Mono & Your Nervous System

Most of the time, when people have mono, they don't experience extreme complications. Sometimes, they may not even know that they have the virus. If they do experience symptoms, and they are diagnosed with mono, they will need a few weeks of rest to recover from the virus.

Complications with the Nervous System

Other times, however, mono can lead to possible complications within the nervous system. The most common complications within the nervous system involve cranial nerve palsies, which includes Bell's Palsy, and encephalitis, which is a swelling of the brain.

Other Nervous System Complications

There are other possible nervous system complications as well, which can include Guillain-Barre syndrome, seizures, meningitis, and transverse myelitis. Guillain-Barre syndrome is when there is an inflammation of certain nerves that cause muscles to be weak, and sometimes even paralyzed. Transverse myelitis is an inflammation that can occur either in the spinal cord, or in the bone marrow. The good news is that 85% of the time, these complications improve on their own without any treatment whatsoever.

What To Do?

Certainly, if you've been diagnosed with mono and you start to exhibit any of these nervous system issues, you should consult a doctor immediately. While most of these situations do get better on their own, this doesn't mean that you shouldn't seek medical attention. It is possible for a nervous system issue to be the result of the mono virus, but it may also be the result of some other issue within your body. Your doctor will be able to identify the nervous system problem and to give you advice about whether your not you require treatment. At other times, you won't have any mono symptoms, but you will exhibit nervous system issues. These issues may be the way that the doctor is able to diagnosis your mono and help you to understand your situation and your nervous system problems.