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We start in Cascade Ridge, where Amy Davies, a family nurse practitioner with Allegiance Family Medicine, is treating mononucleosis.

Symptoms can remain dormant for four to seven weeks after a person is infected.

Extreme fatigue is often the first symptom to appear. Other symptoms include fever, tenderness in lymph nodes, sore throat, upset stomach, sweats, swelling, headache and loss of appetite.

If you have mono, you might not feel back to normal for up to three months. during that time, you should get plenty of rest and drink a lot of fluids. You can use over-the-counter medications for fever and discomfort, and gargle with salt water to help a sore throat.

You should avoid alcohol, heavy lifting, sports and sharing food or drinks with others.

Dr. Thomas Stout at Ingham Community Medical Center, a partner of Ingham Regional, is treating strep throat.

Strep is a bacterial infection. The hallmark symptoms are: sudden, severe sore throat; high fever; swollen tonsils and lymph nodes, and white or yellow patches on the tonsils and throat. The patches generally appear later on.

Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, bad breath and headache.

Strep throat generally lasts three to seven days. It should be treated with an antibiotic, so see your doctor if you think you have strep. You can also take acetaminophen or ibuprofen to help with pain and lower your fever.

Antibiotics won’t make you well faster, but they can shorten the time you’re contagious and prevent a rare but potentially deadly complication known as rheumatic fever, which can cause permanent damage to the heart and result in heart failure.

Mono can sometimes mimic the symptoms of strep throat, so see your doctor to get a confirmed diagnosis.