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What Do Mumps Look Like?

The disease known as mumps was fairly common in the United States until the 1960s, when a vaccine for the condition was developed. Mumps is a viral infection that affects one of three pairs of glands in the face, causing them to swell, along with other symptoms. Mumps has not been eradicated in the U.S., with as many as 1,000 cases reported each year. Here is what mumps symptoms look and feel like.

  1. Function

    • The parotid gland is a salivary gland that is located below each of your earlobes under the skin. It is an important part of the digestive process, secreting enzymes that aid in the breaking down of starches as you chew your food. They are a vital part of any discussion about mumps because the classic mumps symptom involves them.

    Identification

    • When someone contracts mumps, a telltale sign is that the parotid glands become swollen. They swell up in almost three quarters of the people who get mumps, to the point that they are extremely noticeable. The sides of the face and neck will become distended.

    Potential

    • In a fifth of all mumps cases there is no swelling of the parotid glands. A fever of up to 103 degrees is possible, as is a headache and a lack of appetite. Swallowing with your glands swollen will be painful, as will trying to talk, chew or drink anything acidic such as orange or tomato juices. Both sides of the face can swell or only one. In rare mumps cases, other salivary glands can be affected, which can lead to swelling in the region of the tongue, under the jaw and in the front of the chest.

    Time Frame

    • It will take from 1 to 3 days for the swelling associated with mumps to appear. Mumps in males can also cause a painful inflammation of the testicles that can last from a week to 10 days. The swelling in the face will remain for a week, and the individual will be recovered from mumps in 10 to 12 days. It takes from 12 to 25 days for mumps to show up once you have been exposed, and those with mumps are contagious for two days before the symptoms start to six days after they have gone.

    Prevention/Solution

    • Since mumps is caused by a virus, antibiotics are useless. Hot and cold packs can ease the discomfort of the swollen glands, and the fever symptoms can be treated with products such as ibuprofen. The mumps vaccine is very effective, and once you have had the mumps, you rarely will get them again.

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