What are the symptoms of mumps?
Mumps causes puffy cheeks and a tender, swollen jaw. This is because of swollen salivary glands under the ears (parotitis).
Other symptoms of mumps:
- Fever
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- Tiredness
- Loss of appetite
Symptoms can show up between 12 and 25 days after becoming infected. Some individuals have very mild symptoms similar to the common cold. Others may not experience symptoms at all and not even know they are infected.
Most individuals recover within two weeks. In some cases, mumps can cause more serious health complications, especially in adults.
Complications:
- Inflammation of ovaries and/or breast tissue
- Inflammation of testicles
- Inflammation in the pancreas
- Inflammation of the brain
- Inflammation of tissue covering the brain and spinal cord (meningitis)
- Deafness
Is the mumps vaccine effective?
The MMR vaccine for mumps is safe and effective and is the best way to lower your child’s risk of getting mumps. Most children don’t have any side effects from the vaccine. If side effects do occur, they are usually mild, such as soreness at the site of the shot, fever or rash.
Thanks to public health and modern medicine, the vaccine has drastically reduced mumps cases, but mumps outbreaks still occur. These outbreaks are more common when groups of individuals spend a long time together in close contact where one individual is already infected with mumps.
Vaccinated individuals can still get mumps if they are exposed to the virus but will experience less severe symptoms. An individual who is fully vaccinated (two vaccine doses) has about an 88% reduction in risk for mumps. A person with one dose of the vaccine has about a 78% reduction in risk.
When should my child receive the mumps vaccine?
The best protection against mumps is the MMR vaccine. This vaccine provides lasting protection against the mumps, all strains of measles and rubella.
Stay on schedule!
For the most protection, your child needs two doses of the MMR vaccine. Talk to your child’s doctor about the best strategy for vaccination.
- First dose – 12 to 15 months old
- Second dose – 4 to 6 years old
You can also choose to have your child protected with the MMRV vaccine. This vaccine protects against measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (chickenpox) and is available to children between 12 months and 12 years old.