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19th March 2024
11:01am GMT
Molly-Mae has shared that she had to sit out Mother's Day celebrations after she contracted glandular fever.
The mum-of-one was due to celebrate her second Mother's Day, having welcomed her daughter Bambi in January 2023 with her fiancé Tommy Fury.
The Love Island alum opened up in her latest YouTube vlog, revealing that her fans begged her to go to a doctor after she described her symptoms.
These included extreme fatigue, cravings to chew on ice, and a sore throat.
After sharing her symptoms, followers insisted her iron levels were low, urging the 24-year-old to get her bloods checked, which she eventually did.
"I actually haven’t been very well the last few days," Molly-Mae shared.
"A few weeks ago I went to the doctors to get a blood test, I was convinced that my iron levels were low.
"Even a few of you were on here commenting and DMing me saying 'your iron levels are definitely low'.
"Then a few days ago I was feeling so unwell, I was basically in bed for three days."
The mum then admitted that her symptoms got so bad that on Mother's Day, her family plans were scrapped due to her illness.
"On Mother’s Day we had so many lovely plans. We were going to go for a roast dinner but I couldn’t even get out of bed.
"I wasn’t ill but I felt like I had been hit by a bus, I felt like my body was in pieces, my throat was killing me, I couldn’t stop sleeping. I was sleeping all day and all night."
Her blood test revealed that she had contracted glandular fever, which Molly-Mae had to manage herself.
"There's no antibiotics you can take, there's no medication you can go on," she explained.
"It's literally just rest and pain killers."
Glandular fever is highly contagious through saliva and is known as the Epstein-Barr virus or the 'kissing disease'.
According to the HSE, it is sometimes known as infectious mononucleosis or mono.
The virus mostly affects teenagers and young adults and gets better without treatment.
However, it can make a person very ill and can last for several weeks, as well as being infectious for up to seven weeks before your symptoms begin to appear.
While Molly-Mae admitted this was her second time contracting glandular fever, it is not typical to get it more than once.
Common symptoms of glandular fever include:
If you experience any of the following, you should call 999 or 112 or go to your emergency department:
While most people will recover from glandular fever with no issues, it can lead to other illnesses.
These include anaemia, pneumonia, Guillain-Barré syndrome or Bell's palsy, or a mild inflammation of the liver that causes jaundice.
Glandular fever is highly contagious and is passed through saliva.
It can spread through:
To prevent glandular fever from spreading:
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