Have I given my hangnails mono, and if so is it safe to masturbate?

October 17, 2006 6:44 PM

I've got mono. Mono is in your saliva. I'm a nail biter. Did I manage to infect my finger wounds with the virus, and what does that mean for my general health and my poor battered hands?

I've had mononucleosis for about 2, maybe 3 weeks. The really aggressive flu/strep like symptoms have for the most part gone away, so now I'm left with an occasional pain in the spleen and a constantly lessening sore throat and slowly shrinking glands in my throat, as well as the usual not-entirely-paralyzing fatigue.

I've always been a nail biter. Sometimes I get a little carried away, chewing the skin around my nails as well as the nail itself. And so sometimes I manage to leave my fingers bleeding and painful.

However since I've had mono, my fingertips have been extremely sensitive to pain. little run-ins with stationary objects that are the common enemy of a girl's fingers have gone from unnoticable to causing a shockingly painful sensation. two of my fingers have barely under the skin bruises, the type I'd normally get if I shut my hand in a car door...and both are probably just from misjudging the distance of a something (I'm not the most coordinated kid in the world). One is bandaged because the skin covering the bruise broke and made a huge bloody mess, and I mean bloody as in there was lots of blood rather than something englishy.

I've got 3 fingers bandaged that were originally just my basic run of the mill chewed on fingers but are getting considerably nastier with no more chewing. red and inflamed and gross and painful!

it occurred to me...mono is transmitted through one's saliva, and I've certainly subjected these fingers to my nasty germ ridden mouth at some point or another. and mono is related to the herpes virus, so it doesn't go away. What can I do?? will my current treatment of neosporin and bandaids do anything? And more importantly, what on earth have I done, especially in terms of my general health, recovering from this stupid virus, and perhaps being able to type without it hurting like hell ever again?

(and yes, this might just be the incident that actually breaks me of biting my nails. let's just hope that that is a happy side effect, eh?)

posted by modernpoverty to health & fitness (9 comments total)

Mono isn't just in your saliva -- it's in your blood and therefore your whole body. You didn't "give it to" your hands by biting your fingernails; your hands have mono the same way your toes have mono, because you have, y'know, blood that circulates throughout your body. In fact, that's how they test for mono (actually, they test for Epstein-Barr virus) -- they take a blood sample (you were tested, weren't you?).

Your fingers might be more sensitive and less able to fight off infection because your immune system is weakened by the mono -- that's all I can think of.

Basically, imagine you had chicken pox instead. You wouldn't worry about giving it to your fingers. Mono-wise, it doesn't matter whether or not you chewed on your fingers. You should have avoided it because it opened up sites for infection, but your fingers would've been mono-licious from the inside out anyway.
posted by booksandlibretti at 6:59 PM on October 17, 2006

The mono virus doesn't work the same way as the flesh eating virus.
posted by DieHipsterDie at 7:00 PM on October 17, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

yeah, that's kind of what I thought, knowing that the test (which I failed or passed or whatever score it is that tells one oh yes, you've got you the mono) is indeed a blood test. I guess I was just concerned because it's gotten worse over the last few weeks instead of the opposite. my other symptoms are steadily getting better but my digits are only becoming more terrorized.

maybe it's just that damn troggs song. "you feel it in your fingers/you feel it in your toes/mono's all around you/and so the virus grows." (all lyrics improvised and/or made up.)

(insidejokefilter: I seem to recall that it was a flesh eating bacteria. not that it makes that ridiculous story any less awesome.)
posted by modernpoverty at 7:22 PM on October 17, 2006

Even so the infection rates are around 75% I believe for mono.
posted by geoff. at 7:35 PM on October 17, 2006

Are you taking lots of aspirin or ibuprofen? I bruise and bleed like crazy from taking aspirin. It's a pretty effective blood thinner.
posted by astruc at 8:03 PM on October 17, 2006

red and inflamed and gross and painful!

Probably infected with ordinary bacteria. Check it out with a doctor and see if you can get on antibiotics, or at least apply a topical antibiotic.
posted by knave at 8:26 PM on October 17, 2006

Sounds like you may have a general infection (not mono, just standard red inflamed swelling sore pus etc) in your bitten fingers; not surprising, considering that the mono is lowering your immune system and, having mono, you probably feel like crap and haven't been taking as good care of your handwashing etc as you might otherwise. Gentle washing, warm water soaking (Epsom salts if you like), neosporin and quit chomping on them, and they'll heal up. Also take a multivitamin, that will probably help. And drink lots of fluids. And make sure you're home no later than 10pm, young lady! :)
posted by Rubber Soul at 8:31 PM on October 17, 2006

Mono cannot infect your fingers (even if certain other herpesviruses can). Either you've got an Epstein-Barr virus (more likely) or a Cytomegalovirus infection, both of which are restricted to growing/hiding in cell types that are not typically present in large numbers within you hand, i. e. EBV primarily infects and is latent in B-cells (immune cells that produce antibody). Now, the virus could enter through an opening in your fingers but since it needs B-lymphocytes, the only place it can really have a productive infection is in lymphatic tissue such as lymph nodes and the spleen.
posted by The Bishop of Turkey at 6:38 AM on October 18, 2006

As with all health Ask.Me's, I'd second going to a doctor. I Am Not A Doctor, Just An Open Mouth Kisser. I'm sure they can getcha some nice meds and, if you don't have it already, write you up a nice (several month valid!) get-out-of-work-and-heavy-lifting-for-free card.

Just make sure that the doctor knows not to give you an antibiotic that reacts with mononucleosis to create a rash. I got a rash from mono + amoxicillin and I'm pretty sure it's the same for everything in the penicillin family. The mono rash is harmless, I believe, but most drug reactions are very, very serious and the mono rash symptoms are nigh indistinguishable from any other drug reaction. You don't f around with drug reactions. They kill fast. If you ever suspect a drug reaction, you have to get yourself to an ER right away. Save yourself the trip and make sure your doc gives you one of those new fangled non-penicillin antibiotics.

I don't think you can spread mono to your genitals, but a baterial infection might be pretty icky. You should avoid any activity that could rupture your spleen. My doc didn't even want to do that deal where they poke at your tummy and make faces because of the chance. So, that's a roundabout way of saying to not be too rambunctious with the sex, and avoid contact sports and heavy lifting and what not. If your spleen is noticably tender, I'd be extra double-plus careful.

Mono waxes and wanes. Expect to feel like a million bucks and then, a week later, feel all goofy again. I'm not even convinced that the waxing and waning ever really goes away, just gets less frequent and less strong. Maybe it's around time that I post my own MonoFilter to try and reconstruct how I caught it in the first place...

But, really, the rolling get out of work free card is awesome. I highly recommend it.
posted by Skwirl at 1:26 PM on October 18, 2006