About Contagious Mumps Virus Symptoms, Treatment, Complications and Prevention Vaccine

The mumps is a highly contagious virus, spread by infected saliva commonly through:

Typically the mumps virus infects your parotid salivary glands, located toward the back of each cheek, which become swollen and painful. But the virus can also infect many other parts of your body.

The mumps are most contagious a couple days before symptoms and up to a week after symptoms subside.

Mumps takes about a week per cheek recovery, and full recovery may take longer since both cheeks don’t usually become infected at the same time. In the absence of serious complications, symptoms, in addition to sore cheeks, may include:

Antibiotics are not used to treat mumps because it caused it by a virus. Nonaspirin fever medications, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, can be used to reduce any fever and help in relief of the swollen cheek pain.

In very rare cases, serious complications of the mumps can cause:

  • ovary inflammation ~ lower abdomen pain in women
  • hearing loss ~ cause permanent hearing loss in one or both ears
  • orchitis ~ testicle inflammation, swelling and pain of one or both
  • meningitis ~ infection and inflammation of your brain and spinal cord membranes and fluid
  • pancreatitis ~ pancreas swelling which may include pain in your upper abdomen, nausea and vomiting
  • encephalitis ~ inflammation of your brain which can lead to neurologic issues and become life-threatening

A doctor should be consulted if:

Immediate medical attention is needed if a mumps case involves the brain or its membranes, with signs and symptoms of:

There is no treatment for mumps, but the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine can prevent it. The first dose is usually given between 12 to 15 months old, and a second between 4-6 years old. Generally, you are immune to a second bout of mumps after you’ve had them.

« »