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I don't share drinks very often but yesterday I shared my water bottle with someone. 24 hours later (today) my throat hurts and I'm worried that I might have contracted some type of infection. I haven't had mono before. I don't know if the other person has had mono, but I know that she doesn't have mono right now.

Can you get mono from someone who has had mono but doesn't have it currently?
Do mono symptoms develop within 24 hours, or do I have something else?
Why isn't there a vaccine for mono?
Does everyone get mono eventually, or can some people avoid getting it?

2007-02-10 14:07:56 · 2 answers · asked by pitachips3 2 in Health Diseases & Conditions Infectious Diseases

2 answers

You are right in thinking that mono is contracted through saliva, which is why it is often called the "Kissing Disease"; however, the incubation period for mono is about 4 weeks. Meaning, once you come in contact with the germ that causes mono (which is called the Epstein-Barr virus), it will take about 4 weeks before you develop symptoms. So You can rest assured that your shared water and your sore throat are not connected to mono. :)

You may have another illness, but most things take a couple of days to incubate. Strep throat often has similar symptoms to mono. You can get a throat culture done by your doctor to see if this is what you have. If so, they will put you on an antibiotic and you will be fine in a week or so!

As to why there is no vaccine for mono, and if everyone gets mono... its like this: As I mentioned, Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is the nasty little villian behind mono. Once you get EBV, you have the EBV lying dormant in your body forever, in the same way that once you get chickenpox, you have the virus that causes that in your blood forever (which is why people rarely get chickenpox twice), and most people have EBV in their system by the time they reach later adulthood. Now, only some people who contract EBV actually get the mono symptoms...others, especially if they get the virus before the teen or preteen years, get no symptoms, and then are "immune" to mono thereafter. Having a strong immune system (by practicing healthy habits such as proper diet, exercise and rest) reduces the chances of developing symptoms upon contracting EBV.

There you go, Mono101. Now you are an informed individual. :) I would suggest seeing the Dr. on Monday to check for strep. If you let strep run its course untreated, it can develop into a more severe condition.

2007-02-10 14:27:26 · answer #1 · answered by AprilChild 2 · 2 0

Lots of questions. No you didn't get anything from this person that quick. Illnesses usually have an incubation period of from 5-14 days. You got the virus from someone several days ago, could be in passing in public from a doorknob or whatever. Viruses are all over this time of year. Mono is not life threatening usually and like the common cold and lots of viruses there are no vaccines. No, not everyone gets mono, most people never do. The highest incidence is among young teens because they are usually more social and they call it the kissing disease because of that, though you do not have to kiss a person to get the virus, just be in close contact. You don't have momo, unless the school you attend has an outbreak and usually they have to tell everyone if there is a case that is identified to prevent it from spreading because unlike the flu it lasts sometimes for months and they do not want an entire population out of commission for that long. You most likely have a virus that I just got over, lasted for 2 weeks with no Dr. just treat the symptoms and don't spread it if possible. Wash hands often and drink lots of liquids and take advil, rest and eat chicken soup. Good luck.

2007-02-10 15:30:00 · answer #2 · answered by MISS-MARY 6 · 1 0

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