Mumps: Signs, Symptoms, and Complications

Mumps is a viral infection that is known for producing painfully swollen salivary glands, fever, and headache. Mumps can be mild, especially in children, or have no symptoms at all. There is a greater risk of complications for those who are infected after puberty, including testicular and ovarian inflammation. Serious complications include hearing loss and rare life-threatening meningitis and encephalitis. Here's what to expect through the course of the illness.

Frequent Symptoms

Mumps is easily spread through contact with infected saliva, sneezing, or coughing. The usual incubation period (the time between exposure to an infection and the first appearance of symptoms) for mumps is between 12 and 25 days. You are also contagious from two days before symptoms begin until five days after the swelling begins.

You may have a low-grade fever, malaise, and headache for several days before you develop the swollen salivary glands. Some people have no symptoms. Others have only very mild generalized symptoms (low-grade fever, feeling sick) or respiratory symptoms. Swollen glands are seen in over 70 percent of the cases.

The parotid gland on one side may swell before the one on the other side. The salivary glands under the floor of the mouth also swell for some people. The swelling usually peaks in one to three days and then subsides over the next week. This is true for each gland, and the swelling and resolution often occurs in waves.

Rare Symptoms

Less common but more severe symptoms can include:

• High fever
• Shaking chills
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Neck pain

Inflammation of the covering of the brain or spinal cord (meningitis) or of the brain itself (encephalitis) can cause moderate to severe headaches.

Pancreatic inflammation is rare but can result in pain in the upper abdomen, nausea, and vomiting. It is only a temporary condition. There may also be inflammation in other organs such as the heart.

Inflammation of the testicles (orchitis) may be noted in men who have gone through puberty, occurring up to 30% of the time in unvaccinated and 6% of vaccinated post-pubertal males. One or both testicles can be swollen and painful. This symptom begins seven to 10 days after the salivary glands swell and are accompanied by a high fever. Sometimes men will also have abdominal pain that might be mistaken for appendicitis. It usually eases in three to seven days.

Inflammation of the ovaries and breasts can be seen in women who have reached puberty, but these occur in 5% of cases. A woman may feel abdominal tenderness if the ovaries are inflamed and breast pain, if the breasts are, are inflamed.

Complications

Hearing loss is a rare complication of mumps, occurring in less than 1 percent of cases. It usually is seen in just one ear and hearing returns. However, the hearing loss can be permanent and mumps is the most frequent cause of one-sided sensorineural deafness in children. It is wise to have your child's hearing tested six to 12 months after a case of mumps.

People who reach puberty without being vaccinated or having mumps previously are more at risk of complications due to inflammation of the testes, ovaries, and central nervous system. Orchitis results in shrinking of the affected testicle in about half of the cases and the sperm count can be lowered in about 10 percent of cases. Lower fertility can result, but sterility is a rare complication. In women, ovarian inflammation can rarely result in infertility and premature menopause.

While mumps has not been linked to birth defects or premature birth, it has been associated with an increased risk of miscarriage if the mother acquires mumps the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. This could occur if a woman was not vaccinated or didn't have mumps earlier in life.

When to See a Healthcare Provider

You should see a healthcare provider if you are not sure whether your symptoms are due to mumps. There is no specific treatment for mumps, but your practitioner may want to rule out other causes of the symptoms that may require treatment.

Mumps Doctor Discussion Guide

Get our printable guide for your next doctor's appointment to help you ask the right questions.

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Call your healthcare provider to see if an appointment is warranted if you have these signs that the illness is developing one of the serious complications:

• Stiff neck
• Seizures
• A severe headache
• Extreme drowsiness
• Loss of consciousness
• Pain in the abdomen
• Vomiting
• A lump or pain in the testicles