Issue date: 1/28/08 Section: Money/Health

Media Credit: MCT

Kissing can be a very fun activity. Many people partake in it often and find it quite enjoyable. However, as a result sometimes the kisser or kissee ends up contracting an unpleasant virus - mononucleosis.

Mononucleosis, commonly known as mono, is a viral illness caused by the Epstein-barr virus, said Sarah Olson, a nurse at Eau Claire Medical Clinic, 703 W Hamilton Ave.

The virus is spread through contact with saliva, which is why it has been given the nickname "the kissing disease," Olson said, adding that there are other ways to catch it than through kissing.

Common symptoms of mono include fatigue and inflamed or swollen lymph nodes and throat.

"Usually people just know they are very sick, tired and weak," Olson said, although many may not realize they have mono.

Senior Dana Schachtner said she had had mono over the summer and it lasted for over two months, though the symptoms were off and on.

"The symptoms would fade out and I would have good weeks and really bad weeks," she said. "I had a sore throat that would be bothersome and it would get really bad so I couldn't swallow water."

When patients come in with mono symptoms, it is pretty easy to diagnose them with lab work and a test called the mono spot test, Olson said.

Junior Amber Srock was diagnosed with mono two weeks ago. She said she felt sick for a while leading up to her diagnosis, and finally went to urgent care when her throat started closing up.

"I had a fever and couldn't talk," she said. "My whole throat and tongue were swollen. I couldn't move, just sat on the couch all day."

Olson said there isn't a cure or medication that helps speed up the recovery process.

"You pretty much just wait it out," she said. "You just need rest and fluids."

One of the biggest risks with mono is an enlarged spleen, she said, so doctors recommend no heavy lifting or contact sports, so patients don't get hit and rupture their spleen.

"There's nothing to heal mono," she said. "Sometimes patients receive cortico steroids to help to reduce swelling in the spleen, throat and tonsils. Tylenol and ibuprofen can also be helpful for a fever."

Schachtner said she felt tired, but the symptoms were never too drastic. She also experienced swollen lymph nodes, sore throat, canker sores and an unusually rapid heartbeat.

In addition to physical symptoms, Schachtner said having mono also affected her socially and at work.

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