Glandular fever - I might have it. What are the chances of the dcs NOT getting it?

[pooka]

Have had awful tonsils/sore throat for about 3 weeks now. 2 lots of antibiotics have shifted the pussy bits off the tonsils but I feel wiped out, achey and absolutely exhausted. Still have sore throat and glands like hardboiled eggs in my neck.

Doc today has referred me to have a blood test for glandular fever.

Have children 8, 6 and 2 years old. The 2 year old is still breastfed once a day.

What are the chances, if it is GF, of the dcs not getting it? Am pretty careful with hand washing but but but... we're usually in pretty close physical contact - sometimes share a spoon. Lots of kisses (though generally not lips with dc - can be a bit grubby). Has anyone had GF and NOT passed it onto close loved ones. Not so worried about dh because with me being ill and him snoring like a train we have been as ships that pass in the night lately - he's been on sofa bed much of time since I had raging fever and incredibly disturbed sleep.

Ho hum. Could really do without this. Don't even want to go and have the blood test because will involve taking all three dcs straight after school this afternoon. But if I leave it until tomorrow would mean making an extra trip out and at the moment am pretty much hibernating.

I've had it and not one of the other four people in the house caught it. Saying that I slept solidly in my bed for four days straight, barely even waking up to eat.

Rest, rest, rest is what you need. If you do have it can dh help you look after dc for a week or more?? Glandular fever can be pretty debillitating. I could hardly walk the length of myself without exhaustion for two months after. Took 6 months before I was feeling up to my normal strength again.

I had it when I was younger, and nobody else in the house caught it. Hope that gives you some hope . Just had really bad tonsillitis a few weeks ago, and I was convinced the dc's would catch it, especially dd as I'm breastfeeding. But luckily it was only me.

Hope you get better soon x

Obviously I wouldn't share spoons, or kiss on mouths though ( as hard as that is )

Meant to say I was also gaining work experience in a school with primary ones at the time when I was coming down with it. Obviously I informed them and not one of the little ones caught it off me.

TBH I am not convinced that I do have it - based on the real life experiences of sheer and utter exhaustion I have read, which your experience completely ties in with.

I feel shattered. Limbs heavy and so on. LIke have been to gym only haven't. Head hurts and so on.

BUt I'm awake, albeit on sofa with ds2 napping on me, am capable of collecting dcs. And then supervising while I crash on sofa. I can walk although not in a particularly zippy manner.

I do want DH home and to disappear into my cave. But over the last 3 weeks he's missed a fair amount of work doing the school runs and generally looking after ds2 while I was completely laid low with the bacterial tonsillitis. I wasn't capable of walking, talking or eating then though am now. I wonder if the tonsillitis was a secondary infection to GF, in which case am maybe past the initial period of complete collapse?

My initial thoughts actually were that the antibiotics hadn't completely squashed the tonsillitis and that that was returning. So keep shining torch in mouth and guzzling paracetemol and nurofen like theres no tomorrow.

Thanks for your response - reassures me that if I do have it, I may not pass it on. Would hate for the dcs to feel as ill and part. so close to christmas. DD had hideous flu a couple of years ago in the run up to Cmas and missed everything ad was miserable time for her, poor love.

I had originally thought mine was tonsillitus, then when I started swelling up mumps. I'm sure there's varying degrees with which GF can hit you.

Aww there's nothing worse than feeling crap and having kids to look after. I'm currently nursing mine and ds' stinking colds. It's a pj day, with dvds and freezer food I'm afraid :)

Good luck with your test results and fingers crossed for you. Hope you feel better soon.

I had a lot of tonsillitis over the summer and had similar symptoms to you afterwards so had a GF blood test. The doctor said getting GF as an adult is quite rare and reason I probably felt so awful was because tonsillitis was viral, not bacterial (apparently is possible to have pus on throat and it still be viral, which I didn't know), and was taking me time to get over as the antibiotics wouldn't be helping. Blood test came back negative, and with extra sleep and a good diet I finally returned to normality about 3 weeks later.

Sorry, quick question, did you have your throat swabbed to double check if was bacterial?

I did have throat swabbed when the pus transferred from one side to the other. Initially given amoxycillin by emdoc which apparently is pretty rubbish for throats. So they swabbed while putting me onto penicillin v.

No culture or nothing nasty growing. So entirely possible was viral. I also had no idea that tonsils could be so hideous with just viral infection. They were really really grim. Very unpleasant taste, bleeding and pussy (TMI).

Thanks Wingandprayer - am hoping that will start to feel better soon, is horrible now.

Had felt a bit better on Sunday/Monday, but am back to spitting because horrible taste in mouth and hurts to swallow.... Grrr.

I had it when I was 18
none else caught it
I was told it was due to your immune system struggling and you being very run down for it to develop into glandular fever so with any luck none else will get it

Well am certainly run down. temp creeping up a bit so have decided will drop kids at DH's work (his business and his mum works there too, so not such a no-no) and then go on, have blood test. Then hibernate tonight. Have to do school run tomorrow am, but dropping ds2 off at MILs so can have morning to self at least.