Rhianna Benson
Doctors across the globe are sounding the alarm when it comes to symptoms of adenovirus, as the 'highly contagious' infection continues tearing its way through the world's population.
Despite being a DNA condition that primarily affects a person's upper and lower respiratory tracts, the latest warning has been issued in response to patients overlooking some facial factors.
For those unfamiliar with the disease, adenovirus is predominantly spread from breathing in infected aerosol droplets, by inadvertently rubbing the virus directly into the eye, or via the faecal-oral route.
Given that the harsh winter weather arrived some weeks earlier than expected, however - in turn, packing people into tight indoor spaces for longer - cases have sky-rocketed this year, in the UK especially.
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"It spreads rapidly in places where people are in close proximity," Dr Deborah Lee at Dr Fox Online Pharmacy, told Cosmopolitan recently. "The virus is resistant to soap and many other commonly used cleaning products."
As we say, despite lead prescribing pharmacist at Chemist4U, Ian Budd chiming in to describe the condition as a 'fast spreading throat and respiratory bug' - which is 'showing up more often alongside other winter bugs' - it isn't just the lungs and oesophagus that are effected.
In fact, it can effect a number of areas of the face, too.
Despite a number of adenovirus symptoms crossing over with those exhibited in common flu cases - like a cough, shortness of breath and a fever - one key difference is that this condition can affect a person's eyes.
This could present as conjunctivitis, or pink eye, both of which are usually characterised by grittiness, itching and watering, as well as possible blurry vision and watery discharge from the area, as per Healthline.
These symptoms can be partially treated - artificial tears can help rinse out discharge, cold compresses can tackle inflammation, and steroid eyedrops may be prescribed for severe pain and inflammation.
The tricky thing is, however, that antibiotics are ineffective in treating adenovirus because it is not a bacterial infection.
Another facial indicator that you're suffering from adenovirus and not a common cold, is enlarged cervical lymph nodes emerging in the neck.
This occurs given that lymph nodes form a key part of your immune response, acting as filters that trap viruses and trigger lymphocyte production to fight the infection, leading to swelling.
Naturally, this occurs most obviously on areas areas draining the infection specifically, like the neck for respiratory or eye infections, like adenovirus.
The nodes enlarge as immune cells multiply to combat the viral invaders, reflecting active fighting of the illness.
As we mentioned, the majority of adenovirus symptoms cross over with those exhibited when battling a common cold or flu.
As such, the majority of patients will suffer from an extremely runny nose.
This sensation occurs because adenovirus infects the respiratory tract linings, triggering inflammation and increasing mucus production in the area.
As such, this leads to other secondary symptoms like congestion, sneezing, and a runny nose, as your body tries to flush out the virus.
In more serious cases of adenovirus, patients can suffer gastrointestinal issues, like diarrhoea, vomiting or general tummy pain.
Some patients might also endure a urinary tract infection as a result of infection.
Whilst medics can't say for certain that this is true in all cases, the amount of time that a person remains unwell can prove an initial indicator of whether a person is suffering from adenovirus, given that symptoms usually takes some weeks to emerge.
"Those most at risk are babies and children under five, the elderly, pregnant women, and anyone who is immunocompromised," Dr Lee noted of the particularly vulnerable groups.