Think back to when you were a tweenager. Let’s say between the ages of 9-and-12. There were bullies, big and brash. There were the victims who were mercilessly teased. Then there were the rest of us.

Here’s where the lines got crossed. The point when slaps and punches were not part of the scene. Instead, it took the path of verbal damages to a kids reputation.

“She’s got mono!” were the nearly silent screams of passive bullying. Sort of the polar opposite of getting a “hickey.” You know, when someone sucked on your neck until it made a temporary mark. A hickey was cool. Being fingered by your classmates that you were infected with mononucleosis was not.

They may have had The Kissing Disease, a virus related to Epstein-Barr, or EBV.

Not Simply a Kiss

A person can catch mono without any puppy passion. Could be someone coughing in your direction. Maybe a sneeze. No matter. The newly infected will become increasingly more tired, fatigued. A sore throat will ensue. Glands will swell.

And there is no cure for The Kissing Disease. You just have to wait for it to run its course. Go home, guzzle a barrel of liquids and sleep-it-off. What say we go deeper?

Non-Treatment Treatment

Your child could develop strep throat. That can be handled with penicillin or erythromycin. However there’s no magic bullet for mono. Stay away from ampicillin and amoxicillin unless you want to add an extra dose of pain. Ninety-percent of those patients taking the above drugs will come down with a nasty rash. Aches and pains are best dealt with acetaminophen.

But the patient really does need to sleep-it-off. They’ll have a scratchy throat for about a week-to-ten days. The swollen glands will return to normal after approximately 3-weeks. But they will feel tired and easily exhausted for months.

Frankly, the child may show virus particles present in their spit for up-to a year-and-a-half. Injections of vitamin B-12 usually help the healing process.

If your kid is a bit overweight, could be a that something good will come out of the infection. Their appetite will go south. Just make sure that they are fed foods which are dense in nutrients. Green stuff like barley green, spirulina and chlorella — rich stuff. Vitamin C — a must. Won’t hurt to take a complete B-complex supplement. Go the extra mile and include alpha lipoic acid (ALA) to their intake.

Before We Go

Take a look at these symptoms. That way you know if you need to book an appointment with us at the Austin ENT Clinic.

• They experience chills.
• They seem warn-out, lacking energy.
• They have an elevated temperature.
• They don’t seem to have the voracious appetite they used to.
• They complain about a sore throat.
• The glands in the neck region start to swell.
• It lasts for more than 3-days.
• Finally, if they still have tonsils, look for a white coating.

Handle it ASAP. Left untreated, the spleen will double in size. The liver will expand. In a small percentage, they may get a rash that looks like the measles.

Look. Sooner-or-later your child will team-up in a first-base sexual way with another person. Thank god for that. You don’t want to raise a robot. But if any of the things we outline above occur, see a pro. We can diagnose it and suggest a more detailed level of treatment.

And always kiss your child goodnight, even if they have mono. Just make sure it’s on the forehead.