What is a testicular mumps?
Testicular mumps is a complication of mumps disease. The infection spreads to the testicles via the bloodstream and causes an inflammation of the testicles. This happens in 20 to 30 percent of cases occurring during puberty. Otherwise, this complication of mumps disease occurs much less frequently.
Causes for the development of testicular mumps
The cause of a testicular mumps is first of all a mumps disease. This is caused by the mumps virus, which can be transmitted via droplets in the air. The contagiousness of the saliva of a person suffering from mumps is assumed to be very high.
Those affected are contagious from about seven days before the onset of the disease until nine days afterwards. The onset of the disease is often marked by an inflammation of the parotid gland, which leads to swelling of the cheeks and forms the familiar mumps face. Nevertheless, there is also a risk of infection from disease progressions that are less obvious, as in about half of the mumps diseases.
In the course of mumps infection, the mumps virus can spread, causing other organs, such as the tear ducts, thyroid, pancreas and mammary glands to become inflamed and swollen. In addition, the mumps virus can infect the testicles, ovaries and nervous system, where it can cause inflammatory conditions. Testicular mumps is the name given to this complication of mumps disease, which leads to inflammation of the testicles.
Diagnosis
In most cases, the diagnosis can be clarified without doubt by the patient’s clear symptoms. The swelling of the cheeks in connection with inflammation of the testes and other organs, especially glands, often does not allow any further possible diagnosis. Nevertheless, there is the possibility of a pathogen determination which can dispel the doubts. Either the patient’s antibodies against the mumps virus can be detected or the pathogen can be displayed directly.
Associated symptoms and complications
The extremely strong swelling of the testis is the most important symptom of testicular mumps. Often the disease of testicular mumps starts on one side and then in some cases becomes bilateral. The testicle is particularly painful under pressure.
The accompanying symptoms of testicular mumps are of course the symptoms of mumps disease in general. This often results in inflammation and significant swelling of the salivary glands, which causes the patient’s cheeks to swell considerably. In addition, there is often chewing pain and protruding ears due to the swelling.
Fever and a general feeling of illness are often also accompanying symptoms of this complication. Complications that can be added include an infection of the pancreas. This usually manifests itself as nausea, vomiting and pain in the upper abdomen.
There is also the possibility of inflammation of the meninges and very rarely of the brain. This course is manifested by disturbances of consciousness, seizures and other neurological deficits such as paralysis and hearing loss. Fortunately, such complications are very rare.
