What causes swollen cheeks?

Many people may not know what organ is secreting under their cheeks. The main organ secreting under the cheeks is the parotid gland. The main function of the parotid gland in the human body is to secrete saliva to maintain the balance of the human oral cavity. And sometimes some people find that their cheeks are swollen for no apparent reason, making the face look extremely uncoordinated. So what is the cause of the swollen cheeks?

The parotid gland is the largest of the salivary glands and is located on both sides of the cheeks near the earlobes. Parotid gland enlargement is centered on the earlobes and can be on one side or both sides. The causes of the disease include infectious, immune, obstructive and unexplained inflammatory swelling. The most common cause of mumps is infection, which is mostly bacterial and viral. The main symptoms of bacterial mumps are fever, local redness, swelling, heat and pain in the parotid gland, increased white blood cell count, and the lesion entering the purulent stage. When the parotid gland is squeezed, pus can be seen flowing out of the catheter orifice. Viral mumps, the most common of which is epidemic mumps, can also be caused by other viral infections. Mumps is a respiratory infectious disease caused by mumps virus infection. It is characterized by non-purulent swelling of the parotid gland and can invade various glandular tissues or the nervous system and almost all organs such as the liver, kidneys, heart, and joints. It can often cause complications such as meningoencephalitis, orchitis, oophoritis, pancreatitis, etc. The patient can acquire lasting immunity after the illness.

Causes

1. Infectivity

Acute bacterial mumps (suppurative mumps): caused by bacterial infection, mainly Staphylococcus aureus, followed by Streptococcus. Common causes of the disease include decreased parotid gland secretory function (such as those with reduced body resistance and oral biological immunity, those fasting after surgery, etc.), obstruction of the parotid duct orifice, parotid lymphadenitis, and inflammation of adjacent tissues.

Viral mumps: The most common mumps virus is the mumps virus, but herpes simplex virus, coxsackie virus, influenza A virus, etc. can also be seen. Mumps virus infection is the most common cause of mumps.

2. Immunity

Diseases such as Sjögren's syndrome and Mikulicz's disease can cause chronic autoimmune mumps.

3. Blockage

Blockage of the main parotid duct and its branches may lead to bacterial infection, most commonly salivary gland stones, mucus plugs, and less commonly tumors, most of which are benign.

4. Unknown cause

Chronic nonspecific parotitis, recurrent childhood parotitis, degenerative sialadenopathy, etc. are rarely caused by certain drugs.