3 year old son has glandular fever

[mag2305]

My 3 year old son has been ill for weeks. We thought he had tonsillitis and was given antibiotics. Doctors wouldn't see him (as everything is covid) and I was even asked to send a photo of his throat. This proved to be impossible and I couldn't do it. So he had 10 days of antibiotics but didn't really get any better. A few days after finishing the ab, I noticed his glands were really swollen. So I insisted he was seen and luckily we got a lovely out of hours gp. He said my son had an inflamed ear and was put on another lot of ab. He also wanted him to have a blood test to rule out mumps. So roll forward a few days and it turns out my son actually has glandular fever which explains a lot of his symptoms and how ill he has been.

I've aware that teenagers and young adults often get glandular fever but has anyone experienced a young child with it? Seems quite unusual. Any advice?

Young children can get it and usually experience it more mildly than older people. It's good you know what it is now. There's not much you can do other than wait for it to get better. A sore throat and tummy ache are the main symptoms to watch out for, so calpol should help and lots of rest and fluids. It can cause tiredness and lack of energy too, so just keep an eye on things, but don't worry. Most people (90%) get this virus at some point and it could be seen that getting it earlier, as a child, gets it out the way at a time when the symptoms might be lesser. Many children don't experience any symptoms at all (about 50% I think). This might not make you feel better if your child has seemed very poorly, but hopefully he's over the worst now. He shouldn't catch it again, but it remains dormant in the body and very occasionally it can resurface at a time when the immune system is very low. Although usually much more mildly the second time. Hope this helps.

I hope your son perks up quickly!