What is infectious mononucleosis? What are the symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of infectious mononucleosis?

What is infectious mononucleosis? What are the symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of infectious mononucleosis?

What is infectious mononucleosis? What are the symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of infectious mononucleosis?

What is infectious mononucleosis?
 Infectious mononucleosis is an acute disease caused by EB virus infection. Mainly manifested as fever, sore throat, lymph nodes and hepatosplenomegaly (to be known by doctors), peripheral blood showed atypical lymphocytes (to check blood to know). In addition, infectious mononucleosis may also affect some internal organs, such as liver, spleen, heart, brain, kidney, lung, pancreas, etc., causing complications of related organs, such as meningitis, myocarditis, anemia. Is infectious mononucleosis common? More common, and there is a trend of increasing year by year. How to treat infectious mononucleosis? Is it a very serious disease? Although there is no specific drug that can eliminate EB virus, the body's own immune system can eliminate the virus, so patients with infectious mononucleosis can recover. However, in a few cases, if complications occur in infectious mononucleosis, it may threaten the vital organs of the body and even lead to death. In general, most people can recover as long as they are discovered early and actively treated.


What are the symptoms of the infectious mononucleosis incubation period?
The incubation period is the time from infection to the onset of symptoms.


Infectious mononucleosis has an incubation period of 5 to 15 days. There are symptoms such as fatigue, headache, chills, nasal congestion, nausea, loss of appetite, and diarrhea during the incubation period.

What are the symptoms of infectious mononucleosis?
Symptoms vary, the severity varies, and the younger the symptoms, the less obvious the symptoms. Most children under the age of 6 are asymptomatic or mildly ill after illness, and the symptoms are obvious in patients over 15 years of age.

Typical symptoms include fever, angina, lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, and rash.

• Fever: Generally, patients will have fever, body temperature can reach 38 to 40 degrees, generally lasts for 1 to 2 weeks, and a few can last for several months.
• Angina: Most patients have this symptom, which is characterized by pharyngeal and tonsil swelling, sore throat, and some patients have a white film in the pharynx. People with severe symptoms may have difficulty breathing and swallowing, and may even cause suffocation.
• Lymph node enlargement: It occurs within 1 week from the onset of the disease, mostly cervical lymph nodes, and the enlarged lymph nodes usually disappear within a few weeks after the symptoms of fever disappear.
• Liver and splenomegaly: This symptom occurs in about half of patients. The degree of swelling is generally not too serious, occasionally abnormal liver function, and the spleen area (left upper abdomen) may have painful feeling.
• Rash: A small number of patients will have this symptom, appear within 1 to 2 weeks, more common in the body, rarely seen in the limbs, and subsided after about 1 week. The rash has various forms, such as papules, maculopapular rash, urticaria, scarlet fever-like rash, and hemorrhagic rash.
• Others: The eyelids may be swollen, and other internal organs may be affected.

Which organs are harmful to infectious mononucleosis?

• The most common organs to be harmed are the liver and spleen;
• Heart, brain, kidney, lung, pancreas and other organs will be affected;
• Occasionally the nervous system and blood circulation system will be affected;
• Bone marrow is the only organ that is rarely affected.

What are the complications of infectious mononucleosis?

• Central nervous system disease: the primary cause of death in patients with this disease. Such as Guillain Barre syndrome, meningoencephalitis, etc., manifested as irritability, nausea and vomiting, confusion, behavioral changes and muscle weakness.
• Circulatory diseases: such as myocarditis, pericarditis, manifested as palpitation, chest pain, difficulty breathing.
• Hematological diseases: hemolytic anemia, aplastic anemia, hemophagocytic syndrome, etc., the bleeding symptoms of the sick are more obvious, such as bleeding gums, skin spots and spots.
• Rupture of the spleen: relatively rare, but once it occurs, it is more serious. If the patient has splenomegaly, especially during the illness, pay attention to the inability to exercise vigorously.

Does infectious mononucleosis cause death? Will there be sequels?
It is possible, but not too worried.

Most patients with infectious mononucleosis died of serious complications such as myocarditis, meningitis, liver necrosis and spleen rupture.

Generally, patients who have no complications can be cured after active treatment, and there is no need to worry about sequelae after rehabilitation.

Does pregnant women with infectious mononucleosis affect the fetus?
Yes, pregnant women may cause miscarriage and stillbirth when they suffer from this disease. However, pregnant women will not directly transmit the disease to the fetus, and will not be transmitted to the child during the production process.

What is the cause of infectious mononucleosis?
The cause is the infection of the EB virus.

How is infectious mononucleosis infected?
The virus that causes infectious mononucleosis is mainly found in oral secretions and salivary glands. "Mouth-to-mouth transmission" is the main route, so some places call it "kissing disease".

What is the incidence of infectious mononucleosis?
It can occur throughout the year, but it is more common in the late autumn to early spring.

Because infectious mononucleosis is not very contagious, it is generally not widespread, and in most cases it is a single person.

Who is more likely to have infectious mononucleosis?
Mainly children and adolescents.

Most children under the age of 6 are asymptomatic or mildly ill after illness. Patients over the age of 15 have obvious symptoms. Patients over the age of 30 are rare, and those over 40 years old rarely suffer from this disease.


What tests should be done for suspected infectious mononucleosis?
The inspection should be divided into two parts:

• Confirm whether the patient is sick: blood is required for blood routine, peripheral blood smear, heterophilic agglutination test, EB virus antibody test, EB virus DNA test, etc.
• Confirm whether there is a complication: blood sampling is required for myocardial enzyme examination, liver function test, renal function test, and lumbar puncture for cerebrospinal fluid examination.

What is the difference between infectious mononucleosis and suppurative tonsillitis?
Both diseases have symptoms such as fever, sore throat, and redness and swelling of the throat. The difference is that suppurative tonsillitis has paralysis in the pharynx. Except for fever, it does not cause hepatosplenomegaly, nor does it affect other organs. Lymph nodes are occasionally visible. General blood tests can be identified.

How does infectious mononucleosis differ from leukemia?
The clinical manifestations of acute leukemia are mostly fever, swollen lymph nodes, hepatosplenomegaly, and are very similar to infectious mononucleosis. Generally can be identified according to the examination and blood test.

If it is impossible to identify due to complications or other reasons, a bone marrow examination can be performed to confirm the diagnosis.

Does infectious mononucleosis require hospitalization?
Depending on the condition and development, the doctor decides if he or she needs to be admitted to hospital. Hospitalization is required when more serious complications (such as meningitis, myocarditis, etc.) occur, but such cases are rare.

How long can infectious mononucleosis be cured?
Usually 2 to 3 weeks. The specific rehabilitation time depends on the severity of the disease and the treatment effect, and the longest period can be several months.

How to treat infectious mononucleosis?
The disease is caused by EB virus infection, no specific antiviral drugs, early use of ganciclovir, interferon and other drugs can alleviate symptoms and reduce the secretion of oropharynx virus, but these drugs can not kill EB virus.

Generally, only symptomatic treatment is needed, and it will heal itself after a period of time. Specific treatments include rest, less irritating food, and fever.

Patients with severe symptoms may receive gamma globulin intravenously or glucocorticoids for short courses. The gamma globulin can enhance the body's immunity and improve the body's ability to kill the virus; glucocorticoids have an anti-inflammatory effect and can quickly relieve symptoms.

The disease does not require the use of antibacterial drugs, only need to be used in the case of secondary bacterial infections.

When complications occur, treat the complication accordingly.

What is the cure for infectious mononucleosis?

• Symptoms such as fever disappeared, and no physical abnormalities were found by the doctor;
• Blood tests and liver function tests return to normal;
• The complications of the disease are cured;
• No recurrence within one month.

Have you got infectious mononucleosis and will you relapse later?
More persistent (30 years or even lifetime) immunity can be obtained after the disease, and there is very little recurrence. Even if it recurs, the symptoms will be very light and recovery will be faster.

What should people pay attention to in life with infectious mononucleosis?

• Pay attention to changes in body temperature and try to stay in bed.
• Eat light, easy to digest, high protein, high vitamins, easy to swallow food (such as vegetable lean meat porridge), pay attention to add water.
• When the patient has liver and spleen enlargement, large-scale exercise should be avoided to avoid rupture of the spleen due to collision.

Is infectious mononucleosis highly contagious? What should I pay attention to when getting along with patients?
Infectious mononucleosis is not very contagious.

The patient is less contagious during the recovery period of the disease, but it is still necessary to pay attention to the patient's oral food should not be eaten by others. The used tableware should be disinfected to avoid mouth-to-mouth contact with the patient.

Coexisting with the patient for a long time without wearing a mask, can contact common items, and the patient's vomit and excretion need no special treatment.

In addition, viremia can last for several months and blood is required to be isolated, at least 6 months after the disease is completed.

How to prevent infectious mononucleosis?
There are currently no specific drugs or preventive vaccines. You can prevent illness by:

• Avoid intimate contact with patients with infectious mononucleosis, try not to eat with the patient, and prevent the patient's saliva from entering his mouth.
• Pay attention to a balanced diet, regular work and rest, and strengthen your body to enhance your immunity.