What it is, and how to avoid it this season
Although students may be quick to call a common cold mono, Wardenburg officals report no significant increase in cases. However, if mono does strike, students can take precautions to brace themselves against severe symptoms.
“There have been no significant change in numbers (of mono cases) from last year,” said Sandra Sonoda, a registered nurse working in infection control at Wardenburg Health Center.
Sonoda stated that Wardenburg saw 23 cases of mono from Aug. through Oct. last year. This year, there have been 19 cases starting in August up to Oct. 3rd.
According to Sonoda and information on mono from Wardenburg, the severity of the viral infection varies widely. Some people do not even know that they have it, while for others symptoms are quite extreme. Mono can take two weeks to two months to incubate. After that, symptoms, such as sore throat, extreme fatigue headache, sore joints, appetite loss and fever appear for one week to one month. The fatigue outlasts the other symptoms, lingering for two to six months.
An infected person can pass mono starting several days prior to symptoms appearing and anywhere from six months to a year after that.
Some students who have been infected with mono find that it can be a little less scary than it seems.
“It hasn’t been that bad really,” Tyler Square, a freshman ecology and evolutionary biology major said. “I had a very bad sore throat, my neck was stiff, and I had a very bad headache. About three days after my symptoms went away I braced myself for the fatigue that I heard so many horror stories about…that never came to me.”
How to prevent and rid yourself of mono
Mono is a virus, which means that it can’t be killed off by antibiotics. It is best to drink 8-10 glasses of non-caffeinated fluids per day and sleep at least 8 hours a day.
For a sore throat, gargle salt water or use throat lozenges, hard candy or frozen foods like popsicles.
Mono sometimes enlarges the liver so avoid alcohol. It can also enlarge the spleen so avoid rigorous physical activity.
The virus inhabits a person’s saliva, and can be spread by kissing, sharing of kitchen utensils or even coughing. It is a fairly tough disease and can survive for several days at room temperature.
However, the disease is not highly contagious. This means a person who has it doesn’t need to be isolated from other people.
On college campuses, mono can have an easier time spreading in close quarters.
