Mononucleosis In Children

Mononucleosis in children as well as adults is an infectious disease also known as “kissing disease. ” Although this second name seems affectionate, its symptoms are not so affectionate since it is an infection caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).

The age most prone to contraction is between 15 and 25 years, although young children can also contract it because they are always exposed to adult kisses.

It is very important that no one kisses our child on the mouth. Nor their own parents since the mouth is one of the places where more bacteria and viruses live in our body and we can infect them as in the case of mononucleosis.

Causes of mononucleosis in children

Mononucleosis is not as easily spread as a cold, but its symptoms affect the lymph nodes, throat, salivary glands, liver, and spleen. As we can see, it is not silly and we must know its causes to try to prevent contagion in our children.

Here we leave you the main forms of contagion by which your child can contract this virus:

• It is mainly spread by saliva. This is why it is so important not to let anyone kiss our child’s mouth. Nor do we let him share food utensils, toys that he chews and puts in his mouth and of course; no oral hygiene utensils.
• Sharing pillows with an infected person will probably lead to contagion.
• Exposing ourselves to witness the cough and sneeze of an infected person.

Main symptoms

To know how to act in case of suspicion of the existence of this disease, it is important to know the symptoms that it causes in order to be able to identify it easily. These are the main symptoms:

• Very high fever
• Swelling and sore throat.
• Increase and irritation in the glands of the neck.

• Muscle tiredness or muscle pain.
• Cough or snot
• Swelling of the eyelids
• Spleen enlargement (this can only be explored by the doctor).
• General illness, headache, loss of appetite, etc.

Treatment of mononucleosis in children

The reality is that there is no such thing as a cure for mononucleosis. Antibiotics are not effective because it is a disease spread by a virus.

It is a long-lasting disease, the virus begins to disappear on its own during the next four weeks after the first symptoms appear. It is advisable to try to alleviate these symptoms in order to improve the mood of the child who suffers from it.

We recommend that you:

1. Keep your child hydrated at all times to keep their throat cool.
2. Help him and take responsibility for his oral cleaning. It is advisable to gargle with salt water.
3. If the doctor has decided that you should take ibuprofen, it is very important to be aware of the schedules and the doses that it has set.
4. The child should be relaxed and get enough rest so that his body better fight the infection.
5. We will try to lower the child’s fever if it exists.
6. We must avoid that the child performs excessive physical activity, especially if the virus has inflamed his spleen to prevent its rupture.
7. Due to the inflammation, it will be difficult for the child to eat solid and hot food. You will have to replace these foods with soft ones such as dairy products, warm purees and creams, juices, yogurts etc.
8. Keep the child away from smoky places that can further irritate his throat.
9. Disinfect often; pacifiers, toys, glasses or any object that is put in the mouth since the virus survives outside the body for several hours and we can cause another contagion.

Regarding its duration

The duration of this disease will depend on the ability of each organism to fight against this virus. First of all, we must understand that this disease can become asymptomatic up to 7 weeks after being infected. As we can see, its incubation period is very long.

From the onset of the first symptoms, the average estimated duration of mononucleosis in children is around 2 and 4 weeks, although this is a tentative estimate.

What else do I need to know?

On very few occasions this disease gives rise to complications but we still warn you of some of the symptoms that indicate them:

• Sharp pain in the upper left part of the abdomen.
• Feeling confused or dizzy
• Blurry vision.
• Fainting.

Finally, it is important to know that the person who is infected with this virus will have it in their body for the rest of their life. Rest assured, this does not mean that you also have symptoms for life, but that the virus will reside in the body but losing its effectiveness each time.

A person who has had mononucleosis does not have to be aware of not infecting another person all his life, but it is important that he be careful during the first year since he had it.