Depending on how sore his throat is, supplement shakes might be helpful. Mine never got that bad but some people have difficulty eating solid food for a bit. If there's a smoothie place near his dorm (e.g. Jamba Juice) or froyo that might feel good on the throat - Pinkberry? Is that still a thing? Milkshakes.

A humidifier for his room will help his throat feel better.

Video games -- one way to keep him quiet and in his room!
iTunes gift card for TV series - another way.

Mostly what I did was sleep a lot. Thankfully (I'm sure he didn't thank me) I gave it to my boyfriend so we hung out and played a lot of video games together.

Emphasize that Drinking is A Very Bad Idea with mono...Very Bad. For at least six weeks! It can really kill your liver.

He should really stay home from class while he has a fever.
No sports for a month or so in case his spleen is affected.

My personal experience with getting mono as a young adult was that I was so much more tired than I realized, even for months afterwards. So hopefully he can take it easy on himself if he's not as energetic as he wants to be in the next six months. I found even up to a couple of years afterwards, if I let myself get run down (too much stress, not enough sleep, not eating well) I'd have sort of a mini-relapse with a lot of fatigue.

This post was edited by robotropolis on Fri, Jan 16, 15 at 15:49

Thanks. He's not much of a drinker anyway, fortunately. And no fever. Really he says he feels fine other than the sore throat -- which is good, but also makes me think he might overdo it if he feels like he's not really sick! The dr gave him very specific instructions so hopefully he will follow them. He's a very sensible kid but I know what it's like to be 19 and all your friends are going out...

When my sister had it they put her on B vitamins (the mix) + C. You can get a mix of all b with c. Said that would help in making her feel better quicker (get her energy back, etc.). So you might put a bottle in the care package. If he doesn't have one a nice snuggly blanket to use on the couch, bed or wherever. Hard candy? Will he drink hot tea? When my throat hurts that is what I want.

Poor guy...and it's hard on them (and us!) to be away from home when they are sick.

I would send hot chocolate, his favorite snack items, some magazines maybe or other light reading for a break from the books, DVD's, a cozy fleece throw....and I'm sure you will come up with things as you go along.

Are there grocery stores or restaurants that deliver to the dorms? He might save some energy if he doesn't have to schlep to the cafeteria. Especially in the junky Syracuse weather.

Hope he feels better soon. Sounds like he has a mild case. One daughter felt better in a few days. The other daughter ... well, she got very sick and it took a while to recover.

I did some quick searching and it looks like he might be able to get food deliveries with his meal plan. Impressive!

Here is a link that might be useful: SU food services

Good ideas...vitamins, a blankie, and I know they get food delivered from Grub Hub too so maybe I'll see if they have gift cards. Fortunately there is one cafeteria right next to his dorm, so he doesn't have to go far.

I am the queen of care packages-- but the boys are harder. Honestly, my nephew was always happy with a BIG batch of cookies. He is a pretty serious guy and a WWII buff so books were always good for him.

I'd focus on things to help keep him ok with being down and taking it slow.. books, games, movies. Does he have a netflix account? It might be a fun time to take it "old school" with some board games.

I'd try to avoid the milk-based drinks-- it's so hard to swallow with mono and milk just makes it worse. I'd avoid chocolate for the same reason. A few additional ideas

- iced tea/lemonade mixes - the little tubes you can just add to a bottle of water
- gatorade
- gummy bears
- fruit if you can get fresh delivery
- jerky (i hate it but i am in the minority lol)
- favorite muffins, cookies, breads
- protein bars (I like the Kind fruit & nut bars)

When I am sick I want asian soups-- spicy thai or chinese wonton. I am betting there's somewhere nearby that will deliver.

Hope he recovers quickly.. you too, Sue. Boy, you've had a lot of stuff going on lately. We should send YOU a care package! Hang in there!

I had mono years ago, and still remember the horrible aches. A heating pad, or one of the neck pillows you can heat in the microwave would be really nice. And a big bottle of ibuprofen :-) Gatorade is great when you're feverish & dehydrated-- you could send the powder mix.

I had mono in college, too, it really wore me out.

Send the little cups of applesauce, the no-sugar-added, with a package of plastics spoons (so he doesn't have to do the "housework" of washing). They make a nice snack that is also "comfort food". Microwave Mac n cheese!

One of those pillows that's u-shaped folks use on planes.

Just send your love, that goes far!

Sueb,

You may recall I work at the school your attends, please let me know if I can be of help in any way, I'm there M-F and would be happy to lay a set of mom eyeballs on him if that would ease your mind (he might not like that, of course). Also, if you don't get satisfaction from the administration in any way, please let me know and I will light a fire under someone's posterior. Undergrads are our bread and butter financially, and my colleagues in student affairs really want to know when expectations are not met. Feel free to pm me.

Sandyponder

First of all, Funky, yes, please send me a care package. This week has been one of those weeks where I could use one! You know those weeks where everything happens at once? I had a flat tire on Mon., had to get the tire replaced on Tues., we got a call from our "house checker" at our beach house on Wed. that the heat seemed to be off so DH drove down there Wed. from work and called the plumber, who didn't show until 5 pm the next day (as DH sat in the cold house waiting!), and my DD has been sick with cold/fever and out of school Thurs-Fri...and she is missing a big gymnastics meet this weekend, so she's upset about that. And then the news from DS.

But where was I? Thank you all for the additional ideas. I am sending him a box today.

And Sandy, thank you SO much. I also have a HS friend who lives 10 minutes away and he has offered help if needed, too. The worst part for me will be when he says "I'm fine" I can't tell if he's just saying that to prevent me from worrying and/or showing up! I will pm you if anything seems amiss. He is used to my mom friends fawning over him (he's cute, sweet, and polite so they all love him) so it probably wouldn't surprise him much to have another mom showing up at his dorm to have a look at him!

Wow! How cool is it to have a GW person right there at your son's school! And so kind of you Sandy to offer to check on Sue's son.

I only allowed him to go there because I knew Sandyponder was there. LOL.

He's feeling worse today, poor kid. Throat is extremely sore and he can't take Advil with the steroids he's on for his throat. I have given him a list of every possible site throat remedy on earth, so hopefully something will help. I did offer to go up there and stay thru Monday...of course he said no. If he's bad next week I may go just to get a look at him!

LOL, sueb, and here's something ironic, my HS junior is very interested in Tufts ( but still all over the place, one day it's SU, then Smith, then Tufts...), so maybe you'll have one near me and I'll have one near you!

WRT your son, please know it's not a problem for me to check in on him, I am all over the campus all the time, and have lots of flexibility in my schedule, I would be pleased to help if I can.

sandyponder

He does know how it can be spread, doesn't he? When my son was in high school, it went through the band as many of them dated and of course there was all the sharing of drinks and utensils on band trips. My son came down with it the last day of school before Thanksgiving break of a week. He was not allowed to return to school full time till after Christmas vacation. He would go one morning to all his classes then the next day to his afternoon ones. He was a senior so it was tough with AP classes. All but one of his teachers was understanding. The one that wasn't didn't cut him any lack as far as time to make up work.

He caught it from his girlfriend who had had it and caught it while on a band trip the previous spring. He was told he could pass it on for up to two years, if I recall correctly.

Yes, he knows how it can be spread. I'm not sure why you're asking?

I apologize if my question sounded out of place. Just meant that being in a college situation where many kids share drinks and eating utensils without thinking, that it can be spread really easily. I know the band kids were always sharing food, water bottles, and such while practicing and on band trips for football games, etc. That's all, nothing else.

Oh, I know. And you know none of them are thinking gee, I could get a lousy illness! He can't think of anyone specific that he's been close to who's had it, but who knows. He was home for a month before he had noticeable symptoms so I assume he caught it here, and I know there was a lot of smooching with his GF! ... Who doesn't have it, as far as we know. But also lots of groups of kids hanging out and lots of hugs and kisses as they all said hello and goodbye...not to mention probably drinking from each other's sodas or water bottles without a thought.

Kids!!

Talked to him today and other than the sore throat, he doesn't feel terrible and seems to be getting a lot of sleep over this long weekend -- fortunately the schoolwork hasn't really kicked in yet, and it's a 3-day weekend.

The campus dr also told him to come back on Thurs or Fri this week, even if he feels totally fine, which I am glad about.

Great suggestions from everyone. Especially snuggly blankets. I'm glad to hear he is feeling ok.

To satisfy my own curiousity, I googled Mono and it said that the incubation period is 4 to 7 weeks before the symptoms occur and that you can spread it for up to 18 months after that. The virus remains in your body forever and sometimes can be found in a person's salvia anytime after you have had it. I guess that means it still can be spread to others when that occurs. The article said that the person can have symptons for 2 to 4 weeks but can feel tired much longer than that.

Hopefully your son has a light case and will recover quickly. I recall it coming on qucikly with my son and he was really sick with it. I guess that is why he was limited on how much school he could attend each day. I do recall him having repeated blood tests - guess they were checking for the complications of the spleen. His throat hurt so badly, he thought he was going to choke.