Mumps

Mumps

Mumps: symptoms, definition, home care, treatment, and prevention Treatment Prevention


Symptoms

  • A swollen, sensitive cheek between the jaw and the ear (on one or both sides)
  • Moderate fever (between 38.5°C and 39°C)
  • Headache and earache
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle aches
  • Dry mouth
  • Difficulty speaking, chewing, or swallowing
  • Poor appetite
  • Vomiting

If you think your child has mumps, take them to the doctor to confirm the diagnosis.

Get medical help right away if your child:

  • Has a fever over 40°C (104°F)
  • Has a stiff neck
  • Has seizures, feels dizzy, or has a bad headache
  • Has abdominal pain
  • Has swollen and tender testicle(s) (in boys)

These symptoms are signs of complications from mumps.

What is mumps?

Mumps is caused by a virus that infects the salivary glands. This infection leads to swelling of the cheeks and neck near the ears,and is often accompanied by severe pain when chewing or swallowing food.

However, some infected people only show symptoms of the common cold. What’s more, a recent study found that 15 to 24 percent of unvaccinated people who catch the virus have no symptoms.

In rare cases, mumps can cause more serious complications. The infection may spread to the pancreas (pancreatitis), brain (encephalitis), meninges (meningitis), testicles, or ovaries. Very rarely, mumps can lead to hearing loss.

Although mumps is less contagious than measles or chickenpox, it spreads easily from person to person. Transmission can happen through contact with the saliva of an infected person (e.g., kissing) or by sharing contaminated objects that have been in their mouth (e.g., utensils, drinking glasses, water bottles, toys). A person can also become infected by breathing in droplets produced when the sick person sneezes or coughs.

Because children today are vaccinated against mumps, the number of cases has dropped drastically and the risk is very low. And once you have had mumps once, you usually become immune.

Age: Children aged 5 to 14 are most commonly affected. Children under 12 months are rarely affected. Adults can also catch mumps.
How it spreads: Through saliva droplets or nasal secretions from an infected person.
Incubation period: Between 12 and 25 days.
Duration: 7 to 10 days.
Infectious period: From 2 days before symptoms appear to 5 days after.
Isolation period: It’s best not to send your child to daycare or school during the most contagious period. They can usually return about a week after receiving a doctor’s diagnosis.
Vaccine: The vaccination schedule includes immunization against mumps. See Prevention.

Treatment

In most cases, mumps resolves on its own and does not require medical treatment. Antibiotics are useless against mumps, since the illness is caused by a virus, not bacteria.

Care and practical advice

  • Encourage rest and quiet activities.
  • Give them fluids often (water, juice, soup, etc.).
  • Avoid acidic foods and juices (oranges, grapefruit, lemonade, etc.), since they stimulate saliva production and can make the pain worse.
  • Give them soft foods (purées, yogurt, ice cream, etc.) in small quantities 5 or 6 times a day.
  • To relieve pain and fever, give them acetaminophen (e.g., Tylenol®, Tempra®) or ibuprofen (e.g., Advil®, Motrin®) as indicated and in the dose recommended for your child’s weight and age. Don’t give ibuprofen to babies under 6 months, and never give ASA (acetylsalicylic acid, such as Aspirin®) to a child or teen.
  • Apply cold or warm compresses to your child’s cheeks to ease the pain caused by the swelling.
  • Watch for signs of complications:
    - Fever of 40°C or higher
    - Stiff neck
    - Seizures
    - Dizziness
    - Severe headache
    - Abdominal pain
    - Swelling or tenderness of one or both testicles

Prevention

Vaccination is the best way to prevent mumps. Although the vaccine isn’t 100 percent effective, it usually makes the illness milder and reduces the risk of complications if a child does get sick.

The vaccination schedule includes two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine. The first injection is given at 12 months and the second at 18 months.

To help prevent the spread of mumps, certain basic hygiene measures are also recommended:

  • Avoid direct contact with someone who is infected (e.g., kissing, cuddling).
  • Don’t share drinking glasses, utensils, or water bottles.
  • Wash your hands frequently.
Naître et grandir

Scientific review: Dr. Anne-Claude Bernard-Bonnin, pediatrician
Research and copywriting:The Naître et grandir team
Updated: August 2024

Photo: GettyImages/KatarzynaBialasiewicz

Resources and references

Note: The links to other websites are not updated regularly, and some URLs may have changed since publication. If a link is no longer valid, use search engines to find the relevant information.

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “About Mumps.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2024. cdc.gov
  • Gans, Hayley A. “Mumps.” In Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics, vol. 1, 22nd ed., Philadelphia, Elsevier, 2024, pp. 1969–1971.
  • Public Health Agency of Canada. “Mumps.” Government of Canada. 2023. canada.ca
  • Gouvernement du Québec. “Mumps.” Gouvernement du Québec. 2019. quebec.ca
  • Nemours KidsHealth. “Mumps.” KidsHealth. 2023. kidshealth.org
  • Mayo Clinic Staff. “Mumps.” Mayo Clinic. 2022. mayoclinic.org
  • Nguyen, Bich-Hong, and Philippe Ovetchkine. “Oreillons.” In Dictionnaire de pédiatrie Weber, 3rd ed., Montreal, Chenelière Éducation, 2015, pp. 847–849.
  • Canadian Paediatric Society. “MMR (Measles Mumps Rubella) vaccine.Caring for Kids. 2021. caringforkids.cps.ca
  • Canadian Paediatric Society. “Mumps.” Caring for Kids. 2021. caringforkids.cps.ca

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