Q:

My friend was just diagnosed with mono, and over winter break I had one small sip of her coffee, before she had any symptoms. So that was about 2 weeks ago. I am extremely worried I will get mono and was wondering if this is enough exposure for me to get mono. I have a small cold right now but it's nothing more than a stuffed nose really-- occassionally I'll have to cough because of deep chest congestion. I am taking my vitamins--mainly calcium, D, and lots and lots of C. I was wondering if you think I may get mono and if you have any advice to prevent it. Thank you for your time!

 

A:

That is a minimal exposure but still a potential saliva exposure, but you are not the typical 30-40 days of incubation from exposure to symptoms so it is unlikely that your current symptoms are mono.  There is no prevention other than plenty of sleep, adequate exercise and hydration, avoiding immunity suppressing substances like recreational drugs and alcohol.  We see 10-12 new cases of mono every week in our clinic, so it is quite common and individuals have a variety of symptoms, so if you are continuing to be concerned, we certainly can see you.

~The Doc