The Epstein-Barr Virus

Have you ever considered that some of your symptoms may be due to the Epstein-Barr virus? I had always thought that Epstein-Barr was the same thing as mono. I was wrong.

What is EBV
Epstein-Barr, or EBV, is a very common virus that infects about 95 percent of the U.S. population aged 35 to 40. Many children also become infected, however it usually presents itself as just a mild illness. In most cases, no one even considers EBV. When a teenager gets EBV, it causes mono about 35 to 50 percent of the time. So mono and EBV are not the same, but they are related.

Once a person gets EBV, they have it for the rest of their life. It will go dormant but may become active many times throughout your life. They say that each time EBV flairs up it is more mild than the previous episode.

Symptoms
Symptoms of EBV include sore throat, fever, swollen lymph nodes and swollen spleen and liver. Cases of EBV can last for many months and it is believed that it can lead to chronic fatigue syndrome. There is no "cure" for EBV and often a flair can be debilitating.

It used to be believed that EBV was only transmitted through close contact. Recently though, it has been found that the virus can be transmitted through the air as well.

It is simple for your doctor to test you for the presence of EBV. It is just a matter of taking a blood test. Recently I was tested and at my next appointment we'll see if I have EBV and how it relates to my fibromyalgia. I'll post here as soon as I learn the results.