Glandular Fever
Uploaded by mumsa1 on Apr 18, 2012
Glandular fever is most common in adolescents and young adults.
In this article:
What is glandular fever?
Symptoms
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
How Chemist Online can help
Advice & Support
What is glandular fever?
Glandular fever is a viral infection. Although it is not a particularly serious condition, glandular fever can be difficult to accurately diagnose due its symptoms being extremely similar to several other fever-like health conditions.
If you become infected with glandular fever it is rare that you will suffer a second bout of the illness in your lifetime. This is because your body’s immune system will have developed antibodies which will protect you from becoming re-infected.
The virus that causes glandular fever is called the Epstein-Barr virus.
Although the symptoms of glandular fever can make you feel rather unwell, it is a self-limiting illness. This means that the symptoms ease and clear up altogether after about a week.
Symptoms
Symptoms of glandular fever include:
Swollen lymph nodes in the neck
Sore throat
Headache
Muscular and skeletal aches and pains
Fever
Tiredness (this can sometimes be overwhelming fatigue)
Weight-loss (due to a lack of appetite)
Puffy eyes
Other associated symptoms which sometimes occur include a widespread rash over the body, jaundice and depressive illness (please see contact details for the Depression Alliance in the Advice & Support section at the foot of this article).
Causes
Glandular fever is usually passed on from one person to another through close contact, such as kissing (the virus is passed on through saliva), or through the sharing of things such as cups, glasses and/or food containers that have been used first by an infected person, then by others.
The Epstein-Barr virus is highly contagious and it is not uncommon for an entire family to develop glandular fever after a family gathering, such as a birthday party, wedding or christening where relatives greet each other and part by kissing. It only takes one person infected with the Epstein-Barr virus to be in amongst the group for the virus to spread. This is why, if you do have glandular fever, it is best to avoid all close contact with others unless your symptoms have completely cleared up.
Diagnosis
If you are suffering from the aforementioned symptoms and think that you may be suffering from glandular fever, arrange an appointment with your GP. After taking your medical history, asking you some questions about your symptoms, and then carrying out a short examination of your neck to feel for swollen glands, you will then be asked to have a blood test. The purpose...