When a sore throat is not a sore throat
Infectious mononucleosis begins like a regular sore throat: sore throat, plaque on the tonsils, high fever. But enlarged lymph nodes, liver and spleen and severe weakness are added, and antibiotics do not help. Moreover, the prescription of ampicillin for mononucleosis causes a characteristic rash in almost all patients - a typical diagnostic error. Determination of antibodies confirms the diagnosis and clarifies the duration: IgM antibodies to the capsid antigen indicate an acute infection, IgG to the nuclear antigen appear later and indicate a previous disease. This is important: most adults are infected with Epstein-Barr virus, and detection of IgG alone does not explain current symptoms.
How to prepare to donate blood
- on an empty stomach 8–12 hours, you can drink water
- Eliminate alcohol and intense exercise per day
- no smoking in an hour
- donate blood before physiotherapy, x-rays and massage
- Take medications in advance by agreeing with your doctor
How to read the result
Reference values depend on the method and equipment of the laboratory, so it is correct to compare results only within the same laboratory. A deviation of a few percent from the normal limit in itself rarely matters - the overall picture and dynamics are important.
The analysis must be interpreted by a doctor: an isolated indicator without a clinical context is often misleading and leads to unnecessary examinations.