{"id":32183,"date":"2025-12-08T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T03:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/?p=32183"},"modified":"2025-12-08T13:17:52","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T19:17:52","slug":"treating-your-epstein-barr-flares","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/08\/treating-your-epstein-barr-flares","title":{"rendered":"TREATING YOUR EPSTEIN BARR FLARES"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We\u2019ll now pick up from last week\u2019s Health Tip on chronic Epstein Barr infection, a\/k\/a chronic mononucleosis. <\/strong>Once, usually in your teens or twenties, you had a doozy of a sore throat, swollen glands in your neck, a fever, and were exhausted, maybe even pain on the left side of your abdomen from a swollen spleen. Your doctor tested to make sure it wasn\u2019t strep throat (whose symptoms are virtually identical to those of mono) and likely ordered a screening test for mono called Monospot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, you recovered although it may have taken weeks. Some unfortunate victims trace a lifetime of their chronic fatigue to their weeks of \u2018mono,\u2019 especially since there\u2019s no known cure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s left behind as evidence of your viral attack are the antibodies created by your immune system. These will stay with you until you\u2019re on the other side of the sod, antibodies to a specific human herpesvirus (called human herpesvirus 4), better known as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now let\u2019s fast-forward the videotape of your life two or three decades or more ahead. Soon I will have to abandon this metaphor as videotapes will be forgotten, along with my typewriter and Rolodex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By now you probably forgot your run-in with mono because you, like everyone else with mono, recovered and forgot it. Now you\u2019re telling your doctor about some new symptoms: tiredness, episodes of mild fever, muscle aches, brain fog, and how you notice swollen glands in your neck<\/strong>. But the symptoms aren\u2019t there all the time. You do have good days and bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your doctor runs a battery of diagnostic tests related to fatigue, including tests for EBV. If you have antibodies you might hear her say, \u201cAh, I see you once had mono.\u201d Sometimes patients remember this (\u201cOh yes, I\u2019d just arrived at college.\u201d), sometimes not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EBV Reactivation Linked to Wide Range of other Conditions<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s say that after this diagnostic test panel all your tests are negative (no<\/p>\n\n\n\n

anemia, no thyroid problem, etc., etc. and everything is fine) except for the EBV antibody evidence of your old mono. At this point, you might be told you\u2019re experiencing flares of Epstein-Barr reactivation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may now ask your doctor, \u201cWhat do I do?\u201d Since there\u2019s no known treatment in conventional medicine for EBV, she just might say \u201cGo rest up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An important takeaway: if you\u2019re seeing your doctor for persistent fatigue symptoms, getting tested for EBV reactivation is important. Not only can reactivation of EBV cause lots of symptoms, but it\u2019s also now associated with numerous other conditions. These include neurological diseases, like Parkinson\u2019s and multiple sclerosis, certain cancers (lymphoma, nasopharyngeal), digestive issues (ulcerative colitis, Crohn\u2019s), and autoimmune disease (lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis, celiac disease, and Sjogren\u2019s). And now an equally frightening list of cancers (Hodgkins Disease, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, stomach cancer) and even breast cancer and cervical cancer. See last week\u2019s<\/strong><\/a>Health Tip<\/strong><\/a>for links to these and other associated conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s really important to understand that just because you more than likely have Epstein-Barr virus still lurking in you from your earlier mono (remember 98% of us are testing \u201cpositive\u201d), you shouldn\u2019t agonize about it being there unless you develop \u201cunexplained\u201d new symptoms. <\/strong>If you\u2019re feeling well, you don\u2019t have to worry about it being there. Just take care of yourself and EBV will stay asleep and harmless. All the usual recommendations apply. Eat a nutritious diet, move\/exercise regularly, get good restful sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Testing for EBV Reactivation<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Complete testing for EBV includes five separate tests on a single blood draw: VCA IgM, VCA IgG, EA-D, EBNA IgG, and EBNA IgM. I won\u2019t bother you with what each of these means but will say that a doctor looking at all five together can determine where you are on the EBV spectrum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the 98% of all people who test positive for EBV have two or three positives out of five. This pattern indicates past infection, but no current problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person is ill and tests positive for the last four, then the likely diagnosis is reactivated EBV. The first of the group, VCA IgM, tests for acute, not chronic EBV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this point, your doctor might say, \u201cYou were right! Looks like EBV reactivation,\u201d adding that there\u2019s really nothing for you to do but take care of yourself and let your immune system do the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To a certain extent, she\u2019s right. But you can make the situation a lot better, and quite quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding and Treating EBV Reactivation<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Treatment is presented here in four parts, to make it easier for the DIYers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Give careful thought to what reactivated your EBV (the trigger). Usually, it\u2019s a period of physical or emotional stress (an illness or death of a loved one, a health scare, a painful breakup, the job from hell, exposure to environmental toxins, or just not taking care of yourself). You\u2019ll very likely identify something. For future reference, now that you know your EBV reactivation requires a trigger, when confronted with potentially stressful situations you\u2019ll remember how you became ill and learn to control the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe it just means saying no to one more request for your time or cutting way back on after-work drinks with colleagues. It\u2019s worth noting that the concept of reactivation is not limited to EBV. The rules for preventing reactivation also apply to cold sores, shingles, chronic Lyme disease, Bartonella, Mycoplasma, Cytomegalovirus, and even HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria. Interestingly, here at WholeHealth Chicago we saw several EBV reactivation as part of their struggles with long COVID.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Whether or not you\u2019re in a reactivation phase, your new lifetime hobby will be using different strategies to support your immune system. This will benefit you in numerous ways: fewer infections, reduced cancer risk, and better odds for a healthy longevity. Immune support means eating a healthful whole-foods diet (consider all processed foods as working directly against good health), regular exercise (go slow if you\u2019re feeling ill, e.g., a nice walk, yoga, tai chi), sound sleep, and regular total body detoxification (twice a year is plenty, many products are available\u2013here are two products by Pure Encapsulations I recommend:<\/p>\n\n\n\n