What is mumps?

Mumps is a viral illness that causes painful swelling of the parotid glands, which are salivary glands between the ear and the jaw. Mumps can sometimes spread to the testicles, ovaries, or pancreas, or to the membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.

Mumps is usually not a serious illness. It can be passed from one person to another when a person who has the mumps virus coughs or sneezes. Your child also can get it by touching people who have mumps or items that have the virus on them. A vaccine can prevent mumps. Most cases of mumps today occur in children who were not vaccinated.

Mumps goes away on its own. Home care can help your child feel better while getting over mumps. Talk with your doctor about follow-up care.

Symptoms of mumps may include a headache, an earache, a sore throat, and pain when you swallow or open your mouth. You may also have a fever, tiredness, and muscle aches. If you have more serious symptoms, such as a stiff neck, a severe headache, or severe belly pain, call your doctor right away.

In most cases, people recover from mumps with rest and care at home. In complicated cases, a hospital stay may be required.

Getting your child vaccinated is important, because mumps can sometimes cause serious problems. It's also important because mumps is a disease that spreads easily, and outbreaks can easily occur.

Some parents worry that vaccines cause autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. But many studies have been done, and no link has been found between vaccines and ASD.

Mumps is usually diagnosed based on symptoms and a history of exposure to the virus. If needed, a blood test can be done to confirm that you have mumps and rule out other illnesses.

The mumps virus can be identified with a viral culture using a sample of urine, saliva, or cerebrospinal fluid. These tests are rarely done.

If you think that you or your child has mumps, be sure to call ahead and explain the symptoms before you go to a doctor's office. It's important to stay away from other people as much as you can so that you don't spread the disease.

• Give your child acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) for pain. Do not use ibuprofen if your child is less than 6 months old unless the doctor gave you instructions to use it. Be safe with medicines. Read and follow all instructions on the label. Do not give aspirin to anyone younger than 20. It has been linked to Reye syndrome, a serious illness.
• Do not give your child two or more pain medicines at the same time unless the doctor told you to. Many pain medicines have acetaminophen, which is Tylenol. Too much acetaminophen (Tylenol) can be harmful.
• Keep your child home from school, day care, or other public places until 5 days after swelling of the glands began.
• Put an ice or heat pack (whichever feels better) on the swollen jaw for 10 to 20 minutes at a time. Put a thin cloth between the ice or heat pack and your child's skin.
• Have your child suck on ice chips or ice treats such as Popsicles. Give your child soft foods that do not have to be chewed much.
• Do not give your child sour foods or liquids. The salivary glands are very sore during mumps. Eating these foods will usually cause them to hurt more.

Mumps is spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes near you or shares food or drinks. You can spread the virus from 7 days before to 9 days after symptoms start. You are most likely to spread the virus 1 to 2 days before and 5 days after symptoms start.

Mumps is a contagious viral infection that can cause painful swelling of the salivary glands, especially the glands between the ear and the jaw. Some people won't have gland swelling. They may feel like they have a bad cold or the flu instead. Mumps usually goes away on its own in about 10 days.