Note when treating mumps at home

Mumps is an infectious disease caused by a virus of the Paramyxovirus family. The disease easily affects the salivary glands. Mumps can be spread by inhalation or by contact with the saliva of an infected person.

Mumps is an infectious disease caused by a virus of the Paramyxovirus family. The disease easily affects the salivary glands. Mumps is a respiratory virus that is spread through contact with the salivary glands or through the respiratory tract. You can get mumps by coming into contact with an infected person through coughing or sneezing.
There is now an MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella, which is included in the childhood immunization program. If you live and work in an environment with a lot of contact with other people, you can still get mumps even if you have been vaccinated against the disease.
Children and adolescents are susceptible to mumps because their bodies do not yet have antibodies.

Mumps usually has an incubation period lasting for a few weeks, then there will be a sudden high fever, which can reach 38 degrees and accompanied by a feeling of fatigue, loss of appetite, insomnia. After 1-3 days of prolonged high fever, your salivary glands will become enlarged. Mumps is a special infection because it causes your cheeks and jaw to swell. At first, there will only be swelling on one side, after a few days, the remaining salivary gland will be swollen, the two swollen sides will often be out of balance, maybe one big, one small. In some cases, people with mumps may have facial deformities, difficulty chewing, difficulty swallowing due to swollen salivary glands. The skin in the salivary area is swollen, tight, shiny and not red, but when touching that area, the patient will feel pain and heat.
Some common signs of mumps include:
Headache Fatigue Loss of appetite Insomnia Muscle aches, body aches dry mouth Nausea and vomiting High fever Possibly swelling of the scrotum and pain in the testicles. Basically, the symptoms of mumps in adults and children are the same. Some patients with mumps may not experience any symptoms or have very mild symptoms when infected. Some rare signs, such as swelling of the testicles in men, account for about 10% of cases of men with mumps. Women can experience swelling of the ovaries with mumps, although this is not common. Other rare complications of mumps include pancreatitis, meningitis, or encephalitis.
Meningitis and encephalitis are dangerous complications. When the patient feels itchy, has trouble concentrating, or thinking, has a severe headache, or has a seizure, this could be a sign that your condition has serious complications.

It is easy to confuse mumps with diphtheria or bacterial cervical lymphadenitis. Mumps is a benign disease, so you can treat it at home, you must pay attention to monitor to detect complications of the disease in time.
Some notes when treating mumps at home such as:
You should eat soft foods and take pain relievers and fever reducers with paracetamol. Apply warm or cool compresses to reduce swelling of the salivary glands Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated Avoid acidic foods, fruits, or alcohol causes the mumps area of ​​the patient to be more swollen and painful, but the patient should bathe and wash normally to kill the bacteria. Go to the doctor immediately if symptoms such as vomiting, headache, abdominal pain appear. Antibiotics must be prescribed by a doctor. Absolutely do not self-treat mumps by folk methods such as using squid, pot, put leaves or stick high on the swollen area. This can make your skin hot, burning, this is the right condition for germs from outside to invade the parotid gland, making the inflammation worse, possibly even blood infection. Patients with mumps should rest at home to avoid spreading the infection from person to person. The disease will go away on its own after about 5-7 days if there are no complications. After about 10 days, the parotid area will gradually reduce swelling and recover completely. There is currently no specific treatment for the mumps virus, so treatment is needed to ease symptoms until the infection clears up on its own.

Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent mumps. If you haven't received two doses of the MMR vaccine as a child, you should get at least one dose of the vaccine.
When the epidemic breaks out, you should avoid contact with crowded places.
Keep the environment clean and ventilated, regularly clean toys and household items
When you notice signs of mumps, you should go to a medical facility for examination and guidance. Get proper treatment, prevent the disease from spreading to others, and avoid possible serious complications.