Is mumps contagious?

Purulent mumps is quite unfamiliar to us, so is it contagious? We have no way of knowing, but we can first learn more about purulent mumps from some of its symptoms. Generally, mumps is not contagious. As long as you do not touch the injured area, you don’t have to worry about being infected. In addition, the injured must pay attention to some dietary taboos, as this may cause the disease to relapse.

What exactly is purulent mumps? This requires us to understand some of its clinical manifestations. These are some common sense we must know. At the same time, how to take good care of mumps patients is also common sense we must have. Now let’s take a look at the introduction of suppurative mumps.

symptom

Purulent parotitis, also known as macular parotitis and chronic recurrent parotitis, is the most common salivary gland inflammation and can occur on one side or on both sides. There are significant differences in the outcomes between adults and children. This is an ascending infection from the oral cavity, usually caused by Staphylococcus aureus that can invade the parotid duct orifices. Typical infections occur in elderly or chronic patients with dry mouth due to poor food intake or taking anticholine drugs, as well as patients after general anesthesia, with fever, chills, and unilateral parotid pain and swelling; the parotid gland is hard and tender, and the skin above it becomes erythematous and edematous. Compression of the parotid gland causes pus to flow out of the parotid duct, and piles of Gram-positive cocci can often be seen after smear.

Clinical manifestations

The initial symptoms of purulent parotitis are mainly pain, which gradually causes swelling of the parotid area centered on the earlobe. The parotid duct opening may appear red and swollen, and purulent or inflammatory secretions may flow out of the duct opening of the swollen parotid gland when pressure is applied. If the infection is not treated promptly, it can cause necrosis of the glandular tissue, spread throughout the parotid tissue and spread to surrounding tissues. In the early stages of inflammation, systemic reactions are not obvious. As the condition worsens, it can cause high fever, sometimes as high as 40°C, and an increase in white blood cells, especially neutrophils. Systemic reactions mainly depend on the virulence of the bacteria and the patient's body condition.

The pathogens of suppurative mumps and epidemic mumps are different, and the treatment methods are different, so they must be differentiated. The latter mainly occur in children with a history of contact, mostly bilaterally, with a low proportion of neutrophils in white blood cell classification, but an increase in lymphocytes in the differential count. In the acute phase of mumps, amylase levels in the blood and urine increase. Mumps generally confers lifelong immunity.

Treatment options

1. Correct dehydration and electrolyte imbalance according to the cause of the disease and maintain fluid balance. If necessary, compound amino acids can be injected to enhance the body's resistance.

2. Choose effective antibiotics. Use large doses of penicillin or appropriate amounts of cephalosporin and other antibiotics against Gram-positive cocci. Take purulent secretions from the parotid duct for bacterial culture and drug sensitivity testing, and choose the most sensitive antibiotic.

3. Other conservative treatments

In the early stages of inflammation, you can use hot compresses, physical therapy, external application of Ruyi Jinhuang Powder, drink acidic beverages, or hold vitamin C tablets in your mouth, or take 3-5 drops (2-3 mg) of 1% pilocarpine orally, 2-3 times a day, to increase saliva secretion. Antiseptic mouthwashes such as warm boric acid or sodium bicarbonate solution can also help control inflammation.

4. Incision and drainage

When it develops into suppuration, incision and drainage are necessary. Its characteristics are: obvious local pitting edema, local throbbing pain and localized tenderness points, hesitation in puncture and pus; pus discharge from the parotid duct orifice, and obvious symptoms of systemic infection and poisoning. Method of incision and drainage: local infiltration anesthesia. An incision is made in front of the ear and at the posterior edge of the mandibular ramus from the tragus down to the mandibular angle. The skin, subcutaneous tissue and parotid-masseter fascial fluid accumulated under the fascia can be drained. If there is no pus overflow, a curved vascular forceps can be inserted into the abscess cavity of the parotid gland to drain the pus. Because there are often multiple abscesses, attention should be paid to separating them in different directions to separate the abscess cavities of each glandular lobule. After flushing, install a rubber drainage strip, flush with saline every day and replace the drainage strip.

The early stage of inflammation, namely the serous inflammation stage, can be treated with antibiotics, such as a combination of penicillin and streptomycin or other broad-spectrum antibiotics. Local physical therapy can be used, such as ultrashort wave, infrared, or external application of Chinese medicine. Rinse locally to clean the mouth. And drink acidic food to promote secretion. If the inflammation cannot be controlled after conservative treatment, the patient will experience throbbing pain, local pitting edema, or compression of the parotid tissue, with pus flowing out of the parotid duct. On the one hand, the pus should be cultured for drug sensitivity, and on the other hand, incision and drainage should be performed. Because the parotid fascia is dense, it is difficult to palpate fluctuations when an abscess forms.

The incision and drainage is performed under local anesthesia. The incision is made in front of the tragus or the posterior edge of the mandibular angle. A large vascular forceps is inserted into the parotid gland to separate the abscess cavity of each glandular lobule. Avoid damaging the facial nerve during incision.

Now, we know that general purulent mumps is not contagious, but because it is a viral infection, it is still contagious. Therefore, we should try not to touch the mumps affected area, wear gloves during the application of medicine, and do a good job of disinfection. We can still avoid getting mumps.