skimomma Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 We are trying to determine if a mystery illness is Covid-related and what can be done. Person had Covid in mid-January despite being fully vaccinated and boosted. It was a "mild" case that presented as a mild flu with another week of being tired. Then back to normal. Fast forward to now. About 10 days ago, person started complaining of being tired and feeling "off." At 7 days ago, also started to complain of feverish aches. Temp was only one degree higher than normal. At the time a "sore throat that does not feel like a normal sore throat" also appeared. Very mild at first and getting increasingly worse with each day. Pain does not respond to OTC pain relief meds. Yesterday, the sore throat started to feel unbearable. Lymph nodes are huge. Throat is red with white spots. Strep was suspected so they went to the clinic. Strep test was negative. Clinic says they have "seen a lot of this and they don't know what it is." They suggested gargling then swallowing diluted children's tylenol, which is something I have never heard of before. This has had no affect thus far. Person is now miserable and has started to lose sleep. Person is already highly stressed and overtired, without being sick. Any ideas? Suggestions for relief? Is this a long Covid thing? Is it possible to have strep that tests negative? Would there be any point in trying to get a Covid test? The clinic would not do a Covid test because last case of Covid was so recent. Has anyone else "seen a lot of this?" 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Did they order a culture since the rapid strep test was negative but symptoms are present? Did they test for mononucleosis? The worst sore throat I ever had was from reactivated mono. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 It is possible to have a negative rapid strep test followed up with a positive strep culture. If a culture was not done it might be worth requesting one. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 4 minutes ago, Pippen said: Did they order a culture since the rapid strep test was negative but symptoms are present? Did they test for mononucleosis? The worst sore throat I ever had was from reactivated mono. They only did a rapid strep. They did not test for mono. I don't know much about mono testing but the clinic said they cannot do it, only the ER can in our area. This matches what others have shared with us. But that seems odd. In either case, it seems the clinic has "seen a lot of this" which does not really fit the profile for mono as I understand it. This was all after a 4 hour wait (in a waiting room in which no one was masking) to even be seen so going back for a strep culture is not an attractive option. Ugh. I don't know what to do. Their regular doctor is scheduling out over a week from now. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 It’s probably viral. What is the age of this person? Child? Teen? Twenties? Forties? Eighties? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 3 minutes ago, Katy said: It’s probably viral. What is the age of this person? Child? Teen? Twenties? Forties? Eighties? College student in communal housing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 If under 21, I would have them come home if possible, and assuming they are at least 18 and it’s legal for parents to give alcohol to minors in your state I’d have them gargle with a tablespoon of whisky or bourbon and then swallow it. And if it’s warm I’d have them lie out in the sun, and repeat the alcohol gargle and shot every few hours. Eat salty foods like ruffles potato chips. No driving. No being responsible for anything. Salt, alcohol, sun, and sleep usually knock back a virus. That isn’t folklore, there’s plenty of studies to back that up. IME 24-36 hours of this kicks most viruses to the curb. A virus is the exception to my “Never drink to feel better, only drink to feel even better” rule. If they are under 18, I’d have them gargle with chloraceptic throat spray (but spit it out afterwards), but also eat ruffles potato chips and lie out in the sun if possible. Hot salty chicken soup with too much garlic and turmeric would also be on the menu. The age 18 thing is because of maturity of kids we’ve had in our home. YMMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 2 minutes ago, Katy said: If under 21, I would have them come home if possible, and assuming they are at least 18 and it’s legal for parents to give alcohol to minors in your state I’d have them gargle with a tablespoon of whisky or bourbon and then swallow it. And if it’s warm I’d have them lie out in the sun, and repeat the alcohol gargle and shot every few hours. Eat salty foods like ruffles potato chips. No driving. No being responsible for anything. Salt, alcohol, sun, and sleep usually knock back a virus. That isn’t folklore, there’s plenty of studies to back that up. IME 24-36 hours of this kicks most viruses to the curb. A virus is the exception to my “Never drink to feel better, only drink to feel even better” rule. If they are under 18, I’d have them gargle with chloraceptic throat spray (but spit it out afterwards), but also eat ruffles potato chips and lie out in the sun if possible. Hot salty chicken soup with too much garlic and turmeric would also be on the menu. The age 18 thing is because of maturity of kids we’ve had in our home. YMMV. That is advice I've never seen! Thanks! They have started gargling with cayenne, which is helping with pain relief. They cannot come home at the moment because they are in the middle of a heavy-exam week and we still have 3 feet of snow, but they can do the salty chips and bourbon (after they are done for the day). They are also taking a shot of fire cider every few hours which is heavy on garlic and turmeric. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 That sounds EXACTLY like mono I had in college. My throat was so swollen it was visible from the outside, like you could look at me and say, "Hey, what's up with your neck?" Throat hurt too badly to eat or drink anything but lemon drops and crushed ice. White spots--they looked disgusting. A doctor took one look at me and admitted me to the hospital for intravenous steroids because he was afraid my throat would close up. The steroids knocked it out. I went home after one night and never had the lingering fatigue that is so common with mono. I highly recommend steroids for mono! It was even almost exactly this time of year because we were at the end of spring break, which began mid-March. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 25 minutes ago, plansrme said: That sounds EXACTLY like mono I had in college. My throat was so swollen it was visible from the outside, like you could look at me and say, "Hey, what's up with your neck?" Throat hurt too badly to eat or drink anything but lemon drops and crushed ice. White spots--they looked disgusting. A doctor took one look at me and admitted me to the hospital for intravenous steroids because he was afraid my throat would close up. The steroids knocked it out. I went home after one night and never had the lingering fatigue that is so common with mono. I highly recommend steroids for mono! It was even almost exactly this time of year because we were at the end of spring break, which began mid-March. Also important to know that someone might not test postive for mono early on. It happened to dd...six weeks later and multiple trips to the clinic and finally someone thought to recheck for mono. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 Can anyone tell me if there is a reason it is hard for us to access a mono test? Is it expensive, complicated, etc.....? I just made some phone calls and even my own doctor's office said we have to go to the ER. I do not understand. It seems ridiculous to show up at the ER, wait forever while being exposed to everyone else waiting forever, and paying the ER fees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSera Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 6 minutes ago, skimomma said: Can anyone tell me if there is a reason it is hard for us to access a mono test? Is it expensive, complicated, etc.....? I just made some phone calls and even my own doctor's office said we have to go to the ER. I do not understand. It seems ridiculous to show up at the ER, wait forever while being exposed to everyone else waiting forever, and paying the ER fees. That does seem odd. I was tested at the campus health clinic in college. Did you run a home test for Covid, just to rule that out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clemsondana Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 11 minutes ago, skimomma said: Can anyone tell me if there is a reason it is hard for us to access a mono test? Is it expensive, complicated, etc.....? I just made some phone calls and even my own doctor's office said we have to go to the ER. I do not understand. It seems ridiculous to show up at the ER, wait forever while being exposed to everyone else waiting forever, and paying the ER fees. I've never heard of mono being a hard test to do. When I had it as a kid, they did finger prick tests and at some point when I was older they tested for it as part of a blood draw. But, I wouldn't think this was covid - it sounds viral to me. Mono can also cause crazy swollen glands - when I had it the first time I was so weak that I needed help to walk to the bathroom and the swelling was in every gland in my body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 13 minutes ago, KSera said: That does seem odd. I was tested at the campus health clinic in college. Did you run a home test for Covid, just to rule that out? This campus does not have a health clinic but the closest clinic is where they went and was told they could not do a mono test and to go to the ER if one was wanted. Covid rapid test was negative as recently as this morning. Accessing a PCR is a bit more difficult as they "don't qualify" at this time. Although I think a test could be accessed with enough effort. The only part that has me questioning the mono possibility is that the clinic said they are seeing a lot of this across the population. I don't think that is common for mono. But if this does not improve or gets worse, we will do whatever it takes to get one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dianthus Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 2 hours ago, maize said: It is possible to have a negative rapid strep test followed up with a positive strep culture. If a culture was not done it might be worth requesting one. Yes! This happened to me several times. Rapid is negative but culture positive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaelAldrich Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 There are rapid mono tests so it shouldn't be that hard to do. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSera Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 6 minutes ago, skimomma said: Covid rapid test was negative as recently as this morning. Accessing a PCR is a bit more difficult as they "don't qualify" at this time. Although I think a test could be accessed with enough effort. A PCR probably wouldn’t be useful because a positive wouldn’t mean anything given the fairly recent Covid. Although, a negative on a PCR would at least rule out that being the issue. Looking online, I’m seeing minute clinics at CVS offer the mono test. It’s a simple finger prick with results in an hour, though it does have a high false negative rate. Is there a CVS or something similar but has one of those clinics? https://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/services/mononucleosis I even see you can order mono tests online to be done at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 We don't have a CVS. We are pretty rural and geographically isolated, which has made all things Covid easier and harder depending on the situation. The normal things I would tell any college student to do for a health issue are not always available here. I had to drive them two hours each way to have orthodontic work done a few years ago if that gives you any idea of the situation. LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 6 minutes ago, KSera said: I even see you can order mono tests online to be done at home. This has promise! Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 That is going around here. So far they have tested negative for mono, strep, covid, flu and multiple negative chest xrays. No idea but it took over 8 weeks to feel better not 100 percent but better. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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