Recently, my teenage daughter woke up with a very sore throat. When I took her to the doctor, she was swabbed for strep and had her finger pricked for the mono test. A few minutes later, the nurse practitioner came in and announced my daughter had mononucleosis. My daughter groaned “People are going to say I have the kissing disease.”
Yes, mono is often called “the kissing disease” but that is because it spreads easily through bodily fluids like saliva. In my daughter’s case, I think it was from sharing water bottles at dance practice. The infection is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (or EBV) and results in fatigue, fever, sore throat, headaches, and swollen lymph nodes. The Mayo Clinic states that while rest and enough fluids are keys to recovery, it's important to be careful of certain complications, such as an enlarged spleen.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, there are two peaks when people acquire EBV: early school-age children and again around adolescence/young adulthood. Young children often don’t have symptoms, whereas teenagers and people in their 20s are most likely to get mono. About 1 in 4 people in this age group who get EBV come down with mono, but anyone can get it, no matter their age. The CDC states you can avoid contracting mono by practicing excellent hygiene and not sharing drinks, food, or personal items (like toothbrushes) with people who are sick.
Resources:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mononucleosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20350328
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/13974-mononucleosis
