Mumps Complications
Adults experience complications more frequently than children do, and the most typical ones are:
- Orchitis: One in five adult males with mumps get orchitis, [2] which causes the testicles to enlarge and hurt. Tenderness can persist for longer than a week after the edema has typically subsided. Infertility is an uncommon outcome of this.
- Oophoritis: Which causes the ovaries to enlarge and hurt, affects one in every twenty adult females. As the immune system battles the virus, the swelling will go down. Infertility is an uncommon outcome of this. [3]
- Viral meningitis: One of the rarest of the frequent complications is viral meningitis. [4] It occurs when the virus enters the bloodstream and infects the brain and spinal cord, which make up the body’s central nervous system.
- Inflamed pancreas (pancreatitis): Pain will be experienced in the upper abdomen; this occurs in 1 out of 20 cases and is usually mild.
If a pregnant woman contracts mumps in the first 12-16 weeks of her pregnancy, she will have a slightly increased risk of miscarriage.
Rarer complications of mumps include:
- Encephalitis: The brain swells causing neurological issues. In some cases, this can be fatal. This is a very rare risk factor and affects just 1 in 6,000 cases.
- Hearing loss: This is the rarest of all the complications affecting just 1 in 15,000.
As rare as some of these complications are, it is important to seek medical advice or help if an individual suspects they or their child may be developing them.