throat and blood for the rest of the person's life. Periodically, the virus can reactivate and is commonly found in the saliva of infected persons. This reactivation usually occurs without symptoms of illness.
Symptoms
Asymptomatic
- In small children, the course of the disease is frequently asymptomatic.
Initial prodrome
- Common symptoms include:
- Fever: varies from mild to severe, but is seen in nearly all cases.
- Tender and enlarged/swollen lymph node, particularly the posterior cervical lymph nodes.
- Sore throat: white patches on the tonsils and back of the throat are often seen
- Muscle weakness and sometime extreme fatigue
- Some patients also display:
- Petechial hemorrhage
- Abdominal pain- a possible symptom of a potentially fatal rupture of the spleen.[1]
- Myalgia
- Headache
- Loss of appetite
- Depression
- Skin rash
- Diarrhea
- Dizziness or disorientation
- Uncontrolled shaking at times
- Unable to swallow due to enlarged tonsils
- Dry cough
Atypical presentation: Chronic fatigue syndrome
The course of the disease can also be chronic presenting with fever, tiredness, abnormal fatigue, depression, lethargy, and chronic lymph node swelling, for months or years. This variant of mononucleosis has been referred to as chronic EBV syndrome or chronic fatigue syndrome.
References
- ↑ Chapman AL, Watkin R, Ellis CJ (2002). "Abdominal pain in acute infectious mononucleosis". BMJ. 324 (7338): 660–1. doi:10.1136/bmj.324.7338.660. PMID 11895827.