Nikki Sommer, a nurse with Key West Surgical Group, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5 FM for Medical Matters this morning.
Mumps may not be a thing of the past.
Sommer said, “Mumps is a viral infection that targets the salivary glands, and it’s in your parotid glands, which you have one in your cheeks and your jaw, so they cause swelling in your cheeks and your jaw, so it spreads through coughing, sneezing, and sharing drinks or utensils. The classic signs of it are puffy cheeks, chipmunk cheeks. You look like you have chipmunk cheeks, jaw pain, fever, headache, muscle aches, loss of appetite. Most people can recover. There can be complications such as meningitis, hearing loss and swelling of reproductive organs, both in male and female, and it can cause pancreatitis.”
Mumps is not just for children.
Sommer said, “No, adults can get it too, which means you can miss work, miss school. It can increase stress on families. It can become a financial burden depending on how long you have to miss school and work because if you have a younger child, then you have to take off to take care of the child, that’s missed work, and then the child falls behind in school.”
Measles, Mumps, Rubella is the MMR vaccine.
Sommer said, “Last week, we talked about measles, and how it is spreading quicker. There’s five times more cases this year than last year. There were the vaccine mandates. They said they were going to get rid of all vaccine mandates, and panic ensued about there’s already been noticeable decrease in vaccinating among children. So they have made, right now, it looks like they made some changes. They’re going to keep the MMR as a mandate as of right now, and give some parents some options on whether they want to vaccinate against Hepatitis B, chicken pox, Hemophilus influenza, type B, which is not the flu, it’s a bacterial infection. And pneumococcal diseases, which cause pneumonia. So that is going to be shifted more to a parent’s choice. But I think right now they’re going to keep the MMR as a mandate, as of a couple of days ago. This is going to change and flip flop back and forth, I have a feeling, over the next couple of months or so.”
Mumps is definitely different than measles.
Sommer said, “I saw an active case of mumps, and it was a seven year old boy, and he had chipmunk cheeks. That’s what it looks like. You know how chipmunks store food, that’s what it looked like, his whole face was swollen.”
There’s no specific antiviral for mumps. It’s suggested to get rest, fluids, pain relievers, cold and warm compresses and soft food. Stay at home, avoid close contact for at least five days after the swelling begins, and of course, alert those at school or your workplace, depending upon whether it’s a child or adult who is afflicted.
Sommer said, “Mumps is contagious and can cause real health problems. Now, when you compare mumps to measles, it’s not really as severe, I believe, but it can cause, like I said, it could cause meningitis, pancreatitis, swelling of your reproductive organs, which can be very painful. I don’t think the cases of hospitalization are as large as with measles, but still again, we don’t have a cure in medicine for most things, we just have treatment and those things we don’t have treatment for, we try to prevent. So it’s through vaccination or staying home when sick and basic hygiene. If you have a cough and a cold, make sure you cover your mouth, you wash your hands, clean surfaces. If you cough, don’t put your hand on the counter and then walk away. Again, this isn’t a debate to vaccinate, it’s just to educate.”
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