Kissing and Mono
You may have heard "mono" called the kissing disease. The medical name for mono is infectious mononucleosisis. Mono strikes as many as 2 out of 1,000 young people in their teens and twenties. And some actually do catch it from kissing. But many people get mono when they haven't kissed a soul - not romantically, at least.
Mono is usually transmitted though saliva and mucus. The viruses that cause mono can be passed by sipping from the same straw or glass, by coughing, sneezing, or by any other close contact with someone who has it. The problem is, this contact doesn't happen right before you get sick. It takes from 30 to 50 days from the time you are exposed to mono until the time you get sick. And, just to make matters worse, some people have the virus without ever having symptoms. You can catch it from them just as easily!
For more information on mono, click here. (outside link)
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