Mono what is it and how do you get it

Enlarged spleen and a swollen liver are less common symptoms. For some people, their liver or spleen or both may remain enlarged even after their fatigue ends. Most people get better in two to four weeks; however, some people may feel fatigued for several more weeks. Occasionally, the symptoms of infectious mononucleosis can last for six months or longer.

EBV is the most common cause of infectious mononucleosis, but other viruses can cause this disease. Typically, these viruses spread most commonly through bodily fluids, especially saliva. However, these viruses can also spread through blood and semen during sexual contact, blood transfusions, and organ transplantations.

There is no vaccine to protect against infectious mononucleosis. You can help protect yourself by not kissing or sharing drinks, food, or personal items, like toothbrushes, with people who have infectious mononucleosis. If you have infectious mononucleosis, you should not take penicillin antibiotics like ampicillin or amoxicillin. Based on the severity of the symptoms, a healthcare provider may recommend treatment of specific organ systems affected by infectious mononucleosis.

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What is Mono? How do you contract mono? What are the symptoms of mono? What is the treatment? How does mono affect my overall health? Is there any way to prevent it? Come see the experts at Lifespan Urgent Care. About the Author: Lifespan Blog Team The Lifespan Blog Team is working to provide you with timely and pertinent information that will help keep you and your family happy and healthy.

Related Posts. Find a Doctor. Search more than 1, providers in our network. This is called the incubation period. To make things even more confusing, some people can carry the virus without ever getting any mono symptoms. So they may not know they have been infected, but they can still pass it to others. In fact, most people have been infected with EBV by the time they reach adulthood. People are definitely contagious while they have symptoms, which can last 2—4 weeks or even longer.

Health experts aren't sure how long people with mono stay contagious after symptoms are gone, but it seems they can spread the infection for months after that. Then, the virus stays dormant inactive in the body for the rest of a person's life.