CMV, or cytomegalovirus, can occur in anyone. It is passed through blood, saliva and sexual contact, and it often presents like the more common mononucleosis. There is very little treatment for CMV, as doctors do not usually prescribe a medication. Patients rest for 4 to 6 weeks, unless they have a weakened immune system or a complication from CMV.
Diagnosis
CMV can result in swollen lymph nodes, sore throat, stiff neck, hives, fever and other uncomfortable symptoms. A doctor will diagnose CMV after checking for a swollen spleen and liver and running a blood test to check platelet and white blood cell levels. The symptoms are similar to mononucleosis and are often mistaken for such. If symptoms indicate you may have CMV, you should visit a doctor.
Treatment
There is no medication for CMV. It takes most people 4 to 6 weeks to fully recover from the virus, and the best way to do so is to rest. Painkillers and gargling salt water are recommended, but only as a way of soothing symptoms, not as a cure for the virus. Doctors typically do not prescribe people with CMV an antiviral medication.
Exceptions
There are some exceptions to usual treatment of CMV. If the patient has a weakened or compromised immune system, a doctor will likely prescribe some kind of antiviral. This exception is made because of the damage CMV could do on a body whose platelet and white blood cell counts are already low. People in the position typically have a liver disease, HIV/AIDS or some form of blood cancer.
Possible Complications
While CMV typically goes away after 4 to 6 weeks of rest, there are instances where it develops into a more serious condition. The most common complication caused by CMV is a throat infection. Rarer complications include colitis, pneumonia, Guillian-Barre syndrome and a ruptured spleen. If CMV was to cause one of these complications, the treatment possibilities would increase greatly.
New Vaccine
Women with no symptoms sometimes pass on CMV to their babies, but currently a vaccine is being tested on pregnant women to prevent this from happening. In the test group, the vaccine was 50 percent effective, leaving some women and some babies with adverse side effects. Scientists are continuing to work on the vaccine, hoping to improve its effectiveness to 100 percent and to curb the number of children and babies with CMV.
Tags: babies with, blood cell, doctor will, immune system, platelet white