A teenager who took medication for what she believed was the flu hoped to make a swift recovery, but she never imagined it would uncover an allergy that would leave her hospitalized.
For around two weeks, Mollie Lock, 18, had a lingering cough that she simply couldn’t shake. While it was frustrating, Lock told Newsweek that she “thought nothing of it” and presumed it was just a normal case of the flu.
As the cough didn’t show any signs of improving, Lock, from the U.K., made an appointment with her doctor to get some help. Lock was prescribed antibiotics to treat her condition, which she hoped would speed up the recovery and enable her to overcome the illness.
“I just thought I had the flu since it had been going around,” Lock said. “I went to the doctor because it wasn’t getting any better, so I then got prescribed antibiotics, which then broke me out.”
Unfortunately for Lock, the antibiotics didn’t have the desired effect at all.
Soon after she began the course of treatment, Lock noticed a rash developing on her body. Rather than going away or getting smaller, the rash continued to spread, covering her arms, face and torso with painful red spots.
“I went back to the doctor after having an allergic reaction, which we later found out was from the penicillin in my antibiotics. I had a liver test in case it had done any damage, and I spent three days on an IV drip,” Lock continued.
As it turned out, Lock didn’t just have a normal case of the flu either. All the testing for her allergic reaction revealed that she did indeed have glandular fever, often caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. The World Health Organization says that symptoms of glandular fever (also referred to as mono) include a severe sore throat, fever, swollen lymph nodes, swollen tonsils and extreme fatigue.
The diagnosis came as quite the surprise to Lock, who told Newsweek that she felt extremely fatigued and “drained with no energy at all.” As a result, she spent four days in hospital, receiving treatment for the allergic reaction, followed by three weeks of bed rest.
Although her recovery is ongoing, Lock is grateful for the progress she has made so far. She shared her experience on TikTok (@mollielifediary) showing the painful rash she developed which left her hospitalized. The video has gone viral online in just a matter of days, generating over 725,000 views and almost 10,000 likes on TikTok at the time of writing.
Lock said she hopes her story will remind others to trust their instincts and to seek medical advice if they are ever concerned about unusual symptoms.
“My health is getting better, and I’m just trying to build my energy back up,” Lock said. “I’ve been on bed rest all week and have two more weeks off because of it. I am still taking lots of medication, which is very hard because I can only eat within certain hours of the day.
“I just want to remind people to get checked out if they’re ever worried about their health,” she continued.
Many social-media users took to the comments to share their shock over Lock’s medical ordeal, leading to more than 165 comments on the TikTok post so far.
One comment reads: “Never experienced anything like it.”
Another TikTok user wrote: “glandular fever messed me up for life. for anyone watching get help as soon as possible!”
A third person added: “I’m just recovering, it’s hell.”
Is there a health issue that’s worrying you? Let us know via health@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
Read the full article here
