Mononucleosis: Treatments

How is mononucleosis treated?

Treatment of mononucleosis begins with seeking medical care from your health care provider. To determine if you are infected, your health care provider will ask you to provide blood samples for laboratory testing, which will determine the number of white blood cells in your body. A “mono spot” test may be performed as a rapid test to determine whether you have antibodies to the Epstein-Barr virus.

Although there is no cure for the viral infection, the symptoms of mononucleosis may be treated in a manner similar to those of the flu, with bed rest and fluids.

Treatments for mononucleosis

Treatments for mononucleosis are directed at relieving your symptoms and include:

• Bed rest
• Hydration with plenty of fluids
• Pain-relieving medications such as ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) or acetaminophen (Tylenol)

What you can do to improve your mononucleosis

In addition to following your health care provider’s instructions and taking all medications as prescribed, you can help alleviate your symptoms and decrease your risk of complications by:

• Avoiding contact sports until your health care provider allows, if you have an enlarged spleen, to avoid risk of rupture
• Gargling with warm saltwater to relieve throat pain
• Getting plenty of rest
• Using over-the-counter throat lozenges

What are the potential complications of mononucleosis?

Symptoms of mononucleosis seldom last for more than four months, but in some cases they may become chronic, lasting for more than six months. In this case, you may be evaluated by your doctor to determine whether you may have chronic fatigue syndrome.

Mononucleosis can produce serious complications including:

• Hepatitis with yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice)
• Orchitis (inflammation of the testes)
• Spleen rupture (rare; avoid pressure on the spleen)
• Thrombocytopenia (low platelet levels; platelets help form clots to stop blood loss)

Neurological complications of mononucleosis are rare. They include:

• Guillain-Barré syndrome (autoimmune nerve disorder)
• Meningitis (infection or inflammation of the sac around the brain and spinal cord)
• Seizures