Mumps: Symptoms and Treatment

Mumps is an infection caused by a highly contagious virus that passes from person-to-person via saliva, close personal contact, and nasal secretions. Typically the mumps virus affects the parotid glands, also known as the salivary glands. You have three sets of parotid glands on either side of your face below your ears. Typically, the tell-tale sign of mumps is swollen parotid glands.

Risk Factors for Mumps

There are a few lifestyle factors that may indicate if you’re at an increased risk for developing mumps. These lifestyle factors include the following:

• Not receiving the vaccination
• Living with or interacting with unvaccinated people

Causes of Mumps

Mumps results from a virus that transmits via respiratory secretions, such as saliva, from someone who already has the infection. The virus infects individuals by traveling through the respiratory tract to the salivary glands where it reproduces. As a result, the glands swell. The following are some of the most common ways the virus spreads:

• Coughing
• Sneezing
• Sharing drinks and food with infected people
• Kissing

Once infected, you’re contagious for about 15 days.

Symptoms of Mumps

The symptoms of mumps vary and could include the following:

• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Body aches
• Loss of appetite
• Fever

Diagnosis of Mumps

If you think you have mumps, visit your doctor for a proper diagnosis. During your visit, your doctor will examine any swelling in your face and may do the following:

• Check your tonsils
• Take your temperature
• Collect blood, urine, or saliva sample

In severe cases, your doctor may also collect a sample of cerebrospinal fluid from your spine for further testing.

Treatment of Mumps

If the doctor confirms you have mumps, it’s important to remember that since it’s a viral infection, it won’t respond to medications or antibiotics. However, the following treatment options may help alleviate any symptoms you’re experiencing:

• Rest
• Over-the-counter pain relievers
• Apply ice packs to swollen glands
• Avoid acidic foods and drinks

Prognosis of Mumps

Fortunately, most cases of mumps are mild and may not even present symptoms. If you do have symptoms of the condition, they’ll likely clear up within a week or two.

Complications of Mumps

Complications from mumps are rare, but they may become serious if untreated. While mumps generally affects and causes the parotid glands to swell, other parts of your body may also become affected as well, including your reproductive organs and brain. In men, the virus may cause testicles to swell. In women, mumps may cause the ovaries to swell. While painful, the swelling won’t harm the eggs in a woman’s ovaries.

In some rare cases, mumps may result in encephalitis or meningitis. Both these conditions may prove fatal if left untreated.

Pancreatitis is another potential complication of mumps and causes your pancreas to swell. It’s a temporary condition that may cause nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.

In even more rare cases, mumps may result in permanent or semi-permanent hearing loss because it’s capable of damaging your cochlea. Your cochlea is a part of your inner ear that helps facilitate hearing. If it’s damaged too badly, deafness is possible