Mumps is an infectious disease which targets the salivary glands and the nervous tissues. This disease affects mostly kids, whose age is between five and nine years. However, people of all ages can be afflicted by mumps.

Mumps was common before 1967, and it has become uncommon after the vaccine was made to combat this disease in the year 1967. After that, all children are vaccinated and the rate of incidence of the disease has fallen dramatically.

The symptoms at the starting stages are fever, malaise, loss of appetite, chills, dry mouth and throat, headache and the salivary glands and cheeks swell and become painful. The glands start to swell and it is accompanied with pain and the condition worsens with swallowing, talking, chewing and drinking. It is followed by ears swelling and becoming sore, and in some cases the upper chest, tongue and the neck experience soreness and swelling.

If it is not diagnosed and the condition becomes serious, the brain starts swelling, which is known as encephalitis and attacks the spinal cord with meningitis. The signs of this health conditions come to light after a week, when the first symptoms appear in which the salivary glands swell. 

In male adolescent patients, a health condition known as orchitis can be seen. Orichitis is a condition in which the testicles become inflamed. Other symptoms like high fever, headache, chills, vomiting, nausea and abdominal pain are also seen.

In the patients, who are females, mumps can attack the pancreas, and ovaries which causes pain in the stomach area. This will cure itself.

It is better to prevent mumps by getting vaccinated against the disease. The vaccination for mumps was invented by a scientist called Maurice Hilleman while working at Merck Pharmaceuticals and can be taken as stand alone vaccine or part of childhood immunization as MMR.

More Articles :

• History Of Mumps
• Mumps And Pregnancy
• Mumps Symptoms
• What Is Mumps ?
• When Was The Mumps Vaccine Invented ?
• Who Discovered Mumps ?