Mumps symptoms in children. Reasons for the formation and main directions of treatment of nonspecific parotitis. Can mumps go unnoticed?

Mumps, or as it is medically called, mumps, is considered a viral disease that primarily occurs in children.

The anomaly is accompanied by general intoxication, inflammation of the glands and fever.

If therapy is not started on time, there is a risk of developing dangerous consequences.

That’s why many people are interested in how to treat mumps in children at home.

Reasons

The main cause of the pathology is infection with paramyxovirus. This pathogen enters the body through airborne droplets - during coughing, sneezing and talking.

In this case, infection can occur even in the absence of symptoms of pathology. A sick child becomes a source of paramyxovirus 9 days before signs of anomaly appear. However, it remains infectious for another 9 days after the onset of manifestations.

During an epidemic, approximately 70% of children become infected. If a child has previously had mumps, a strong lifelong immunity to it is developed. In addition, 20% of babies are not exposed to infection due to certain characteristics of the body.

Because of this, doctors identify certain factors that increase the risk of developing the disease.. These include the following:

dysfunction of the immune system;
lack of vitamins;
weakening of the body in winter and early spring;
lack of vaccination.

Thus, during a mumps epidemic in a kindergarten or school, it is quite difficult to protect a child from infection. The threat of infection is reduced if the baby has been vaccinated or has a strong immune system.

Mumps (mumps)

Symptoms

Pathology has a fairly long incubation period. It largely depends on the state of the baby’s immunity.

The first signs of mumps in children after infection appear approximately 11-13 days. In more rare cases, they may occur only on days 19-23.

To avoid the spread of the epidemic, if 2-3 sick people appear in a children's group, quarantine must be declared. It should last 21 days.

A characteristic symptom of the anomaly is an increase in the size of the parotid glands. About a day before this symptom, prodromal phenomena occur, which are the first manifestations of mumps.

So, how does the development of the disease begin? The child appears:

headaches;
general weakness;
malaise;
muscle pain;
slight chills;
sleep disturbance;
loss of appetite.

Already the next day the signs increase. Parents should definitely know how mumps manifests itself in order to consult a doctor in time.

When the body is intoxicated, symptoms such as arthralgia, headaches, chills, and myalgia occur.. In difficult cases, there is a risk of tachycardia, decreased blood pressure, anorexia, and asthenia. The child may experience prolonged insomnia.

The temperature depends on the severity of the pathology. In mild forms of the anomaly, it does not exceed subfebrile levels. With moderate severity of mumps, the temperature is 38-39 degrees.

If a child has a severe form of mumps, the temperature can reach 40 degrees. However, this indicator can persist for 2 weeks. The duration of fever is 4-7 days. In this case, the peak occurs on days 1-2.

When the salivary glands are damaged, the following symptoms appear:

feeling of dryness in the mouth;
ear pain;
Filatov's symptom - when it appears, the maximum pain is localized in the area of the earlobe and mastoid process;
irradiation of pain into the ears during chewing and talking;
swelling in the tonsil area;
enlargement of the salivary glands - most often bilateral in nature and extends to the neck;
Mursu's symptom is an inflammatory lesion of the mucous membrane in the area of the excretory ducts of the parotid gland affected by the virus.

The swelling usually increases within 3 days and remains in size for another 2-3 days. Then it gradually decreases. This requires another 1 week. In addition, swelling of the submandibular and sublingual glands may be observed.

When male organs are damaged, the following manifestations may occur:

damage to the spermatogenic epithelium of the testicles - observed in 20% of cases and can subsequently lead to infertility;
inflammation of the testicles – observed with the development of a complicated form of mumps;
pain in the genital area;
an increase in the size of the testicles, the appearance of swelling and redness.

The severity of the disease depends on the age of the baby. The older the child, the more difficult the pathology is tolerable.

Puberty is especially dangerous. In this case, there is a risk of damage to the male organs, which subsequently threatens infertility.

Treatment methods

What to do if your child has mumps? First of all, you need to show your baby to the pediatrician. It is important to understand that there is no specific therapy for the disease.

The main goal of treatment is to reduce the patient's suffering and prevent negative consequences.

Therapy includes several components:

proper care of the baby;
therapeutic nutrition;
use of medicines.

A sick baby must be isolated from other children immediately after the first symptoms of inflammation appear. In this case, the following recommendations must be followed:

Therapeutic diet

A common complication of mumps is the development of pancreatitis.. To minimize the risk of this anomaly, a sick child must follow a therapeutic diet.

It must be built taking into account the following rules:

avoid overeating;
reduce the amount of pasta, white bread, fatty foods, cabbage;
give preference to dairy and plant foods;
include brown bread, potatoes and rice in your diet.

Treatment should be symptomatic. Therefore, medications are selected individually for each patient. It is not recommended to self-medicate, since mumps can lead to serious complications.

If mumps develops, warm compresses should not be applied to the affected areas. This will only aggravate the development of inflammation and lead to dangerous complications.

Most often, doctors prescribe the following categories of medications:

The pediatrician can select other categories of medications. This depends on the individual characteristics of the child’s body and the development of complications.

In addition to traditional methods of therapy, you can use effective folk remedies:

Complications

In most cases, mumps does not cause any serious health consequences. However, sometimes the following complications may occur:

Vaccination is considered the main method of prevention. Currently, there are several types of vaccines. However, they all have the same operating principle.

After vaccination, the child’s body recognizes the incoming antigens, which leads to the synthesis of antibodies. This protection will last throughout your life.

In most cases, a combination vaccine is used that protects against measles, mumps and rubella.. Children are subject to vaccination 2 times - at 1 year and at 6-7 years.

Many parents are interested in whether a vaccinated child can get mumps.. The vaccine is quite effective - it helps reduce the risk of developing pathology and the threat of complications.

This means that after vaccination the baby may get sick, but the probability of this is no more than 5%. In this case, the disease will have a milder course and will not lead to complications.

Nonspecific prevention of mumps in children is aimed at preventing the spread of the disease. It includes the following components:

isolation of sick children;
disinfection of toys and objects that a sick child has come into contact with;
strengthening the immune system;
ventilation of the room;
observance of the mask regime.

Mumps is considered a fairly serious disease that can cause undesirable consequences. To minimize the risk of complications, your child should be vaccinated in a timely manner.

If the baby does get sick, it is strictly forbidden to self-medicate. The first symptoms of pathology should be the basis for contacting a doctor.

The viral infection called mumps is popularly known as mumps or mumps. According to statistics, a child, no matter whether it is a boy or a girl, endures the disease much more easily than an adult. You can become infected with mumps through contact or airborne transmission. Mumps in children often occurs in the spring, and the first symptoms and signs of the disease may appear only on the 12th day after infection. For the most part, mumps occurs without consequences, but in 5 cases out of 1000 it causes very serious complications.

What is mumps in children

The respiratory viral infection mumps (ICD-10 code - B26) is dangerous due to the high risk of infection. Although mumps is not life-threatening, complications of the disease can lead to organ damage. The highest incidence persists from 3 to 6 years. After an infection, stable lifelong immunity is formed. Infection is characterized by seasonality - the peak incidence occurs in the spring, and at the end of summer the disease is almost not registered.

The causative agent of mumps

You can become infected with mumps through close contact with a sick person. The causative agent of mumps is the RNA virus Parotits epidemica, which has an irregular spherical shape. It is relatively stable in the external environment: it lasts for several days at room temperature, and up to six months at sub-zero temperatures. The mumps virus has specific mechanisms of tissue damage:

with hemagglutinating activity, it causes swelling of the parotid glands and the formation of microthrombi in the capillaries;
with hemolytic activity, it destroys blood cells;
neuraminidase activity facilitates the penetration of viral particles into the cell and promotes their reproduction.

How does infection occur?

The childhood disease mumps most often affects the nervous system and glandular organs. The virus enters the body through the mucous membranes of the pharynx and nose. First, it settles on the surface of cells, destroys them, and then penetrates the blood vessels, spreading throughout the body. If mumps disease develops in boys, then the testicles and prostate can be affected along with the nervous and glandular tissues; if in girls, the disease affects the ovaries. At the same time, a general allergization of the body may occur, which lasts several years after recovery.

Incubation period

Mumps in a child begins acutely. From the moment of infection with the virus until the manifestation of the disease, it takes from 12 to 22 days in children, and 11-35 days in adults. In some children, 1-2 days before the development of symptoms, prodromal phenomena are observed: muscle and headaches, dry mouth, discomfort in the parotid salivary glands. The fever may last for a week.

Symptoms of mumps

The severity of the disease depends on the state of immunity in children. If the virus enters a healthy body, then it faces an asymptomatic or mild course of the disease. The situation will be greatly complicated by the lack of vaccination against mumps or a recent history of another infection. What are the main symptoms of mumps in children:

prodromal period: lethargy, apathy, weakness, causeless drowsiness;
during the multiplication of the virus, the salivary parotid glands swell;
there is a sharp increase in body temperature to 38–40 degrees, symptoms of intoxication of the body appear, as with the flu or ARVI;
simultaneously with the swelling of the parotid glands, the child feels their soreness;
the submandibular and sublingual glands become inflamed, swelling and redness of the tonsils are observed;
in case of unilateral inflammation, pain appears when chewing.

In boys

In older boys of school age, other organs may be involved in the inflammatory process. Orchitis (testicular damage) and prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate gland) are often observed. With orchitis, one testicle often swells. The skin on the scrotum becomes red and warm to the touch. With prostatitis, the pathology is localized in the perineal area. During a rectal examination, a small patient feels acute pain, the doctor determines a tumor-like formation.

Symptoms of nonspecific mumps

Sialadenitis (chronic nonspecific mumps of non-infectious nature) is a very common pathology in children. This is an independent disease that is not associated with an epidemiological component. An important feature of the disease is the cyclical course: relative calm is replaced by an exacerbation phase, during which the following symptoms are observed:

pain when chewing;
swelling in the area of the salivary parotid gland;
unpleasant taste in the mouth;
discharge of cloudy viscous saliva or pus during purulent mumps;
decrease in saliva volume;
feeling of fullness in the ears;
increase in body temperature.

The first signs of mumps in children

The main danger of mumps is that the first signs appear a week after infection, and the child is considered healthy all this time, infecting those around him. The disease develops rapidly. The first signs of mumps:

loss of appetite, refusal to eat;
feeling of general malaise;
attempts to open the mouth are accompanied by severe pain behind the ears.

Classification of mumps

The course of mumps occurs in various clinical forms. Since there is no generally accepted classification of the disease, doctors use another variation:

manifest: complicated (with meningitis, arthritis, nephritis and others) and uncomplicated form, when only the salivary glands are affected;
residual, developing against the background of mumps: deafness, central nervous system disorders, testicular atrophy, infertility, diabetes;
in-hardware variety (virus carriage).

Complications of the disease

Often a consequence of mumps is inflammation of the pancreas, thyroid or gonads. Other complications of mumps in children:

inflammation of the meninges (appears with meningitis);
inflammation of the testicles (orchitis);
hearing loss, sometimes leading to complete deafness;
joint inflammation;
prostatitis;
oophoritis;
nephritis;
thrombocytopenic purpura;
myocarditis.

Diagnostics

In the typical course of the disease, the diagnosis is clear to the doctor after examining the child. To confirm the viral nature of mumps, additional laboratory tests are carried out. In case of asymptomatic disease, the following tests are especially important:

detection of antibodies;
blood test for CPR to identify the pathogen;
a set of tests to assess the functioning of internal organs.

Treatment of mumps in children

The main rule in treatment is that patients are isolated from others. Therapy is carried out at home with bed rest. A child is admitted to the hospital only in cases of severe mumps. An important stage of therapy is the diet, in which preference is given to gentle nutrition with stewed or boiled dishes. Antipyretic and analgesic medications are used for treatment. Antibiotics are not prescribed, but the child is prescribed a course of physiotherapy. In severe cases of the disease, all prescribed medications are administered through an intravenous drip.

Drug therapy

Inflammation of the salivary glands in uncomplicated mumps in children can be eliminated with complex therapy, which uses the following medications:

Nurofen suspension. It has anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, analgesic effects. Prescribed to children from 3 months. According to the instructions, one dose requires 5 to 10 mg/kg of baby’s weight. The frequency and duration of treatment is prescribed by the doctor. The average dose is 5 ml of syrup every 7 hours until symptoms disappear. In case of overdose, side effects from the gastrointestinal tract may occur: nausea, vomiting, epigastric pain.
Groprinosin. Tablets with antiviral and immunostimulating effects. Dosage – 50 mg/kg body weight per day. You should drink it in 3-4 doses for 7-10 days. In case of overdose, the concentration of uric acid in the serum of urine and blood may increase.

Diet food

If a child has inflamed salivary glands, it is difficult for him to chew, so a gentle diet is indicated. For mumps, it is better to give preference to liquid porridge, pureed soup and plenty of drink (herbal infusions, plain water). After each meal you need to rinse your mouth with a solution of furatsilin or soda. Cabbage, white bread, pasta, fats, and sour juices should be excluded from the menu. Products that will help you recover faster:

liquid pureed soup with chicken broth;
any liquid porridge;
mashed potatoes;
steam cutlets;
chicken meat;
fruits and vegetables in the form of purees or puddings;
steamed/boiled fish;
dairy products;
seeds, nuts, legumes.

Hospitalization of patients

If mumps disease in children is severe, when other glandular organs and the nervous system are involved in the process, then hospitalization is prescribed. They may be sent to the hospital if the child lives in unfavorable social conditions, in a family hostel or in an orphanage to prevent infection of other people. When mumps is brought into institutions, vaccination is carried out for all unvaccinated and unsick children.

From the moment of the last sick person, a 21-day quarantine is imposed in schools, kindergartens and children's homes. Vaccination is not mandatory, but is recommended, because vaccination not only protects against the disease, but also facilitates the course of the infection if the child was vaccinated already during the incubation period. Revaccination is prescribed 4 years after the first vaccination, which promotes the body’s production of specific antibodies that prevent re-infection of mumps by 100%.

Prevention of mumps in children

In addition to standard preventive measures, isolation of the patient for 9 days is important. As the main prevention, a vaccine is used, which is administered subcutaneously into the outer part of the shoulder or under the shoulder blade in a single dose of 0.5 ml. The vaccine also includes antibodies against rubella and measles. Mumps vaccines:

monovaccines: Live mumps vaccine, Imovax Oreion;
divaccine: Live mumps-measles vaccine;
three-component: Trimovax, Ervevax, Priorix, MMR.

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Ekaterina Morozova

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Mumps, or mumps, is a viral acute disease accompanied by inflammation of the salivary glands. The disease is widespread mainly among children from five to fifteen years old, but there are cases when adults get sick.

Infectious disease mumps - how and why does mumps occur in children?

Mumps is a childhood disease, and therefore most often affects children aged three to seven years. Boys are twice as likely as girls to get mumps.
The causative agent of mumps is a virus of the paramycovirus family, which is related to influenza viruses. However, unlike influenza, it is less stable in the external environment. Mumps infection is transmitted by airborne droplets. Basically, infection occurs after communicating with a sick person. There may be cases of mumps through dishes, toys or other objects.

The infection affects the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx, nose and mouth. The parotid glands are often affected.

The first signs of the disease after contact with a patient can be detected in about thirteen to nineteen days. The first sign is an increase in body temperature to forty degrees. After a while, the ear area begins to swell, pain appears, pain when swallowing, and saliva production increases.

Due to the long incubation period, mumps is dangerous. A child, communicating with children, infects them.

Mumps disease most often occurs during times of weakening of the body and lack of vitamins in it - in the spring and at the end of winter.

Signs and symptoms of mumps in children - photos of what mumps disease looks like

The first signs of the disease appear after two to three weeks.

Signs of mumps are as follows:

Feeling of general weakness, chills and malaise;
The child loses his appetite, he becomes capricious and lethargic;
Headache and muscle pain appear;
Body temperature rises.

Inflammation of the salivary glands is the main symptom of mumps in children. First of all, this concerns the salivary parotid glands. Often they swell on both sides, the swelling even extends to the neck. As a result, the patient’s face takes on characteristic shapes and becomes puffy. That is why people call the disease mumps.

Some children may have a hard time getting sick. Swelling of the parotid glands is accompanied by parallel swelling of the sublingual and submandibular glands. Edema bothers the child with its pain. Children complain of pain when talking, eating, and ear pain. In the absence of complications, the persistence of such symptoms lasts from seven to ten days.

Why mumps is dangerous for girls and boys - possible consequences of mumps disease

The consequences of mumps can be dire. That is why, if there are any signs of the disease, it is very important to consult a doctor to prescribe the correct treatment.

Among the complications that mumps disease can lead to are the following:

Acute serous meningitis;
Meningoencephalitis, dangerous to health and life;
Damage to the middle ear, which can subsequently cause deafness;
Inflammation of the thyroid gland;
Disruption of the central nervous system (CNS);
Pancreatitis;
Inflammation of the pancreas.

Mumps is considered especially dangerous for males. Moreover, the older the sick child, the more dangerous the consequences. This is due to the fact that in approximately twenty percent of cases, mumps can affect the spermatogenic epithelium of the testicles. This may cause infertility in the future.

A complicated form of mumps leads to inflammation of the testicles. There is pain in the gonad. The testicle becomes enlarged, swells and turns red. Swelling is usually observed first in one testicle, and then in the other.

Orchitis, in some cases, can result in atrophy (testicular function dies), which for the future man is the cause of subsequent infertility.

There are no specific methods for getting rid of mumps. Everything is done to prevent the development of complications and alleviate the patient’s condition. If possible, the boy is placed in a separate room and provided with bed rest.
To avoid the development of pancreatitis, the child needs to be provided with the right diet. When the disease proceeds without complications, mumps can be cured in a child in ten to twelve days.
The disease is less well tolerated with age. If a boy's mumps is not accompanied by orchitis, there is no need to worry about infertility. Mumps is considered extremely dangerous when puberty occurs. To avoid a disease with serious consequences, it is necessary to get vaccinated for preventive purposes at the age of one year and at six to seven years.

What is mumps famous for? It is mostly known among the people under the simple name - mumps (another ancient name is the ear muff). Mothers whose families have boys are more afraid of the disease, not so much for its manifestations, but for possible serious complications. The infection is almost always tolerated favorably, but only if there are no serious consequences.

What is mumps? Where does the infection come from, why is it dangerous? Is this disease curable and how to deal with it? How can one determine that a person is infected if there are no manifestations of the disease? What can help a patient avoid complications?

General information

The first cases of mumps were described back in the 5th century BC. e. Hippocrates. But it was only in the 20th century that it was possible to summarize all the information about the disease and reveal its true viral nature. In the middle of the last century, a vaccine was first used, but more successful variants against mumps were synthesized a little later.

The name - mumps (parotitis epidemica) is not entirely correct, because there have not been cases of mass infection for a long time. Despite this, the incidence of mumps is growing every year, which has led to the need to monitor the circulation of the virus in nature.

What is special about the virus?

It is unstable in the environment, mumps can be easily neutralized using ultraviolet irradiation, boiling and treatment with disinfectants.
The virus persists for a long time on objects at low temperatures down to minus 70 ºC.
The period of active reproduction of the microorganism is the end of winter and the beginning of spring.
Despite the fact that immunity after an acute illness is considered lifelong, there are cases of re-infection with all the ensuing consequences.
A typical manifestation of infectious mumps is an enlargement of the parotid salivary glands on one or both sides. But often the disease is asymptomatic, which contributes to the rapid spread of the virus among people.
The infection is often recorded in children from 3 years to 15 years old, but adults also often get sick.
Boys get mumps almost one and a half times more often than girls.

This disease is typical for childhood, but its manifestations often resemble the course of the most severe adult diseases.

What is mumps

Mumps is an acute infectious viral disease that develops more often in childhood, the characteristic feature of which is inflammation of the salivary glands. The favorite habitat of the virus is the glandular organs and nervous system, that is, in other words, manifestations such as pancreatitis and meningitis are natural processes due to the characteristics of the microorganism.

In nature, the virus circulates only among people, so the source of infection can be a sick person.

The main route of transmission is airborne; in addition to saliva, the virus can be transmitted through contaminated objects through urine. Mumps in newborns occurs through a vertical route of infection or intrauterine infection from a sick mother. But if a woman has had this viral infection before pregnancy, the baby is given antibodies that protect him for six months.

This is one of the most common viral infections that is widespread throughout the world; there is no region or country where there are completely no cases of infection.

Classification of mumps

According to the course of the disease, the infection is divided into the following degrees:

light;
average;
heavy.

The disease can occur with or without complications. There are known cases of asymptomatic infection, when there are no typical classical clinical manifestations; this form of infection is called inapparent.

In the literature you can find another seemingly illogical term - non-infectious mumps, which has nothing to do with a viral disease. It occurs in case of injury or prolonged hypothermia with subsequent inflammation of the parotid salivary glands of one or two.

How does the mumps virus behave in the human body?

Once on the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract and oral cavity, the virus gradually accumulates here, after which it penetrates the bloodstream. It is carried through the bloodstream to the glandular organs. The parotid salivary glands are the first place of accumulation where mumps settles and begins to actively multiply. Here, as a rule, at the first stage of infection development there is a maximum accumulation of cells.

Part of the microorganism enters other glandular organs and nervous tissue, but their inflammation does not always develop and not immediately. More often, stage-by-stage damage occurs immediately to the salivary glands, then the pancreas, testicles, nervous tissue, and so on. This is due to the multiplication of the virus in the salivary glands and their additional entry into the blood from there.

Symptoms of mumps

The severity of the disease and organ involvement depends on the person's immunity at the time. If the mumps virus enters an absolutely healthy body, it faces only a mild or asymptomatic course of the disease. The situation will be complicated by a recent infection and lack of vaccination.

The first symptoms of infectious mumps

The incubation period for mumps is, according to various sources, from 11 days to just over three weeks (23 days is the maximum). The peculiarity of the disease is that there is no prodromal period or it lasts only 1–3 days.

The classic version of acute mumps occurs with the following symptoms.

This is the first line of attack of the mumps virus or visible symptoms that develop in most cases and contribute to the correct diagnosis. Inflammation of the glands gradually decreases and by the end of the first, middle of the second week, during the normal course of the disease, it no longer bothers the person. In the case of a mild course (including asymptomatic), all of the above symptoms will not occur, and mumps in its manifestations resembles only a mild acute viral infection.

Late symptoms of complicated mumps

As the number of viral cells in the blood increases, the likelihood of other glands becoming involved in inflammation increases. Alternately, with severe and complicated mumps, infection of important organs occurs, which can affect the functions of the human body in the future.

Severe mumps in children is accompanied by:

What happens to other organs?

Long-term consequences of mumps

The basis of gland damage is not only inflammation of the organ tissue itself, but also thickening of its secretion, what the gland produces. Additionally, the excretory ducts become inflamed, which complicates the process of secretion. This affects surrounding systems. Therefore, one of the dangerous aspects associated with mumps is damage to neighboring organs and severe complications in the future.

What problems arise long after mumps?

The disease is acute with complications; chronic mumps is discussed more often with other causes of damage to the parotid salivary glands (non-infectious nature or other viral infections).

Diagnosis of viral mumps

It would seem that absolutely every doctor can diagnose mumps. After the incubation period it does not present any difficulties. Enlarged parotid glands are already half of an accurate diagnosis. But it's not that simple. Inflammation of the salivary glands can be a sign of other diseases, and mild or asymptomatic mumps will interfere with correct and timely diagnosis.

What helps make a diagnosis?

Additionally, the affected organs are examined using special instrumental methods.

Treatment of mumps

The main rule of treatment is to isolate the person from others and stay at home. This will help avoid additional infection. Hospitalization is carried out only in the case of severe forms of infectious mumps or when complications occur.

In the treatment of mumps, the main thing is to follow several rules.

Prevention of viral mumps

In addition to the standard rules for temporary isolation of the patient for 9 days, all children are vaccinated against mumps as a preventive measure. This is an active prevention of diseases caused by the virus.

The vaccine used is a live, weakened one, which is administered subcutaneously under the shoulder blade or into the outer part of the shoulder in a single dose of 0.5 ml.

When is the mumps vaccine given? Under normal conditions, children are vaccinated at 12 months. The vaccine includes antibodies against measles and rubella. Revaccination is prescribed at 6 years of age, which promotes the production of protective cells against mumps by almost 100%. In case of violation of the schedule or refusal of vaccination in childhood, vaccination is given to everyone who wants it, and revaccination with a monovaccine should be carried out no less than 4 years later.

What vaccines are there for mumps?

Mono-vaccines - “Imovax Oreion”, “Mumps cultural live vaccine”.
Divaccine - “Mumps-measles cultural live vaccine.”
Three-component vaccines - MMR, Priorix, Ervevax, Trimovax.

Infectious mumps is caused by only one viral pathogen, which is common in all countries. The mild course of mumps is sometimes deceptive, and the consequences are terrifying and irreparable. Timely detection of mumps and treatment under medical supervision helps reduce the likelihood of such complications, and early vaccination will help avoid the disease altogether.

Mumps or mumps is a disease of viral etiology that leads to inflammation of the salivary glands. Children aged 3 to 15 years are most susceptible to this disease, the most dangerous period is from 3 to 7 years.

Most of the patients are boys, and for them this disease carries a great danger in the form of complications. In some cases, adults also become ill.

The mumps disease is transmitted by airborne droplets, but household infection is also possible.

The incubation period includes 9 days before the first signs of the disease appear and 9 days of the onset of the disease, i.e. 18 days a person is contagious.

Causes

The main cause of mumps infection is paramyxoviruses (Paramyxoviridae - a family of viruses from the order Mononegavirales).

You can become infected from a child who has not yet developed any signs or symptoms of the disease. During an epidemic, 70% of children are infected.

After suffering from mumps, a strong immunity is developed for life; re-infection is extremely rare.

20% of the child population is not susceptible to mumps infection due to the individual characteristics of the body.

Factors provoking the occurrence of the disease

Experts believe there are several factors that may contribute to infection. These include:

weakened immune system;
lack of vitamins and minerals in the body;
seasonal weakening of the body's protective functions in spring and winter;
lack of mumps vaccinations.

If an epidemic occurs in a preschool or school, it is extremely difficult to protect a child from infection. It is very important for the child to be healthy and have preventive vaccinations on time.

People who have been ill should not be afraid.

Symptoms

Mumps disease has the same symptoms in both children and adults.

The first stage of the disease has no symptoms. It lasts from 11 to 23 days, during this period the person does not experience any signs of the disease, but 7-9 days before the symptoms appear, the sick person is already dangerous to others.

After this stage, the disease becomes acute and has the following symptoms:

temperature rise to high levels (this symptom lasts for a week);
severe headaches;
weakness and fatigue;
decreased appetite;
a feeling that doesn't stop;
pain when swallowing and moving the mouth;
pain in the ears, which increases during conversation.

But the most striking sign and distinctive feature of mumps is the appearance of specific swellings in the ear area (see photo above). Such swellings appear due to inflammation of the salivary glands located near the ears - this is a common localization of the mumps virus.

The glands increase to their maximum size within 7 days, after which they gradually decrease. The patient develops a pain syndrome, this is especially noticeable during physical contact, and adults also experience severe pain in muscles and joints.

In people who become ill as adults, mumps occurs in a severe form, and intoxication of the body has a higher level. Symptoms in adults are more pronounced.

The disease also leads to complications of the main part of the nervous system and.

Classification

Depending on the level of immunity in pediatrics, mumps has several classifications:

Manifest mumps:

uncomplicated: the disease affects only the salivary glands.
complicated: the disease affects not only the salivary glands, but also other organs, therefore, along with mumps, other diseases are diagnosed, for example, meningitis, etc.

According to severity:

Mild degree. Symptoms are mild and there are no complications.
Moderate severity. The symptoms are pronounced, severe intoxication, and the salivary glands enlarge.
Severe degree. The symptoms are very pronounced. Most often, this degree is diagnosed in older people, since the symptoms in adults are more pronounced and severe.

In addition, there is such a classification as asymptomatic mumps. When the disease progresses to this extent, the child feels well and has no symptoms, but he can infect others.

Diagnostics

Mumps in children is often diagnosed based on visual examination. But since swelling of the ear area can be caused not only by this disease, but also by a number of others, a number of studies will be required to make an accurate diagnosis.

In addition, mumps in children sometimes occurs in a sluggish form or without any symptoms at all, which makes it difficult to identify the disease.

To make a diagnosis, studies such as:

collecting anamnesis and clarifying the possibility of contact with patients;
, but it will only reveal the presence of infection in the body, for this reason it is not informative;
a bacteriological method for examining saliva and urine, but this analysis is informative only in the last days before the onset of symptoms and 4 days after their onset;
immunofluorescent analysis, which is the most informative.

As additional research methods, instrumental methods for identifying affected organs are used.

Treatment

Symptoms and treatment for mumps are directly related.

After determining the exact diagnosis, the doctor identifies the severity of mumps in children and decides on the method of treatment.

No special therapy is provided; it is mainly aimed at alleviating the symptoms of the disease.

First of all, the patient must be isolated to prevent infection of others. Treatment takes place at home.

Hospitalization is provided for severe disease that occurs with complications.

Drug treatment

To treat mumps, symptomatic therapy is used:

to reduce temperature are prescribed, for example, Ibuprofen or Paracetamol. The use of Aspirin is highly discouraged, as it affects the gastrointestinal tract and can cause additional problems;
anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed ( Viferon, Kapferon), since there is no special medicine to combat mumps;
a diet is prescribed - preference is given to boiled and stewed foods, spicy and sweet foods are completely excluded, as well as alcohol (if we talk about adults), carbonated drinks and coffee;
Drinking plenty of water at least 2 liters per day is prescribed;
complete bed rest is prescribed for 5-7 days;
in case of severe pain, painkillers may be prescribed;
antihistamines, to prevent allergic reactions;
to prevent infertility in men, hormone therapy is prescribed;
in case of severe intoxication, they are administered within the hospital sodium chloride and glucose.

Surgical treatment

Surgery is not indicated for the treatment of mumps.

Additional treatments at home

To treat mumps, additional treatment methods can be used at home, but it is worth remembering that self-medication is not allowed.

Before using any methods, you need to consult a specialist.

Nutrition

In addition to doctor's prescriptions, you can use:

natural fruit drinks that help strengthen the immune system and maintain general tone in the body;
use compresses to reduce fever (vinegar);
drink ;
crush food for easier swallowing.

Herbs and infusions

To treat mumps, it is possible to use herbal infusions, but this should be done with caution and only after consulting a doctor.

You will need 1 tbsp. spoon of linden flowers, which should be poured with 1 glass of boiling water and left to infuse for 30 minutes. Take 0.5 cups 3 times a day.
You can use sage to rinse your mouth. To finish this you need to take 1 teaspoon of sage, pour 1 glass of boiling water and leave for half an hour. Then the infusion needs to be filtered.
You will need 1 tablespoon of primrose herb. Pour 200 ml of boiling water and leave for 30 minutes, then strain the infusion. Take a quarter glass 3 times a day, 30 minutes before meals, as an additional source of vitamins.

Complications

Mumps is a fairly well-known disease, but not only due to its highly pronounced symptoms and signs, but also to its complications, which sometimes lead to serious consequences for human health. And first of all, mumps poses a danger to boys and members of the male population.

Experts identify the following possible complications of the disease:

infertility caused by testicular atrophy. The risk of this complication increases with age;
deafness, which may occur due to damage to the middle ear;

At 6 years of age, revaccination is carried out, after which stable immunity to the disease is developed and infection is excluded almost 100%.

If, for medical reasons or because of refusal to vaccinate, the vaccination schedule has been disrupted, then you can get vaccinated at any age, and revaccination at least after 4 years.

Several types of vaccines are used for vaccinations:

Monovaccine is a vaccine against mumps in live form.
Vaccine – against measles and mumps in live form.
The three-component vaccine includes Priorix, Ervevax, and Trimovax.

Forecast

In most cases, the prognosis for mumps is favorable and ends with complete recovery. The proportion of cases of the disease with serious complications is not large. If you consult a doctor in a timely manner and follow all prescriptions, complications are virtually eliminated.

If a child has a complication in the form of serous meningitis, he should be monitored by a neurologist for 2 years, as this may occur.

May lead to infertility.

In order to avoid this disease, you should not refuse to vaccinate your child, since this is an almost 100% guarantee of the resistance of immunity to the causative agent of the virus.

If an infection with mumps does occur, you should not self-medicate, but consult a doctor at the first symptoms, since timely diagnosis and treatment are the key to a successful recovery.