Parotitis or Mumps: symptoms, causes, supportive care 2017/02/22

Have you ever seen a hamster hiding food in its mouth?

Like that, in the same way, one day my daughter woke up and that’s how I discovered mumps!

The correct name is Epidemic Parotitis, but it’s mostly known with the name “Mumps”. The cause is a virus, the Paramyxovirus Parotitis, which is transmitted via saliva, meaning by kisses, sneezes or cough, and it affects children up to 15 years old. Although it could also be gotten by adults.

While in children it causes no danger, except in very rare cases, in adults it can cause genital inflammation: women run the same risk of an infection in the ovaries, while men fall into orchitis, which is an inflammation of the testicles that can be dangerous for fertility.

Getting Mumps guarantees immunity to the disease. The vaccine is 95% effective. Those who get the disease in spite of the vaccine, manifest the disease in a light way.

Incubation of Mumps varies between 14 to 24 days, during which the child can manifest general discomfort. The last 3-4 days before the blow up, fever appears, nausea, headaches and stomachache, and in the end the hamster inflammation effect appears!

On a medical level, parotid glands, which produce saliva and are found between the ear and the neck, become inflamed. One or both glands can get inflamed within up to 2-3 days apart.

The affected child with Mumps will have fever, difficulty chewing and a lot of pain in the cheeks and ear areas. The supportive care that works to alleviate the symptoms: analgesics, antipyretics or anti-inflammatories, soft foods or semi liquid to stimulate chewing.

As always, I remind you that this is just information. Always go to your pediatrician for the correct diagnosis and treatment.