Therapy

There is no causal therapy against the infectious disease. The therapy is symptomatic, i.e. it aims to relieve the symptoms. This can be done with the help of warm bandages of the parotid gland, the food should be given in a papillot form to prevent the throat pain as far as possible. In addition, antipyretic and analgesic medication can be administered (e.g. ibuprofen, paracetamol).

Duration of mumps disease

The mumps disease with an inflammatory swelling of the parotid gland can last for about three to eight days on average. However, progressions that last longer are also possible. The occurrence of complications also prolongs the duration of mumps disease.

Mumps in adults – What are the differences to children?

Mumps is a typical childhood disease that mainly affects children between four and 15 years of age. However, mumps may also occur in adults who have no vaccination protection. Adults who work in health care professions or in training centers for children and adolescents are particularly at risk.

One difference between mumps disease in children and adults is the higher rate of complications with increasing age. These complications, which affect adults more frequently, include encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) or meningitis (inflammation of the meninges), as well as deafness. Some of the complications can even be fatal, so mumps infection in adulthood should not be underestimated.

Mumps during pregnancy

It was long believed that mumps infection in the first trimester of pregnancy can lead to embryo death. However, this assumption has not yet been confirmed. Infection at a later stage of pregnancy is also not associated with an increased rate of malformations or miscarriages. The mumps disease of a pregnant woman is therefore not as complicated as a rubella or measles infection during pregnancy.However, since vaccination against mumps can be given together with measles and rubella as a combination vaccine, the vaccination status should be checked and possibly supplemented before each planned pregnancy. In this way, the unborn child is not exposed to unnecessary risks.