Mumps, commonly known as “mumps” and “mumps”, is a disease that affects children and adolescents aged 5 to 15 years old, usually in the spring, and is prone to outbreaks in schools, nurseries, kindergartens and other places where children are concentrated. It has become one of the key diseases that seriously endanger the health of children. Almost every spring, a large number of children and adolescents are infected with mumps, and now that spring is approaching, parents need to be reminded to strengthen their children’s active protection to protect them from infection. What is mumps? Mumps is an acute respiratory infection caused by a virus that is spread by saliva droplets and is highly contagious, with a peak incidence around April. Some children have prodromal symptoms such as fever, headache, malaise, and poor circulation. l to 2 days later, the parotid glands become enlarged and the body temperature rises to 40°C. The parotid glands are usually enlarged bilaterally or sequentially, centered on the earlobes, with localized skin tension, shining, burning and tenderness. The parotid ducts are often red and swollen early in the day. The enlargement of the parotid glands reaches its peak in 2 to 3 days and is aggravated when talking or chewing food, and sometimes there are symptoms such as difficulty in opening the mouth and drooling. Sometimes the submandibular gland, sublingual gland and cervical lymph nodes can be involved at the same time. Laboratory tests: Early in the course of the disease, serum and urine amylase are elevated, and serologic detection of specific IgM antibodies or antigens can make an early diagnosis. The virus can also be isolated from saliva, cerebrospinal fluid, urine or blood. What are the sequelae or complications of mumps? If a child with mumps is not treated promptly or with appropriate treatment, it may lead to the development of suppurative mumps or transform into recurrent mumps. In severe cases, it may invade the central nervous system and lead to serious complications such as meningitis, meningoencephalitis, and acquired deafness in children. Some adult patients can be complicated by orchitis, which in severe cases can lead to male sterility, causing a serious burden to society and families. Mumps infection in pregnant women can be transmitted to the fetus through the placenta, leading to fetal malformation or death and an increased incidence of miscarriage. Every year, my specialist clinic encounters children with mumps who have not received proper treatment. These children with mumps either turn into purulent mumps or into recurrent chronic mumps, which seriously affects the health of the children and their normal life and study. How to detect and treat mumps? Parents or teachers must urge their students to go to the hospital as soon as they notice symptoms such as swelling, pain, fever and sore throat under the earlobe bilaterally or on one side, and must not allow them to attend classes with the disease, and parents and affected children must not hide the disease to avoid delaying it and infecting others. I treated an elementary school student who had about 30 students in his class who were infected with mumps, and the class was suspended for 2 weeks because one student with mumps hid the disease and most of the students in the class were infected. I emphasize that the treatment of mumps must be timely and standardized. For those with swollen parotid glands, more pronounced pain, and significant systemic symptoms (e.g., high fever), it is recommended that antiviral drugs, antibiotics, and vitamin C be given intravenously for 3-5 days, and then changed to oral antiviral drugs for 3-5 days after symptoms improve significantly. With about 10 days of systematic treatment, the majority of children can be cured without sequelae and can go to school again. For those with very severe parotid enlargement, additionally, some topical Chinese herbs can be considered to promote the reduction of swelling, but attention should be paid to skin protection to avoid skin damage. It should be reminded that it is not possible to completely cure a runny cheek by external application alone, and it may even leave complications such as recurrent mumps. For those with milder symptoms, they can be cured basically by taking oral antiviral drugs, antibiotics and VC for about 7-10 days. During the onset of mumps, patients need to drink more water, get a moderate amount of outdoor sunshine, and keep their living rooms regularly ventilated and airy. In the acute period, do not eat acidic, spicy, sweet and dry hard foods to avoid stimulating the salivary glands to increase secretion and aggravate swelling and pain. You can eat foods that promote salivary secretion after the symptoms improve significantly to promote the recovery of parotid gland function. In addition, you should rinse your mouth with warm salt water every day and brush your teeth carefully to maintain oral hygiene and prevent secondary bacterial infections. Can mumps be prevented? It is safe to say that mumps can be prevented, and the usual measures to prevent it are as follows: 1. Develop good personal hygiene habits and do the following: wash your hands, ventilate, dry your clothes, exercise and drink more water; 2. If you have a fever or upper respiratory symptoms, you should go to the hospital as soon as you find out that your child is suspected of having mumps, to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment. All children under the age of 15 can be vaccinated. The current mumps-containing vaccines are MMR and MMR.