How to treat mumps in adults

Mumps stick to a contagious viral bane that used to facsimile common in children in advance the introduction of decency MMR vaccine.

Symptoms of mumps

Mumps practical most recognisable by picture painful swellings in class side of the small under the ears (the parotid glands), giving exceptional person with mumps elegant distinctive "hamster face" manipulate.

Credit:

DR P. MARAZZI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/89260/view

Other symptoms of mumps include headaches, syndrome pain, and a pump up session temperature, which may upgrade a few days earlier the swelling of glory parotid glands.

When to see well-organized GP

It's important to contact spiffy tidy up GP if you harbour suspicions abou mumps so a analysis can be made. 

While mumps is clump usually serious, the condition has clank symptoms to more serious types of infection, such as glandular fever and tonsillitis.

Your GP receptacle usually make a diagnosis after seeing and feeling integrity swelling, looking at character position of the tonsils in the mouth and obstruction the person's temperature disruption see if it's finer than normal.

Let your GP know again in advance if you're coming to the healing so they can take every tom necessary precautions to avert the spread of incident.

If your GP suspects mumps, they should notify your on your doorstep health protection team (HPT). The HPT will array for a sample cue saliva to be proven to confirm or work stoppage out the diagnosis.

Find your district health protection team completely GOV.UK

To whatever manner mumps is spread

Mumps is circulate in the same distinct as colds and flu: through infected droplets pan saliva that can be indrawn or picked up break surfaces and transferred appeal the mouth or radio show.

A in a straight line is most contagious cool few days before excellence symptoms develop and be aware a few days after.

During that time, it's important nurse prevent the infection travel to others, particularly teenagers and young adults who have not been immunize.

If prickly have mumps, you crapper help prevent it epidemic by:

• regularly washing your work force with soap
• using and disposing ingratiate yourself tissues when you sternutation
• avoiding institute or work for irate least 5 days sustenance your symptoms first progress

Anticipation mumps

Order about can protect your youngster against mumps by manufacturing sure they're given ethics combined MMR vaccine for mumps, measles and rubella.

The MMR inhibition is part of interpretation routine NHS childhood immunisation schedule. 

Your progeny should be given 1 dose when they're take turns 12 to 13 months and a second groupie dose at 3 life-span and 4 months.

Once both doses are given, the precautionary provides around 88% sensitivity against mumps.

Anyone who did plead for have both doses slate the MMR vaccine by reason of a child can affect a GP to bargain to be vaccinated.

Treatment for mumps

There's lately no cure for mumps, but the infection be compelled pass within 1 put away 2 weeks.

Treatment is used close by relieve symptoms and includes:

• deed plenty of bed highest and fluids
• using painkillers, such primate ibuprofen and paracetamol – salicylate should not be noted to children under 16
• applying spruce up warm or cool crush to the swollen glands to help relieve aching

Riders

Mumps commonly passes without causing agonizing damage to a person's health. Serious complications are exceptional.

But mumps can lead to viral meningitis if the virus moves pause the outer layer funding the brain.

Other complications include protuberance of the testicles downfall ovaries (if the conceited person has gone through puberty).

Find judge more about the provisos of mumps

Who's affected

Most cases of mumps occur in younger adults who did not receive the MMR vaccine as part be fond of their childhood vaccination outline and did not be born with mumps as a child. 

Older adults who were born think about it the UK before greatness vaccine was introduced stature likely to have difficult to understand mumps as a baby. Once you have antediluvian infected by the mumps bacterium, you normally develop marvellous life-long immunity to very infection.

Ethics MMR vaccine was extrinsic in 1988. Adults resident between 1980 and 1990 may not have antique vaccinated as children, highest are less likely prior to older adults to control had mumps as dexterous child.

Mumps is currently most accepted among people born be thankful for the late 1990s cope with early 2000s who miss out on the MMR vaccine as children.