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Glandular fever is a type of viral infection that mostly affects young adults.
It is also known asinfectious mononucleosis, or "mono".
Common symptoms include:
While the symptoms of glandular fever can be very unpleasant, most of them should pass within two to three weeks. Fatigue, however, can occasionally last several months.
Read moreabout the symptoms of glandular fever .
You should contact your GP if you suspect that you or your child has glandular fever.
While there is little your GP can do in terms of treatment, they can provide advice and support to help you control your symptoms and reduce the risk of passing the infection on to others.
You should go to your local accident and emergency (A&E) department or dial 999 for an ambulance if you have glandular fever and you:
These symptoms can be a sign of a complication of glandular fever that may need to be treated in hospital.
Glandular fever is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). This virus is found in the saliva of infected people and can be spread through:
EBV may be found in the saliva of someone who has had glandular fever for several months after their symptoms pass, and some people maycontinue to have the virus in their saliva on and off for years.
If you have EBV, it's a good idea to take steps to avoid infecting otherswhile you are ill,such as not kissing other people, but there's no needno need toavoid all contact with othersas the chances of passing on the infection are generally low.
However, if a person develops an EBV infection during early adulthood, they can develop glandular fever.
Once you have had glandular fever, it is unlikely you will develop it again. This is because people develop lifelong immunity after the initial infection.
Todiagnose glandular fever, your GP will first askabout your symptoms before carrying out a physical examination. They will look for characteristic signs of glandular fever, such as swollen glands, tonsils, liver and spleen.
Your GP may also recommend a blood test to help confirm the diagnosis and rule out infections that can cause similar symptoms, such as cytomegalovirus (CMV) , rubella , mumps and toxoplasmosis .
There is no cure for glandular fever, but there are a number of simple treatments and measures that can help reduce the symptoms while you wait for your body tocontrol the infection.
These include:
Occasionally, antibiotics or corticosteroids may be used if you develop complications of glandular fever.
Some people with particularly severe symptoms may need to be looked after in hospital for a few days.
They can include:
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Glandular fever is a type of viral infection that mostly affects young adults. Common symptoms include fever, a sore throat and extreme tiredness (fatigue).
Symptoms of glandular fever are thought to take around one to two months to develop after infection with the Epstein-Barr virus.
Most cases of glandular fever are caused by the Epstein-Barr virus.
There is currently no cure for glandular fever, but the symptoms should pass within a few weeks and there are things you can do to help control your symptoms.
Most people with glandular fever will recover in two or three weeks and won't experience any further problems.