Mumps is an acute infectious disease caused by a virus. Furthermore, this disease has the ability to spread in the community and can cause many long-term health complications, especially the reproductive health of the five sexes. So what are the symptoms of mumps and how to treat it? Read the article below to find a safe way to handle it.
What is mumps?
Mumps is an acute infectious disease caused by the mumps virus with the scientific name Mumps virus, which belongs to the genus Rubulavirus and the family Paramyxoviridae. Normally, the virus is transmitted through the respiratory tract by sneezing or contact with saliva from an infected person to others.
According to statistics, this is a common disease globally. Furthermore, the rate of mumps in densely populated areas will be higher than in other areas such as areas with a constantly cool or cold climate, areas with a low standard of living, etc.
In Vietnam, mumps is a common disease, with symptoms most common during seasons of the year and outbreaks in small and medium clusters. For every 100 people, the disease rate fluctuates around 10 – 15%, moreover, this disease is often concentrated in the North and Central Highlands.
Normally, the death rate caused by the mumps virus is very low. However, in many cases this disease leads to serious complications such as encephalitis, meningitis or polyglanditis.
What are the common manifestations of mumps?
Mumps can appear in adolescents or adults. The cause is caused by a virus and is transmitted through the respiratory tract, eating and drinking, and droplets when patients cough, sneeze and communicate.
Mumps can cause common complications such as:
- Fever, body aches all over and muscle pain;
- Fatigue and loss of appetite;
- Nausea and vomiting;
- Painful swelling in areas such as the neck, cheeks or jaw..
- Some patients have swollen lymph nodes.other than testicles;..
In more rare cases, mumps can cause serious health problems. Furthermore, when adults get this disease, it will lead to a more serious condition than when children get mumps. However, there is still no treatment for this disease.
After being infected with the virus for 7 – 14 days, the patient will have some signs such as discomfort, fatigue, loss of appetite, chills and pain in the corner of the jaw. After about 3 days, the patient’s ear glands will gradually swell and gradually decrease in about 1 week.
At the same time, the swollen area of mumps is often swollen in the cheeks and under the jaw. In some special cases, it can spread to the chest causing presternal edema. When the patient will feel pain in the swollen area but the skin in the swollen area is not hot and congested.
Common complications when suffering from mumps
This is a rare disease in adults, but complications of mumps in adults are more severe than in children.
Complications in men
- Orchitis and epididymitis: This complication usually affects about 20 – 35% of men after contracting the disease after puberty. Symptoms include swelling and swelling of the epididymis. This inflammation can last from 3 to 7 days. After that, about 50% of cases have gradual testicular atrophy, reduced fertility rate and can cause infertility when infected with mumps.
Complications in women
- Ovarian inflammation: This complication will account for 7% of women after puberty;
- Mumps complications in pregnant women: In the first 3 months of pregnancy, this complication can cause miscarriage or cause fetal deformities. The last 3 months of pregnancy can lead to premature birth or stillbirth.
What is the treatment method for mumps?
Currently, there is no specific treatment for mumps, the main treatment is still based on symptoms combined with patient care. In addition, it is necessary to prevent dangerous complications that can cause the disease.
- First, when the patient has signs of pain and swelling in the parotid area, they need to be examined.Go to a medical facility to be examined and diagnosed by a doctor to differentiate the disease. Some causes of salivary gland inflammation are not necessarily caused by the mumps virus but are also caused by other bacteria and viruses;
- If symptoms include fever or pain in the parotid area, patients can use pain relievers and antipyretics;
- Patients need to drink more water to replenish fluids and electrolytes. You can drink oresol to replenish faster;
- To reduce swelling and pain in the salivary glands, you can apply a cool compress;
- Do not eat foods that are too hard, foods that are too spicy, hot or sour. Furthermore, you should eat foods that are liquid, soft, easy to eat or swallow such as porridge or soup;
- Ngoài ra, không nên tùy tiện dùng thuốc kháng sinh, chỉ dùng kháng sinh khi có chỉ định của bác sĩ hoặc nghi ngờ có nguy cơ gây bệnh. Besides, patients need to limit vigorous exercise and rest comfortably. In particular, avoid contact with family members and neighbors to limit infection.
- For male patients, if there are signs of testicular inflammation or patients with signs of ovarian inflammation, they will be closely monitored in the hospital. In order to avoid unfortunate sequelae that affect your health in the future.
How to prevent mumps?
Mumps is a benign disease, but it leaves serious health complications. In particular, there is no specific cure for this disease, so prevention will be the optimal method to best protect your health.
At this time, you need to raise awareness about prevention as well as the harmful effects of the disease, especially with complications to reproductive health. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the importance of vaccines, personal hygiene and environmental care. Furthermore, monitor your health when there are unusual signs of the disease. If you have the disease, report it to a medical facility for timely detection to avoid outbreaks in clusters.
In addition, an effective proactive prevention measure for mumps is vaccination. Mumps vaccine can be used for children from 12 months of age. Currently, in Vietnam, the combination vaccine for measles – mumps – rubella is commonly used. These vaccines have been researched to be safe and highly effective in protecting over 95% of the systemImmunity is long lasting.
Hopefully the above is all the information about the manifestations of mumps. When your health shows signs of abnormalities, go to the nearest medical facility for a general health examination as well as timely treatment (if any). In addition, take more care of your own health by having a general health check-up at least every 6 months.
Kim Dung
