Epidemic parotitis (mumps) - treatment and prevention, symptoms
Symptoms, treatment and prevention of mumps. Where to get a mumps vaccine
Epidemic mumps is an acute infectious disease characterized by inflammation of the salivary glands. The popular name of the disease is mumps, it is a childhood disease that most often occurs at the age of 5-15. What do the symptoms of mumps in children look like, parents need to know - the disease is dangerous, it must be diagnosed and treated in a timely manner.
Signs of the disease
Signs of mumps in adults and children are the same:
- Increased body temperature - hyperthermia. Thus, the body fights inflammation, the immune system produces antibodies during this period. If the elevated body temperature persists even after the disappearance of other signs of mumps, this indicates the development of a parallel pathological process.
- Swelling around the ears. This is the most striking symptom by which you can determine mumps in a child. The swelling always reaches large sizes, hurts when palpated, prevents chewing and swallowing food. Mumps radically changes the patient's appearance - the cheeks swell and sink, the tips of the ears rise. The appearance is restored no earlier than 7-8 days after the onset of the disease.
- Weakness and aches in the body. Children become lethargic, apathetic, indifferent. Adults literally "fall", even eat while lying down, unable to lift a spoon. Against this background, a person is constantly sleeping, it becomes difficult to look at bright light, with a headache even quiet sounds begin to annoy.
How to treat mumps disease
If the infection is mild, then the patient is on outpatient treatment. Hospitalization is indicated only in severe cases of the disease and the development of complications. It is not necessary to treat mumps disease with specific drugs, but there are a number of clinical recommendations:
- The patient is shown bed rest for 10 days.
- Nutrition should be light, it is better to adhere to a dairy-vegetable diet. Inflammation in mumps occurs not only in the salivary glands, but also in other organs - for example, the pancreas often suffers, which provokes acute or chronic pancreatitis. It is necessary to unload the gastrointestinal tract as much as possible, so the menu should include whole milk, fermented milk products, fresh and stewed vegetables, fruits.
- You need to drink a lot. Mumps is difficult to tolerate, the patient may refuse to eat at all due to pain in the jaws and inflamed salivary glands, so the body will need to be supported with fluids. Fruit drinks and compotes, decoctions of hawthorn or rose hips, jelly, green and black tea, cocoa with milk are allowed.
- Taking antipyretic drugs. It is advisable only if hyperthermia worsens the patient's condition. For example, with intoxication of the body, nausea and vomiting, dizziness, diarrhea may occur. Mumps is very difficult for adults to tolerate, they need such drugs - they will have a short-term effect, so you will need to consult a doctor about the frequency of administration and dosage.
It is possible to use "dry heat" on the area of the parotid salivary glands (i.e. wrap it with a handkerchief or scarf).
Possible complications
Pediatricians and infectious disease specialists are engaged in the treatment and prevention of mumps. The disease itself is not dangerous in the acute period of the course - the patient's condition is successfully corrected with medications and recommendations from specialists. It is worth fearing serious consequences:
- pancreatitis - inflammation of the pancreas;
- encephalitis - inflammation of the soft tissues of the brain;
- oophoritis - inflammation of the ovaries;
- meningitis - inflammation of the meninges;
- hearing loss or complete loss.
The consequences of mumps in boys are the most severe - an inflammatory process develops in the testicles (orchitis), which can provoke infertility in the future. Previously, it was believed that such a complication was inevitable, but modern medicine detects only 15% of infertility cases.
Prevention of epidemic mumps
The disease is viral, and therefore the only reliable way to prevent its development is vaccination. It is necessary to get vaccinated against mumps at the age of one and six years - such a vaccination schedule provides lifelong immunity.
Prevention of mumps is carried out only after a full examination. The reaction to the vaccine against the mumps virus is not acute - the child may complain of weakness, slight pain when swallowing and chewing solid food, but there will be no swelling behind the ears, the reaction to the vaccination appears 7-12 days after vaccination.
You can learn more about the disease and possible complications of mumps in men on the pages of our website dobrobut.com.
Article author / reviewer - Rykova Stanislava Oleksandrivna
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