Mononucleosis

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What Is Mononucleosis

The Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is a virus, which belongs to the Herpes family, that causes Mononucleosis (commonly called "Mono"). Mono is one of the most common viruses in the world and roughly 95% of people have antibodies against it, meaning that they were infected with it at some point in time. A lot of the time people don't experience any negative health issues. It is usually contracted through kissing or close peron-to-person contact. Sometimes the infection can cause complications with the blood and lymphatic system, and it can even be life-threatening.

Signs Of Mononucleosis

After being infected with Mono, symptoms can show up roughly 4-6 weeks later. Symptoms are usually mild and children with the virus usually have cold or flu-like symptoms. If you develop symptoms, they can include:

Fever
Fatigue
Rash
Sore Throat
Lack of Appetite
Swollen Glands (in the neck)
General Weakness
Sore Muscles
Headaches
Swollen Lymph Nodes

What Causes Mononucleosis

Mono is primarily cause by EBV, but is can also be caused by other viruses. EBV is found in saliva, so it is most commonly spread by kissing someone who is infected with the virus. People with Mono may not experience any symptoms in the virus' initial stage, and they can still infect others without displaying any symptoms. The virus can become active again after remaining dormant in the body, making the carrier contagious once again and able to infect others. Common causes are:

Kissing (exchanging saliva with an infected person can transmit the infection)
Sexual Intercourse (the virus can be in blood, seme, saliva, or other bodily fluids)
Blood Transfusion (this is rare given that blood is tested before a transfusion takes place)
Weakened Immune System
Organ Transplant
Sharing things with an infected person (glasses, utensils, or toothbrushes)

Dherbs Approach...adjusting your diet is always key!

Natural Remedies

One of the best things you can do to help fight Mono is to strengthen the immune system. You can do this by avoiding simple sugars, alcohol, and caffeine because all of those take a toll on the immune system. You can boost the immune system by eating fresh fruits and vegetables. They provide the body with the essential nutrients it needs to help combat the virus. Superfoods like kale, blueberries, chia seeds, green tea, broccoli, pistachios, almonds, ginger, beets, cauliflower, leeks, and lentils are great to consume for the best benefits.
If you want to help your body heal, it's best to get a lot of sleep. The recommended amount of sleep to get is at least eight hours every night. Sleep is the body's natural way of rejuvenating, so depriving the body of its natural remedy can keep the virus active.
Exercise can be a beneficial remedy to help boost the body's white blood cell count. Don't do intense exercises to tire out the body. Light exercises like walking, swimming, riding a bike or exercise bike, yoga, or Tai Chi are great, not-too-intense workouts to do.
Sometimes an infection such as Mono can cause the person to stress. Stress is the last thing you want because causes the body to produce hormones that cancel out magnesium, which is a highly prevalent mineral in the body that helps decrease stress levels. To de-stress, you can practice meditation, get massage therapy, do yoga, or eat foods like avocados, bananas, dark leafy greens, pine or brazil nuts, and almonds, all of which are high in magnesium.
Staying hydrated is best for proper circulation in the body. Drinking alkaline or distilled water is best, but you can also drink herbal teas like ginger, green tea, echinacea, or astragalus, all of which can help decrease inflammation or swollen glands. You can make a great tea, which has incredible antibacterial properties, that has 3 cups of hot water, a 1" thick slice of ginger, 1 stick of cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of organic, raw honey. The recommended amount of water to drink is eight 8oz glasses per day, or you can drink half your body weight in ounces of water. If you weigh 150lbs, then you should drink 75oz of water every day.
If your sinuses get clogged as a result of having Mono, you can do a sinus rinse to help with the decongestion process. This will help to drain the sinuses and decrease the chance of a possible sinus infection. You can use a Neti Pot or sinus rinse bottle with a saline solution to help drain mucus.

Things you should eat