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Debunking the myths about mono

Erin Bowen

Colleen Williams doesn't know how she caught mono-but she's positive it wasn't a game of tonsil hockey gone wrong.

Mononucleosis ... the kissing disease, right?

Yes and no.

With rates highest among college students, mononucleosis is much more complex than a simple kiss.

Williams, 20, a Miami University sophomore, thought she was just tired. As a college student, however, Williams wasn't convinced that fatigue was much of an abnormality. Her schedule is routinely jam-packed with her business fraternity, sorority and class-not to mention sneaking in time for a little fun.

"I'm usually a really active person," Williams said, "but all I wanted to do was nap. I literally couldn't get through the day without one. I knew something was wrong when I started to lose my appetite."

Williams scheduled an appointment with the Student Health Services Center, where a blood test was administered.

Positive.

"I immediately called my dad sobbing," Williams recalled. "I didn't understand exactly what having mono meant. It's a huge label-mono."

Sarah Korn, 19, also a sophomore, first felt sick over Thanksgiving Break. She returned to Oxford from Midland, Mich., against her better judgment. Before she knew it, Korn was seriously ill.

"I started feeling really, really tired all the time and it got to the point where I couldn't walk at all," Korn said. "Then I started getting fever blisters and ulcers in my mouth, which was what made me go to the health center."

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Like Williams, Korn received her results quickly... and positively.

"My mom came and got me when I found out that I had mono because I literally couldn't walk to class," Korn said. "My ulcers were so bad I couldn't talk, eat or drink anything."

Williams' parents also visited from Cleveland after learning the news.

"I stayed with my parents in their hotel for the weekend," Williams said. "All I did was sleep as my mom tried to force me to eat."

The worst was not over for Williams. Four days after her visit to the health center, she awoke in the middle of the night, unable to breathe.

"I woke up gasping for air," Williams said.

At the McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital emergency room, Williams was prescribed steroids to reduce the swelling of her tonsils.

"My tonsils were almost completely touching," Williams said.

Unlike Williams, Korn was unable to stay in Oxford during her illness. Home in Michigan, Korn was admitted to the hospital for two days.

"My ulcers weren't healing and they were really infected," Korn said. "It turned out that I was extremely dehydrated as well because I hadn't eaten or drank anything in a week, so I had to stay at the hospital to get IVs and stuff."

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the cause of mononucleosis and the suffering that follows.

According to Tammy Gustin, acting director for clinical services for Miami University Student Health Services, transmission of the virus requires close contact-but not necessarily kissing.

"Sharing drinking glasses, utensils, really any sharing of saliva is all it takes," Gustin said.

Once the virus is passed from one person to the next, Gustin said the incubation period is about 30 to 45 days. During this period, the infected person is contagious and may pass on the virus to others.

"The length of each individual's incubation period depends on the strength of the immune system," Gustin said. "If the person even shows symptoms after being exposed to EBV, it's all up to the immune system."

Some people contract EBV, but never feel sick, Gustin said.

"About 80 percent of middle-aged adults would test positive for the virus," Gustin explained, "but obviously 80 percent of the population has not had mono."

The most common symptoms that prompt a mono test, according to Gustin, are fever, sore throat, swollen glands and fatigue. Other signs that mono might be the cause of ailments are dark urine and abdominal pain.

If mono is suspected, Gustin said a blood test could quickly test for antibodies. Results are conclusive within 10 minutes.

With mono, however, no easy fix exists.

Medications can help keep fevers down, but mono symptoms simply take time to subside, Gustin said.

"There's no cure for mono," Gustin said. "It's a viral infection, but it's good to be sure if you have it so that other complications don't arise."

Complications such as an enlarged spleen, lymphoids and tonsils are common.

Gustin said that all contact sports and activities in which the spleen might be placed in jeopardy should be avoided at all costs. A ruptured spleen is rare but serious.

Those suffering from mono are also more inclined to other infections like strep throat, Gustin said.

"People with mono should also know that the liver works overtime," Gustin said. "No alcohol should be consumed."

Like many other maladies, Gustin says mono patients need about eight to 10 hours of sleep and fluids.

"You will feel really crummy for about three weeks," Gustin said, "and tired for a couple months."

Korn and Williams are not alone with their experience with mononucleosis. Gustin said that she sees three or four new cases of mono each week at the Miami University Student Health Services Center. Gustin is just one of eight practitioners who see about the same rate.

"Mono is very common in the close quarters that come with being in college," Gustin said.

After hearing the results of her blood test, Williams continued to struggle with both her illness and schoolwork.

"It was so hard for me to stay awake and focus," Williams said. "My grades really suffered and I lost nearly all of my regular study habits because of how much I slept. I had to make an effort to meet with my teachers to help work things out."

Williams said it took about two months before she started to feel like herself again.

"I just recently started working out again," Williams said.

A little bit more than a month and a half was what Korn needed to fully recover.

"It took me all of Christmas Break to get better," said Korn. "I was really worried it would come back when I was doing sorority recruitment because that's a lot of hard work with no sleep, but so far it hasn't come back-knock on wood."

Not only are the physical symptoms of mono hard to shake, the emotion stigma is also hard to shake.

"All of my friend teased me about who I might have been kissing," Williams said. "My guy friends all made fun of me."

Korn shared a similar experience.

"It was really annoying having to be home with mono because my whole family would be like, 'So who's the boy you've been kissing? Who gave this to you?'" Korn said. "I could have gotten it from kissing, but I also could have gotten it from sharing drinks or using someone's lipgloss or something random like that."


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