Typically, a person with mono experiences fever and pain from swollen glands for a week or two, followed by up to three months of fatigue. In fact, to help the recovery process, you should try to consume at least twice the amount of fluids you normally would. But taking in lots of fluid will help your body counteract the virus causing your illness. When you feel feverish and are coping with throat and neck discomfort, you may not be interested in eating or drinking. This is true whether you initially feel fatigued or not. It is also important to avoid exercise because too much activity during the first weeks of mono can make symptoms linger longer and be more severe than they otherwise would. The doctor will then determine if you need to go to the emergency room. If, despite taking precautions, you experience sharp abdominal pain, confusion, dizziness, fainting or blurred vision, contact your physician immediately. Participating in contact sports or simply moving around too much can put you at risk for a ruptured spleen, a rare but possible complication of mono. In many mono patients, the spleen-a large blood-filtering gland located in the upper-left part of your abdomen-becomes enlarged. Until your physician tells you it is safe to resume more strenuous workouts, avoid any but the mildest exercise (e.g., short walks). Once symptoms appear, recovery can take an additional four to six weeks. Mononucleosis-often known simply as “mono”-has an incubation period of one to two months.

Mono incubation period