You don’t need to lock lips to catch ‘kissing disease’

NOBODY likes a sore throat, and some can be particularly painful, especially when accompanied by swollen glands and a raging fever — which can be tell-tale signs of dreaded glandular fever.

Caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), most people will be exposed to it during their lifetime — often during early childhood, when it might cause minimal symptoms, or even go totally unnoticed, and the body builds up immunity to it.

This isn’t always the case though, and some — particularly teens and young adults — can catch it later and experience a nasty bout of illness.

It may be commonly known as the “kissing disease”, but that doesn’t mean you only catch it from locking lips with somebody who’s infected.

“It’s mainly spread through saliva, so kissing, coughing, sneezing, and sharing a glass or cutlery, are the easiest ways to catch the virus,” says Dr Louise Read, a GP and advisor to Dr Morton’s — the medical helpline.

Symptoms typically include swollen glands, a horribly-sore throat, a high temperature/fever and fatigue. How severe these things are can vary from person to person, but it can make you really poorly.

“The incubation period is four to eight weeks,” Dr Read explains of the time frame between catching the infection and getting unwell.

“Symptoms usually settle after two to three weeks, but can last for many weeks or months,” she adds.

“The tiredness associated with glandular fever can last for months. The reasons for this are not known.”