What is mumps?
Mumps is a highly contagious viral infection of the salivary glands that is common in young children. The most common symptom is swelling of the salivary glands, giving the patient a “swollen-like” face.
Do mumps Affect adults?
Yes it does but rarely, adults can contract mumps. Complications of mumps in adults is more severe than in children, and may include:
- Inflammation of the membrane that covers the brain and spinal cord or inflammation of the brain which is to this effect refered to as Meningitis or encephalitis.
- Hearing deficiency.
- Inflammation of one or both parotid glands.
- Inflammation of one or both ovaries known as oophoritis.
- Inflammation of testicles in the form of Orchitis.
- Enlargement of breast tissue in the form of Mastitis.
- nflammation of the pancreas know as pancreatitis.
Signs and Symptoms of Mumps
The signs and symptoms of mumps usually appear between two to three weeks after infection. It’s also noted that about 18-20% of infected persons do not suffer from the symptoms at all. The following are some of the signs and symptoms that show up after infection:
Initially, the following is observed
- Tiredness.
- Body aches.
- Loss of appetite.
- Some times nausea.
- Some times fever.
- Headache.
After which during a few days different symptoms may arise as listed below:
- Painful joints
- Dry mouth is as well experience
- Pain in the sides of the swollen cheek.
- Pain during the process of swallowing which causes a whole lot of dis comfort.
- Severe Fever.
Mode of Transmission:
It is very important to note that mumps is a droplet infection which can be transmitted though body fluids from infected persons, often during sneezing, talking, coughing
Treatment:
Because mumps is a viral infection, antibiotic medications cannot be used to treat it, and currently, there are no anti-viral medications that can treat mumps. To this regard, only the symptoms can be treated. Also the MMM vaccine is always given to children at their tender ages to help reduce the risk of the infection.
How to treat the symptoms of mump:
- Drink more water – avoid fruit juices as it helps to trigger the production of saliva, which may be very painful.
- Drink warm water with some table salt in it.
- Eat mostly liquid food as chewing might seem stressful painful.
- Rest sufficiently and sleep.
- Place something cold on the swollen area of the face to reduce the pain.
- Take some painkillers to subdue the pains.
Most fearful effect of mumps in men:
- About 10% of men who have suffered from mump-related orchitis due to shrinkage of the testicles, suffer from low sperm counts. So far, this is not large enough to cause infertility.
