Mumps Health Video

The mumps, or epidemic parotitis, typically presents as severe swelling of the salivary glands. Learn more about the mumps including treatment options in this medical video.

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Prevention includes receiving the MMR vaccine
Drink plenty of fluids
While infected maintain a soft, bland diet
Seek medical attention

About this Author

Dr. Susan McGladdery is a medical graduate from Oxford University in the UK and has a Master's Degree in Medical Sciences from Cambridge University. She has been a member of the Royal College of Physicians since 1991 and a member of the American Academy of Urgent Care since 2006. She trained as a Family Physician in the UK in Oxford and then in London. In a medical career that spans over 20 years, she has worked as a doctor in 5 countries on 3 continents and cared for patients from a multitude of different nationalities and backgrounds. Dr. McGladdery joined FirstMed Centers in mid 2002 and became Regional Medical Director in 2003.

DR. SUSAN MCGLADDERY: Hello, my name is Dr. Sue McGladdery. I am the medical director from FirstMed Centers in Budapest, Hungary. I'd like to give you some brief information about mumps infection. This is a disease caused by a virus that usually spreads through the saliva. It can infect many parts of the body especially the parotid salivary glands in the cheeks, and these glands typically swell and become very painful. It was a common disease until the mumps vaccine was licensed in 1967. Now, it's rare, but occasionally, kids and adults can get it. What are the symptoms? It usually starts with a high fever, headache, and loss of appetite, but the most distinctive feature is the swelling and pain in the parotid glands in the cheeks. Kids look like hamsters with food in their cheeks. The glands usually get increasingly swollen and painful over a period of 1 to 3 days. The pain often gets worse when the child swallows, talks, chews, or drinks any acidic kind of fruit juice for example. Rarely, mumps infection can be complicated by things like encephalitis which is an inflammation of the brain or meningitis, an inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord. In adolescent and adult males, they may also develop something called orchitis which is an inflammation of the testicles, and this could lead to later fertility problems. Mumps can also affect the pancreas causing a serious inflammation of the pancreas known as pancreatitis. What should you do if you think you or your child has mumps? Call your doctor who'll be able to confirm the diagnosis and give you advice about treatment. Your doctor can also notify the health authorities who want to keep track of childhood immunization programs and also of mumps outbreaks. And what treatment do we give for mumps? Well, as for any viral infection, antibiotics aren't going to help you. A few medications like acetaminophen and ibuprofen will help to lower the fever and reduce any aching muscle pain, and of course, you should avoid aspirin. Follow a soft, bland diet that doesn't require a lot of chewing and make sure that you take plenty of fluids. And most importantly, remember that mumps can be prevented with 2 doses of the MMR vaccine, the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine.

Mumps Health Video

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