Glandular fever

Health encyclopaedia - Alphabetical Topic List

| A |

| B |

| C |

| D |

| E |

| F |

| G |

| H |

| I |

| J |

| K |

| L |

| M |

| N |

| O |

| P |

| Q |

| R |

| S |

| T |

| U |

| V |

| W |

| X |

| Y |

Glandular fever is also known as infectious mononucleosis, â€˜monoâ€™, for short, or Epstein-Barr. Epstein-Barr is a type of virus - a member of the herpes family of viruses. Glandular fever is an infectious illness that causes swelling of the lymph nodes. Lymph nodes, containing lymphatic fluid, are part of the immune system, and when swollen they feel like round bumps on your neck, armpits and groin.

By the time youâ€™re an adult, you are likely to have been infected with the Epstein Barr virus and have had glandular fever, but many people have no or few symptoms of the disease, especially if they caught the virus as a young child, in whom symptoms are usually less severe. This means you might not know you have had it.

The most common age to get glandular fever with symptoms is between the ages of 10 and 35. Only people who havenâ€™t already had it as a child can get glandular fever as an older child or young adult. If youâ€™ve already had it, your body has produced antibodies that fight the virus if you come into contact with it again. Itâ€™s very rare to get glandular fever twice.

The incubation period, (the time between being exposed to the virus and getting symptoms), is 30 to 50 days. The Health Protection Agency advises that young children donâ€™t need to be taken out of school or nursery when they have glandular fever. This is because the infection is usually mild in young children, and the incubation period is so long that it is hard to work out the source (who it was caught from).

Glandular fever is an infectious illness and can be passed on to family and friends, however most adults exposed to glandular fever have previously already been infected with the Epstein Barr virus (often as a child) and are therefore not at risk of developing glandular fever.

If you have glandular fever you are most infectious during the incubation period but may be infectious for a number of weeks and for possibly for up to a year. Transmission does however require intimate contact The virus is normally spread in the saliva â€“ most commonly through close contact such as kissing. You should avoid kissing and close bodily contact, and sharing cups and towels etc. while you are ill.