The infectious period of mumps

When it comes to the disease of mumps, I believe many parents will be worried. Because mumps is one of the most contagious diseases, and the people who suffer from it are mainly children aged 6 to 14, it can also be transmitted to each other through contact, saliva and other means. Therefore, if you find that your child is suspected of having mumps, you should take the child to the hospital for medical treatment in time. So how long is mumps contagious?

In fact, mumps has many clinical symptoms when it occurs, including pain, fever, and even swelling of the cheeks. Mumps has a certain incubation period, so how many days is the infectious period of mumps? What are the good prevention and treatment methods?

Mumps contagious period

It is more common in children aged 6 to 14 in spring

Experts say that mumps is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by the mumps virus. Spring and winter are usually the peak seasons for mumps.

The main patients of mumps are children aged 6 to 14 years old. As an upper respiratory tract infection, mumps is mainly transmitted through direct contact and saliva droplets.

If toys played by a sick child are touched by another child, or if two children talk in close proximity, the infection may occur. Therefore, mumps is more common in schools and kindergartens where children gather together. If you are infected with mumps, you must be isolated immediately.

20% of mumps patients do not have swollen cheeks

When most people think of mumps, their first reaction is swollen cheeks. However, experts warn that if the swelling of the cheeks is used as the symptom standard, the true condition may be missed. Fever, aches and pains all over the body, and swollen cheeks are all symptoms of mumps. Experts believe that most mumps patients will experience fever and body aches. However, only about 60% to 80% of patients have swollen cheeks. More than 20% of patients had no such reaction. Therefore, when a child has symptoms of fever and body aches, parents should be vigilant. They can simply go to the pediatric clinic of the hospital and have the child check their blood and blood gastric amylase levels to confirm the diagnosis.

The infectious period of mumps is about 10 days.

As a contagious disease, how long is the infectious period of mumps? Is it contagious from the beginning of the illness to recovery? Experts point out that any viral infectious disease has its own cycle. The illness cycle of mumps can be roughly divided into three parts: incubation period, infectious period and recovery period.

Parotid gland swelling generally does not occur when the virus is first infected. The stage from infection with the virus to the day before the parotid glands swell is called the incubation period, and it is generally not contagious at this time; the contagious period is about 10 days: from the day before the parotid glands swell (24 hours ago) to the third day after the swelling subsides. This stage is the most contagious. Therefore, isolation must continue until the swelling completely subsides; the recovery period lasts about a week, which refers to the time from receiving treatment to recovery from the disease, which is generally cured in seven days.

Experts say that there is currently no specific medicine for mumps. Most clinical treatments are symptomatic, including antipyretic and anti-inflammatory treatments, combined with local application and other methods, combined with a nutritious diet, and the patient can usually recover in about a week. In addition, sick children should be isolated during the infectious period and should not go to school for the time being. They should also avoid going to public places and should not go out until the swelling has completely subsided.

Weak children may suffer from encephalitis

Although most cases of mumps can be cured within a week, Liu Chunying reminds that children with weak constitutions who are prone to illness and colds may also suffer from encephalitis, orchitis, and myocarditis at the same time as mumps. Although this only occurs in very individual patients, parents should not take it lightly when their children get mumps. Most patients will experience cheek pain, which is a normal symptom of the disease. If a child has symptoms such as heart discomfort, headache, testicular pain, etc., parents should take him to the hospital for treatment in time. Otherwise, if treatment is delayed, there may be sequelae such as encephalitis, orchitis, and myocarditis. In severe cases, intelligence, fertility, etc. may be affected.

Special reminder

After a child is diagnosed with mumps, parents should pay special attention to their child's diet. The child should eat light, easily digestible food and avoid greasy, spicy food. In addition, do not eat sour foods during mumps. Because the parotid duct opens in the mouth, eating acidic foods at this time will further stimulate the parotid gland and cause the pain to worsen. In addition, although the chance of parents contracting mumps is relatively small, they should also pay attention to strengthening protection. Because mumps is also transmitted through saliva droplets, parents and children who are not sick should pay attention to washing hands frequently, ventilating more, drinking more water, going to crowded public places less often, participating in more outdoor activities, and enhancing immunity to prevent mumps.

After reading the above introduction to the number of days of the infectious period of mumps, I believe that parents have a clear understanding of it. If you want to prevent the occurrence of this type of disease, you must pay special attention to children's eating habits and personal hygiene. Be sure to wash your hands frequently after going out and coming home. Also, avoid crowded places, etc., and participate in some exercise appropriately, so as to prevent the occurrence of the disease.