I’m curious.
How contagious is it for the family? Do you have to use the sanitize button on the dishwasher? Can you get it from doorknobs, tv remotes or things that are handled?
Had it in college, and like amaguri’s friend, I lost a semester and had to quit my job. (Adding insult to injury, the guy I caught it from was already feeling well enough to go out for Halloween by the time he told me he’d had it - maybe a week after his first symptoms! I had dragged myself to work that night before he dropped by the bar to tell me - it was the annual costume party at the bar, and we were much too busy for me to call off work. My manager looked at me, realized I was not wearing white makeup for my Vampy Vampire getup, and sent my pasty white ass home!)
Horrendous sore throat for about a month, and so, so exhausted. Thank Og for my roommate, because he forced me to drink juice and eat soup a couple of times a day (as in “I will hold your nose and force you to open your mouth if you don’t consume this,” forced.) I didn’t appreciate it much at the time, but I might have just laid there and died of dehydration had he not done that. When I came down with mono, I was a slim 130 pounds (at 5’9".) Six weeks later, I weighed less than 100 pounds.
My bro-in-law had mono last Christmas, and it took over a week in two separate hospitals for him to get diagnosed. When my husband told me about his antibiotic-induced rash, I asked whether doctors had tested for mono, and was dismissed with a “Oh, you’re not a doctor, and SURELY they’ve tested for something that obvious!” Not so much… :smack:
It’s spread by contact with saliva, thus its nickname “The Kissing Disease.” Basic handwashing, not sharing drinks, and not kissing an infected person will pretty much protected. More Information
thanks… I wasn’t sure how contagious it was. Sounds like a miserable few month for anyone that gets it.
I must have had the lamest case of mono ever. Got it in college, it passed fairly quickly, and amounted to no more than an irritating throat ache. The doctor recommended I rest, skip class and not bicycle. She seemed surprised when I noted zero signs of fatigue. “You mean you haven’t been feverish and/or fatigued?” Not really. I biked to all my classes anyway and proceeded as normal.
Edit: That might seem like a “neener, neener” post but it isn’t. I hope the kiddo fares well.
I had a very mild case. Swollen lymph nodes, a sore throat, and extreme tiredness for about a month(the day after I felt better, the doc called to tell me the test confirmed exposure to mono). I chugged down way more caffeine than I should have to stay awake, but otherwise worked my strenuous retail job like always.
It’s mostly spread by kissing, which is why most people get when they start taking an interest in ‘members of the opposite …’. I have an idea where I got it from, but it could have been several people.
I didn’t even get it by kissing. 
I have two thoughts on this:
First, that sucks, hope your son feels better soon.
Second, Whoo-hoo! Your son scored. 
(OK, I’m extrapolating, but still.)
It’s how I found out my girlfriend was catting around on me!!!
I had a pretty easy time of it – I was out of school that week for a trip to D.C. and had very few symptoms besides modest fatigue and a mid-afternoon headache that was easily controlled by Advil. When I got home and my regular doc diagnosed me, I think I missed one or two more days of school and then wasn’t allowed to play my horn for another week or two. That was it. I think I spent one weekend day in bed, but I could have gotten up if there was somewhere I had to be.
The girlfriend was very apologetic, and I was sort of tired of the relationship anyway (which lasted less than another month), so I let it slide.
–Cliffy
Was he riding the monorail? According to H. Simpson (1995ish?), you can get mono from riding a monorail.
Oh, I don’t know about the scoring. At 14, my boy definitely notices the girls, but he hasn’t gotten to the point of doing anything about it. He told me that of course he hasn’t kissed any girls, and what motivation would a 14-year-old boy have to tell his mother anything but the whole truth about his budding love life?
Okay, joshing aside, I do believe him. There are other ways of catching mono than through smooches. Fundamentally, it doesn’t make any difference at all, really, since the main issue is just that he has it and needs to get better. We’re going to the doctor tomorrow and he’s greatly hoping to be allowed to go to school for at least a few hours. How grand it would be if that were because of his academic ambition, but it’s really because there’s a big annual festival in town this weekend, and he feels odd about going there with his friends and being seen by classmates when he’s missed 3 weeks of school. Whatever, I just want him to be able to ease back into a normal schedule as soon as he’s able so he doesn’t fall farther behind.
I’m encouraged reading about the variety of people’s experiences with this, from severe to barely noticable. I’ve got all possible fingers crossed that he’ll make a quick recovery.
I’ll be sure to ask him. 
Obviously listen to the doctor – the thing about mono is that even in relatively severe cases, it doesn’t fuck you up long-term if you let it run its course. But trying to push your recovery faster than medically advised can lead to serious consequences.
–Cliffy
I had it when I was 11. Lymph nodes so swollen they stuck out of my neck like Frankenstein bolts and so sleepy I fell asleep on the toilet. I missed a week of school and then I was right as rain. Good luck!
That jives with my case. I had it at age 6 and did not feel sick at all. The doctor said I had it, and I got to spend several weeks at home instead of going to school.
My dad doesn’t remember ever having it, but mom got it shortly after they started dating. Yes, I am going to assume that he had it in childhood and she caught it from him 
. People who have had mono are intermittently contagious for the rest of their lives, I think–they “shed the virus” in their throats periodically.
Somehow, I got through my whole childhood without catching it. I finally got it from a college boyfriend. Or at least, I got it about six weeks after I began snogging him.
I also got my first-ever cold sore after beginning to snog a different boyfriend. I had the tingling prodrome and everything
My conclusion is that snogging is serious business.
If you do it right.
I had it in my late teens, and it was a bad case. However, it took a long time for it to be diagnosed, and (being a dumb teen), I kept pushing myself and pushing myself. When the tests finally showed positive, I was in the hospital for a week with mono-related hepatitis, then was off work and school for 6 months. Then another few months of part-time only.
Thankfully I have forgotten most of it. Though I do remember being so tired I couldn’t stand in the shower, or lift my arms to wash my hair.
Short version: rest as much as possible!!
I take it you jumped and squealed like a 9 year old girl when you saw the red nose, didn’t you? 