<p>I second mominva's advice, jmmom. I, too, am a nurse and you do not want your child to go with untreated strep if that is possibly what's going on with him. Although rare, untreated strep can cause rheumatic fever. There is a virus that has a tendency to mimic strep, and the only thing that will confirm whether it's viral or bacterial is a strep test. Most physician offices do a quickstrep test ... those who are positive on the quickstrep are immediately written prescriptions for antibiotics. Those who test negative usually have cultures done. If the culture is still negative after 48 hours, it is usually determined to be viral. Antibiotics do not work for viruses, however, antibiotics are needed for strep (bacterial infection). I hope he feels better soon!</p>
<p>One of my Ds had mono in her sophomore year of college. She let it go, thinking it was a bad cold, until she could barely drag herself to Health Services. She was diagnosed and the doctor called me himself, telling me to come get her (several hours away). I drove immediately and almost cried when I saw her. She's a tiny girl anyway and she had lost about 9 lbs. and was so pale. I brought her home, had my family doctor see her, and she was extremely ill for three weeks. Could barely get off the couch to go to the bathroom. She was on percocet for the sore throat, it was that painful (this is a girl who refuses to take a Tylenol for a headache). She had high temps and the only reason the doctor didn't hospitalize her is that my sister is a nurse and came to monitor her for two weeks, staying with us. My D missed all of her exams and got permission to defer them, ending up writing them in July of that year. It was a nightmare. I realize that mono presents itself differently in every kid, but it's not something to fool around with and ignore.</p>
<p>too lazy to read all the posts but what exactly is mono and how do u catch it?</p>
<p>Count me as another who had mono as a child, 13 I think, without having been kissed. I always assumed I got it from my more popular, worldly cousin, lol! The mono wasn't the worst part, I was allergic to the medicine and had a bad case of hives. Other than that, it was many weeks in bed</p>
<p>
Oh, my, if you're too lazy to read this, how on earth will you be able to follow through on college and scholarship applications? ;)</p>
<p>Mono is a contagious illness that can be contracted through close contact like kissing or drinking/eating from the same glassware/utensils as the infected person. Although fairly rare, it can be passed through the air when the infected person coughs. Mono symptoms are much like those suffered by people with strep throat (sore throat, headache, stomachache or nausea, fever, patchy white spots on the throat). A monospot is usually done if the doctor suspects mono, especially if the person has been exposed within the past 4-6 weeks. The age group that tends to be mostly affected by mono is those 15-30. If the affected person doesn't follow the advice of the doctor, they can develop an enlargement of the spleen, which could be problematic, especially if it were to rupture. (copied and pasted from my original post)</p>
<p>^^^thanks. and yes i am finished with applications. scholarships are easy though.</p>
<p>Thanks, mominva and Splash. I will ask re fever and swallowing today -when he wakes up! and takes my phone call! I will be really p o'd if he has fever, can't swallow and they didn't test/culture! I'm guessing he's no fever/can swallow.</p>
<p>jmmom, please be advised that people with strep don't always exhibit all the signs and symptoms that can go along with strep. While some people may exhibit more than one of the signs/symptoms, some may just complain of headache, some sore throat, some fever ... you get the picture. In the past two years, I have had two students who had no symptoms other than severe pain in one eye. I advised their parents to take them to the doctor and both had strep. I would absolutely encourage a strep test. If it's negative, great ... it's probably just viral. If it's positive, he needs antibiotics. Good luck! I hope he listens to you. Tell him to be assertive and insist upon a strep test.</p>
<p>My D lost 3 months of her senior year last year to mono. She didn't take care of herself and ended up flat of her back for 2 months with an enlarged spleen and liver. She played a powderpuff football game at homecoming that could have done major damage. Get tested and be prepared to minimize stress and activity. Hopefully it will be a light case.</p>
<p>Jmmom,
love the image of keeping the helicopter parked in the garage!! that just put a great big grin on my face this am.....</p>
<p>not sure what is going on.....but there does seem to be a swath of mono in the air.... our local hs has several girls with mono right now.. first test for one gal came back negative... she played in field hockey state championships a few days after the negative testing, within a wk she was so sick, another test came back positive... the whole spleen thing is a real concern...... this gal ended up with the steroids too because her throat got so congested she couldn't breathe... my understanding is that if a kid doesn't immediately go into idle mode, they will be sick for a much longer length of time, ie they will feel the lethargy for 6 mos to a yr instead of 4-6 wks.... not a good thing... I think I would arrange a visit home for testing and a great lunch, ie Becky's or Full Belly Deli as the reward for your S's tolerance of the helicopter swoop......</p>
<p>Jmmom- hope he is feeling better. I think we need a support group for dealing with our sick kids who don't ask the right questions when they go to the health center or refuse to believe they need to go to the heath center. Or can't remember exactly what the Dr said. Mine waited to long and ended up at the hospital. And even after that she felt like I was overreacting about making her an appointment at home to see her specialist. I wanted to go with her but wasn't able. She said he wasn't worried. But I did see her followup care sheet and he gave her some very specific advice and cautions on when this occurs to seek medical help immediately. She didn't tell me because she didn't want to admit I was right.</p>
<p>You got that right, mom60.</p>
<p>OK. This just in. AluD was given the quick culture thingy, it was negative, then they took the longer one. Gave her antiobiotics just in case. She hasn't had any antibiotics since she was 2, so fine.</p>
<p>I think MonoSpot is good for 2-9 weeks after infection........is that the exam you are talking about? 10-20% false neg so good thing they also are processing the other blood test.</p>
<p>If it's any comfort to those of you whose kids have been reluctant to use on-campus health services, it seems to be a one-time reluctance, if my kids are anything to go by... The first time, I had to beg and plead for them to go (hearing desperate scratchy voices over the phone is always fun!)--but now they call and they've already been!</p>
<p>That's because the staff are so much like Mommies......all nice and comforting. It is a comfy place to go especially when you don't feel good.</p>
<p>jmmom--I'm so sorry. Like you really need something else!</p>
<p>If it were I, I'd give him two choices: Either go back and tell them they need to do the culture and test and have them reported to me as well within two days OR be picked up to go home and have them done at the family doc's office. Since you're so close, you can do that. Even with mine twelve hours away at Cornell, I'd make the same deal, with his aunt and uncle who live within a half hour as the agents.</p>
<p>I don't care if he IS 18. I'm still responsible for him in every material, moral and emotional way.</p>
<p>I had mono senior yr of HS and was sick for months. I had an enlarged spleen and jaundice (and liver complications). It was diagnosed after I refused to run in gym class because my stomach hurt. The teacher got so mad at me refusing to do what I was told that she sent me to the principal - who called my parents and said the school suspected I had a drug problem (I kept falling asleep in class). My mom dragged me to the doctor who diagnosed me on the spot because of the jaundice and sore throat (but he also did the blood test). </p>
<p>Last yr, my d got mono in fall of her senior yr. Unfortunately, she wasn't diagnosed with it at first because she also had strep (tested positive so was treated for that). In fact, she repeatedly got strep and sinus infections throughout the yr. She also was allergic to numerous antibiotics and has a heart valve problem, which complicated things further. Her HS kept pushing her to come in to school whenever she could (which she did). She would have been better off staying home when she was first sick instead of pushing herself. It took months to get better and make up her schoolwork. Kind of hard doing 3rd marking period classes (like Calculus and Spanish) when you've missed all of 2nd marking period. Didn't get to work on her art portfolio. Didn't have mid-yr grades to send to colleges. She cut her college list in half because she just couldn't face doing any more applications/essays. She just announced one day "that's it. No more." She literally slept 15-20 hrs per day at times. Her bloodwork was abnormal for quite a while. Meanwhile, the HS acted like she was making it all up. Her GC kept saying everyone else with mono comes back after a week or so. Her dr wouldn't let her take gym and kept doing bloodwork. The spleen problem is very real. A few years ago, a HS hockey player (with mono) ruptured his spleen and died.</p>
<p>If your son only has strep, he can be treated and should feel better within a week. If he has mono, he will probably get worse if he pushes himself. In either case, he needs rest. Keep in mind that stress usually makes things worse. Finals week can be a very stressful time, esp if he's not feeling well. Don't feel guilty offering your son some loving care.</p>
<p>Ooooh...sorry to hear that j. That's a worry.</p>
<p>S1 got mono in Jan of Freshman year--and then strep on top of it, twice. After my suggestion to abandon ship and come home to mama was poo-poohed, I made mad (international) telephone/email contacts to line up doctors etc.</p>
<p>My interventions were not needed. The university diagnosis, treatment and follow-ups were surprisingly impressive. </p>
<p>Nag to make SURE he follows the medical advice--and contacts his advisor and his professors. Other than that, welcome yourself to your parents' world--the world of 'semi-adult' children, aka All the Worry But None of the Control.</p>
<p>jmmom, although illness is not a funny matter, it is "funny" how similar your son's health services are to mine.
I have sinusitis and not only do I have sinus problems around the clock, but I get about 5-6 sinus infections per year and thus I know full well what the symptoms are. About 6 weeks into school I start having a runny nose and then a few days later (unfortunately the morning of my first chemistry test), I wake up not able to breathe out of my nose and what comes out when I blew my nose was dark yellow stuff (still not able to breath "normally" ("normally" because due to my sinuses being so constricted year round, "normally" is more like a regular person having a sinus infection)). I wait a couple days and start to have symptoms of asthma due to post-nasal drip. I then go to UHS (health services) one morning because I felt horrendous and I tell the nurse that I have a sinus infection. What do they do? Take my temperature (which was normal, I don't get temperatures when I have a sinus infection) and tell me to go back and just take tylenol and pseudophed (They claimed that I did not have a sinus infection even though they did not look up my nose). I call my mom upset due to the fact that they wouldn't believe me and I felt so bad so she told me to go to the emergency room (thankfully this is a school with a university hospital next door) and have it treated so that I can get anti-biotics so it will not spread and/or become even worse. Guess what? It was a sinus infection.
There is a common joke around school regarding UHS (many variants):
A kid walks in complaining of a sore throat and the people at UHS sends him home with a bandaid and a condom.</p>