Mumps is preventable through vaccination, but recognizing symptoms is important for those who haven’t been vaccinated. Symptoms include fever, swollen parotid glands, difficulty eating, and painful ear pains. Males can develop orchitis, which can lead to infertility. Isolation and treatment are necessary, and vaccination is required for children.
Mumps, a viral infection characterized by swelling of the parotid glands, is an increasingly rare disease due to the fact that it is preventable through vaccination. However, being able to recognize the symptoms of mumps can still be important, as it can occur in people who have not been vaccinated or in individuals who have not received booster shots. Especially in adult males, mumps can be a very serious disease.
The incubation period for mumps can be long, with mumps symptoms appearing up to three weeks after exposure. An early sign is a rise in temperature, which can rise to 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39.4 degrees Celsius) or more. The patient also usually feels uncomfortable and may have nausea or decreased appetite. Within a day or two, the parotid glands begin to swell and the face and throat develop a lumpy, swollen appearance.
Mumps patients may have difficulty swallowing or eating, and their jaws can become quite painful. The word “mumps” comes from an older word meaning “to grimace,” reflecting the painfully contorted facial features that some patients develop. Symptoms of mumps can also include very painful ear pains, neck stiffness, fatigue and aversion to light.
In boys who have gone through puberty, mumps can lead to the development of orchitis, in which the testicles become swollen and very hot. This can lead to infertility. Boys are less at risk of this complication of mumps. Women can develop swelling of the ovaries during an active mumps infection, but this doesn’t appear to be linked to fertility problems later in life. In adults, pain in the abdomen or groin caused by such swelling is another symptom of mumps.
If symptoms of mumps are identified, the patient should be taken to a doctor for treatment. It’s also a good idea to keep the patient isolated to avoid spreading the disease while they are contagious, and to report the infection to the patient’s school or workplace to warn people that they may have been exposed to mumps. Patients usually successfully overcome a mumps infection when given adequate treatment, which includes rest and plenty of fluids.
For children, routine mumps vaccination is required by law in some regions of the world, and the vaccine is usually provided in the combination of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. Adolescents and adults should keep vaccination records to determine when they need booster shots, especially if they have been exposed to mumps at work or school.
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