Mononucleo

Also known as mono, kissing disease, glandular fever, and Pfeiffer’s disease.  It is a syndrome characterized by moderate to high fever, sore throat, and enlarged lymph nodes caused by a number of different viruses.  Symptoms can also include rash, enlargement of the spleen, swelling around the eye, jaundice, anemia, and neurological syndromes.  Treatment is with medication for pain and adequate rest and fluids.  The most common complication is fatigue and sleepiness that persists for months, up to a year.  A rare by potentially life threatening complication with mononucleosis caused by Epstein-Barr is enlargement of the spleen which can rupture and cause internal bleeding.  Another possible serious complication is encephalitis (infection and inflammation of the brain). And a rare syndrome known as Guillain-Barre where the coating of the nerve axons is destroyed, resulting in ascending paralysis.  See Epstein-Barr and Guillain-Barre