Son with mono

[Robin2038]

This is off topic but you all are the smartest health “mavens” i know as a group. My 19 year
Old son has mono. I read a few alternative medicine posts (unsure of reliability) contending coconut oil can help with the virus as its an anti-viral. People claim it shortened the time their kids’ suffered with mono significantly. What do you think and any other recommendations??
Thanks!
Happy passover and easter
Robin

[Korie]

Hi Robin,

Sorry to hear your son is sick. I too had mono as an adolescent, I think the stats are that close to 90% of us get it at one point or another. Here is an interesting podcast on what EBV (mono) is and the importance of methylation. https://www.fxmedicine.com.au/content/e ... rk-donohoe

And here is one of my favorite wellness warriors, Kris Carr, speaking with Dr. Aviva Rom about natural ways to kill the EBV virus http://kriscarr.com/blog/epstein-barr-v ... treatment/

Wishing your son a speedy recovery!

[anne from california]

My 18-year-old daughter just got over this. I don't know whether what we did actually helped, or whether she was on the mend anyway, but her active illness lasted about a week, maybe 10 days (and she was far less ill than I was 40 years ago when I had it). She did lots of homemade bone broth, lots of warm lemon and manuka honey (yep, the expensive raw stuff), vegetable soups, chicken soup (made with bone broth laced with green veggies, garlic, ginger and lemon balm tea). No processed sugar, no gluten, no dairy, no high-sugar fruits. Also, lots of zinc picolinate, vitamin D3. She had a terrible white-lumpy throat and hives during her active stage. We thought it was strep, and when they diagnosed mono, I was imagining the worst: a long convalescence, disruption in her college coursework, liver/spleen involvement. She cancelled everything in her life except her classes--no socializing, no work, no petsitting--and stayed DOWN for a long weekend (went nowhere Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday) and she let me take care of her. Back rubs, foot rubs, hot baths, aromatherapy, and all homemade organic low-sugar/low-carb food (except for the manuka honey). She started not feeling well on a Thursday, but symptoms were nebulous until that Sunday, when the fever hit. By that Tuesday, she had bad tonsils, and mono was diagnosed that Thursday and we got serious about slowing her down with some proper care and feeding. By the following Monday, her throat was clear, fever gone, hives gone, and she just had some residual fatigue for another couple of days. As I understand it, the EBV virus probably will remain dormant in her now--as it likely is in so many of us--and we just hope her immune system can keep it in check as she goes on through life.

I hope your son is feeling better!

[anne from california]

I will also add that it really helped that she had a low appetite while she had mono, and her sore throat kept her from being interested in anything that was difficult to swallow. Otherwise, eating nothing but healthy foods would've been difficult for her!