Mumps

Mumps

Mumps is a contagious viral infection that causes one or both of the salivary (parotid) glands to swell. In addition to inflamed salivary glands, people with mumps may experience  fever and swelling of the glands below the lower jaw and under the tongue.

Most people with mumps will only have mild illness, but in very extreme cases mumps can cause hearing loss and meningitis (swelling of the lining of the brain and spinal cord). Males who get mumps can get painful swelling of their testicles, which occasionally can lead to infertility.

Children between the ages of 5 and 14 are the most likely to get mumps. Mumps spreads through the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or speaks, which creates small droplets that contain the bacteria. Other people can become infected if they breathe in those droplets. The infected person can spread the disease before they know they are  infected. Getting 2 doses of the MMR vaccine is the best way to protect yourself against mumps.