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| dr. Pertiwi Febriana Chandrawati, Sp.A, M.Sc (Photo: Special). |
Mumps, also known as parotitis, is a condition where the salivary glands on the side of the face (parotid glands) become inflamed due to a viral infection. The symptoms involve swelling around the ears or neck, both or neither side of the face. The disease is contagious and generally affects children aged 5 to 9 years. A lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Muhammadiyah Malang, dr. Pertiwi Febriana Chandrawati, Sp.A, M.Sc. said that mumps is different from goiter. Despite having a similar disease name with the characteristic of a lump on the neck area, they are different.
“Mumps is indicated by the enlargement of parotid glands or swelling under the ear, causing the lump to be on the side of the neck, which can be on the left, right, or both and it is caused by an infection. Meanwhile, goiter is caused by enlargement of the thyroid gland or abnormal cell growth in the gland, with the lump located in the center of the neck,” she explained.
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She also explained that mumps is caused by a virus from the paramyxovirus group. The virus can easily spread to other people through droplets of saliva or saliva that come from their mouth or nose. The spread of the mumps virus can also occur indirectly through intermediary media. For example, when you use the same tableware as a person with mumps. In addition, if a person with mumps touches their mouth or nose, then their contaminated hand touches the dining table, the next person who touches the dining table is also at risk of infection.
The mumps virus enters the respiratory tract through the nose, mouth or throat when infected. Then, the virus moves to the parotid gland to stay, multiply, and incubate for 2 to 3 weeks. The symptoms that appear after being infected with this virus are swollen cheeks on one side or both sides due to swelling of the parotid glands, pain when chewing or swallowing food, fever of up to 39°, dry mouth, headache, joint pain, abdominal pain, fatigue and loss of appetite.
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“However, the symptoms of mumps can be milder, resembling the symptoms of a cold. Some people don't even experience any symptoms but they have mumps,” she explains.
If mumps is not treated immediately, many complications will occur. Therefore, when the body feels symptoms such as red eyes, stiff neck, severe headache, severe drowsiness, decreased consciousness or fainting and vomiting, seeing a doctor immediately is a must.
“The complications that can occur are the inflammation of the testicles (orchitis), which can lead to infertility as an adult, inflammation of the breast glands (mastitis), inflammation of the ovaries (oophoritis), inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord (meningitis), inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), acute pancreatitis. In some people, mumps can also cause deafness, heart problems, and miscarriage, but these complications are very rare,” she explains further.
Nana also shares a tip on how to prevent this disease, which is by giving MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) immunization to children. The MMR vaccine protects the body from measles, mumps and rubella. This vaccine needs to be given to children twice, when the child is 15 months old and when the child is 5-7 years old. However, if the first immunization has not been given at 15 months of age, the first vaccine can still be given until the child is 3 years old.
“If it has not been given in childhood, the MMR vaccine can still be given as an adult. Administration of the MMR vaccine for adults is recommended for people who are at high risk of exposure to the virus that causes mumps,” she added.
It is done as a precautionary measure, Nana also talked about the importance of maintaining good hygiene. It should be done in order to avoid transmission through drop-splet infection. Washing hands regularly with soap and running water, not sharing bathing or eating utensils with the patient and applying cough etiquette, such as covering the mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing and sneezing also need to be implemented. “Mumps sufferers are also advised to stay at home for at least 5 days after the first symptoms appear. This aims to prevent the transmission of mumps to other people,” she explained.
Finally, Nana said that if the patient ritn good immune system can recover from mumps on its own within 1-2 weeks. However, there are also things that can be done to relieve complaints and symptoms that arise when suffering from mumps, such as getting enough sleep and rest, drinking more water, compressing the swollen area with warm or cold water to relieve pain, eating soft foods and taking medications for mumps symptoms, such as ibuprofen and paracetamol.
“Keep in mind, do not give aspirin to people with mumps, because it can trigger reye syndrome, which is a dangerous disease that can cause liver failure, brain swelling, and even death,” she concluded. (azm/wil/put)
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