Epidemic parotitis: symptoms, treatment, complications and prevention
Parotitis( epidemic) is a viral disease that is characterized by an inflammatory process in the salivary glands.According to the statistics of mumps( the popular name of the disease is mumps), most often children aged 5 to 15 years are sick, very rarely the virus affects adults.The disease is severe enough and can lead to serious consequences.
Degrees of disease and characteristic symptoms
Parotitis epidemic is well understood - a disease known to science for two centuries. In medicine, it is customary to classify it according to the severity of the leak:
- Light degree.It is characterized by the development of the inflammatory process in the salivary glands.At the same time, the child's body temperature will rise suddenly and quickly to average levels.
- Average degree.In addition to fever, for such a degree of mumps epidemic, fever is typical - the child "shakes".With an average severity of the disease, the inflammation is not only affected by the salivary glands, but also by other glandular organs.The patient will complain of headache, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, insomnia.
- Heavy Duty.This degree of considered viral disease is considered the most dangerous for the health and even the life of the child, because the inflammatory process affects both the salivary glands and the central nervous system.
Symptoms of mumps in children
This virus disease always begins suddenly and develops rapidly:
- increases body temperature to critical values;
- the child experiences "an ache" and weakness in the whole body;
- to do elementary swallowing and chewing movements of the jaw becomes very painful;
- completely disappears appetite.
Hyperthermia( increase in body temperature)
This symptom is present from the very beginning of the disease and falls down only after the disappearance of pronounced symptoms of mumps.In this regard, parents do not need to worry - this is considered the norm, even if a decrease in body temperature does not occur after the use of antipyretic drugs by a sick child.But if the hyperthermia continues to be present after the disappearance of symptoms of mumps, it is necessary to immediately inform the treating physician about it - this sign may indicate the development of a new pathological process in the body.
Surprisingly, the observation was made by doctors and scientists who examined the viral disease under consideration - the sick child's body tries to fight the mumps virus by itself, producing specific antibodies.They, by the way, can be found in the blood and after a full cure for the mumps.
Swelling behind the ears
Perhaps the most vivid symptom of mumps for children is the swelling behind the ears.Moreover, it reaches a fairly large size, with palpation - it is painful and prevents you from chewing and talking.In some cases, swelling behind the ears extends to the neck - this is the norm and no additional medical measures are needed.
Epidemic parotitis has a very strong effect on the appearance of the child - the cheeks seem to "swell" and "drop", the upper tips and middle of the ears protrude due to the presence of swelling behind the ears - the face of the patient resembles a pig's stigma( hence the mumps' name mumps).
The swelling behind the ears becomes less as the treated virus disease is treated and disappears completely after 8 days.
Treatment of mumps
Almost all patients diagnosed with mumps are undergoing treatment at home.Hospitalization is indicated only for those patients in whom the viral disease under consideration proceeds in extremely severe form. No special treatment for mumps exists, it is sufficient to adhere to the following rules:
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The patient must comply with bed rest for 10 days.It is difficult for children to explain why they should lie constantly, but parents should do their best to comply with this condition. - Food should be based on a dairy-vegetable diet.The fact is that the virus of mumps can cause an inflammatory process not only in the salivary glands, but also in other glandular organs, including the pancreas.It is not surprising that pancreatitis often develops against mumps.That is why the patient for the entire period of treatment should switch to the aforementioned diet: dairy and sour-milk products, as well as vegetables and fruits should be introduced into the diet.It is necessary to refuse fried and boiled meat, fish, offal, baking.
- Provide the patient with a copious drink.At children at parotite appetite very often disappears - it very much to chew and even to swallow food, therefore it will be expedient to constantly give sick drinks to fruit, compotes, teas from a linden / raspberry / viburnum, broth of a dogrose.
- Periodically take antipyretics.If the high body temperature lasts several hours and the child clearly shows signs of intoxication( nausea, dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea), it is advisable to give him antipyretics - Paracetamol, Panadol, Ibuprofen and others).Please note that in this case they will only help for a short time.
- Use antihistamines.They can be prescribed by a doctor to children who have a history of hypersensitivity or individual intolerance to any stimuli.Claritin and Suprastin are most often recommended.
- To go through vitamin therapy.To support the body and enhance / strengthen the immune system of the child, you can give him multivitamin complexes - Complivit, Biomax.
Important: If epidemic parotitis occurs in severe form and the doctor diagnoses the child for signs of severe intoxication( poisoning) of the body, the treatment will be performed in a medical institution using detoxification therapy.
Traditional medicine
In no case can you rely on folk methods to treat mumps only - they are meant only to help, support the body in the fight against a viral disease and relieve the pain syndrome.The most effective means in this case will be:
- Compresses:
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on the ears( or ear if inflammation of the salivary glands is unilateral) should be applied warm compresses - for example, vodka or sunflower oil; - perfectly helps relieve the pain of the compress with ichthyol ointment;
- can be used and flaxseed - it needs to be welded( 50 g seeds per 200 ml of water) until the formation of a thick gruel - it is applied to the swelling behind the ears.
Please note: compresses can be applied only at normal temperature, even a slight increase in it becomes a contraindication to conducting thermal procedures.
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- Infusions / herbal infusions:
- a tablespoon of dry linden color, pour a glass of steep boiling water and leave for 15 minutes.Then the infusion is filtered and allowed to drink the patient mumps during the day;
- a teaspoon of dried sage flowers is brewed according to the principle of ordinary tea in a glass of boiling water, it takes 15-20 minutes.Then the infusion is filtered and taken to 50 ml three times a day in a warm form.It is very effective to carry out this infusion and frequent rinses of the mouth and pharynx - this will help quickly get rid of the pain syndrome and reduce the extent of swelling;
- a tablespoon of dry rose hips is poured into a glass of boiling water and insisted until a uniform dark red color is obtained.Drinking in an arbitrary amount.
- Rinsing the oral cavity.It should be carried out as often as possible - for example, every hour during the day.It is best to use for the procedure the decoction of chamomile and sage - these medicinal plants relieve inflammation and have an antiseptic effect.The broth is prepared as follows: for 500 ml of water, two tablespoons of both components are taken, everything is boiled for 10 minutes from the moment of boiling, it is insisted until completely cooled.
Treatment features for mumps in children
There are some medicines that really help with epidemic parotitis.The main condition: they are used at the initial stage of development of the considered viral disease and only after agreement with the attending physician. These include:
- Belladonna;
- Aconite;
- Jaborandi Pilocarpus;
- Ferrumphosphoricum.
Important: all of the listed medicines are very effective and if any one of them is already appointed by the attending physician, then it is not advisable to experiment with the use of several others at once.It is impossible to make appointments independently!
Complications of mumps and the effects of mumps in men
Epidemic parotitis is not dangerous because of its severe course - it can be regulated by medications and bed rest with folk recipes. The considered viral disease is characterized by the development of serious complications :
- pancreatitis is an inflammatory process in the pancreas;
- meningitis - inflammation of the meninges;
- encephalitis - inflammation of the soft tissues of the brain;
- oophoritis - inflammation of the ovaries in girls;
- hearing loss, often complete irreversible deafness.
Important: is the most dangerous epidemic parotitis for boys - they develop ocher( testicular inflammation) as a complication of the disease, which leads to further infertility.Previously, it was believed that every boy who had had a pig in his childhood was doomed to infertility, but during the research it was found that this complication is diagnosed only in 15% of cases, which is also not a small one.
The algorithm for diagnosing complications in epidemic parotitis:
Preventive measures
Since the disease in question has a viral etiology, the only reliable preventive measure is vaccination.Immunization from mumps is done twice - at 12 months and 6 years.Introduced twice the vaccine makes it possible to develop lifelong immunity against the mumps virus.
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If the child has had contact with a child with mumps, you need to visit a pediatrician or infectious disease specialist for a preventive check-up after 10 days - during this time the virus, if it penetrated the body, will give the first manifestations.
Epidemic parotitis is a viral disease, which is very easy to avoid.Immunization( vaccination) allows you to get a guarantee of 100% that infection with this virus will not occur.Failure of parents to vaccinate increases the risk of infection and makes it possible to develop severe, sometimes irreversible, consequences.
Tsygankova Yana Aleksandrovna, medical reviewer, therapeutist of the highest qualification category
