Mono Info

[cakerookie]

Yeah I would be willing to help out too. Unfortnately I am about 800 miles away. Good Luck Pan.

[Mezzaluna]

Panini, maybe you have what Momo got!

Momo, I hope your case of the itchies lasts the least possible time. I had it as a kid and have a small scar on my forehead as a memento. When my younger brothers got it, my mom used Aveeno oatmeal baths and it was soothing. They didn't have the lotions back then, but I hear it's a good product.

Good luck, and do take it easy! Viralmd, are people with cases like this at risk for shingles??

[momoreg]

Good luck, Panini. I really do wish I could help!!

Thanks, Mezz., I'm trying to put mind over matter here. It'll be over soon enough.

[viralmd]

The monospot test is occasionally negative, but can become positive later in the course of the illness. Heterophile antibodies are the key finding in the lab, but heterophile antibody negative infectious mononucleosis can be caused by a number of agents aside from the usual Epstein-Barr virus, including cytomegalovirus, and similar syndromes can occur with viral hepatitis and acute toxoplasmosis, and, sadly, acute HIV infection. Itching? I have no idea what that has to do with it! The classic triad of symptoms includes fever, lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph glands) and sore throat. Rupture of the spleen is a rare but very dramatic complication of infectious mononucleosis. It most commonly occurs in the second or third week of illness. While most cases resolve spontaneously in two to three weeks the overwhelming fatigue does take longer. But EBV (Epstein-Barr Virus - the culprit here) can hang on in some patients. I'm sure this is more than you ever wanted to know...

[Mezzaluna]

Viralmd, I think the itching refers to the fact that Momoreg now has chicken pox!