What are the complications of mumps

Mumps may be considered a minor disease by many people, but if it is not treated in time, it may also cause complications of other diseases. There are many complications of mumps, and they can cause great harm to your health, so everyone should pay more attention to physical diseases.

1. Encephalitis

The mumps virus has a strong affinity for the central nervous system. After children are infected with the mumps virus, about one-third will show symptoms of brain damage, mainly headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, neck stiffness, drowsiness, etc. A small number of children may experience convulsions, coma, hemiplegia, slurred speech, and dance-like movements. If the virus invades the spinal cord, quadriplegia and loss of limb sensation may also occur. Lesions occurring in the cranial nerves can also cause symptoms such as dizziness, tinnitus, facial paralysis, and blurred vision. If the cerebrospinal fluid is tested, about 2/3 will show abnormalities.

Some children develop encephalitis symptoms before parotid gland swelling, some children develop brain symptoms and parotid gland swelling at the same time, and some develop brain symptoms about 2 weeks after the parotid gland swelling subsides. A few children only develop encephalitis symptoms without parotid gland swelling. Of course, most cases of encephalitis caused by mumps virus can be cured in about 10 days, but some children may develop hydrocephalus or even die.

2. Orchitis and oophoritis

Orchitis, like encephalitis, can sometimes occur before, during, or after parotid swelling. The main symptoms are testicular pain and swelling, testicular hardening when touched, thickening of the swollen scrotal skin, significantly reduced skin wrinkles, and a small amount of fluid accumulation in the tunica vaginalis. Systemic symptoms include fever, chills, headache, and lower abdominal pain. If the right testicle is enlarged, it may cause pain in the right lower abdomen and produce symptoms similar to appendicitis. Fortunately, about 80% of children suffer from unilateral testicular inflammation and swelling. There are reports that bilateral swelling may cause infertility. Adolescent girls may develop oophoritis after contracting mumps, the main symptoms of which are low back pain, menstrual disorders, etc. When the symptoms are mild, they are not easy to detect and do not affect conception.

3. Nephritis

The mumps virus can directly damage the glomeruli and renal tubules. The disease often occurs when the parotid swelling subsides, and only in a few children does it occur at the same time as the parotid swelling. The main symptoms are low back pain, decreased urine volume, sometimes hematuria, and often eyelid and lower limb edema. If you measure your blood pressure at this time, it may be high. The disease usually takes about 20 days to recover.

4. Myocarditis

When suffering from mumps, some children also have symptoms such as excessive sweating, pale complexion, palpitations, shortness of breath, blueness around the mouth, cold limbs, foamy sputum, and inability to lie flat. This is the symptom of myocarditis caused by the mumps virus invading the myocardium and causing the lysis of some myocardial cells. Electrocardiogram (ECG) examination shows obvious changes, and some children with severe conditions may die of heart failure.

5. Pancreatitis

Because the mumps virus has a strong affinity for glandular tissue, the pancreas, as one of the glands, is often not spared. When a child's pancreas is invaded and inflamed by a virus, the child may experience high fever, upper abdominal pain, increased pain when pressing the upper abdomen, and tension in the abdominal wall. Some children may have symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. The course of the disease is about 1 week.