Winter break. Students all over the nation look forward to this time of the year to relax, and have time off from school. Many college students come home during the holiday season not looking less than normal. Students present with fevers and swollen glands. 

Mumps. The students have mumps. Mumps is a contagious disease caused by a virus. It typically starts with a few days of fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, and loss of appetite, followed by swollen salivary glands.

The United States has tallied up more cases of mumps this year than in the past decade. As of December 3, 2016, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a record of 4,258 infections in 46 states and the District of Columbia. Several universities were involved in the outbreak.

According to www.cdc.gov/mumps/, mumps is not very common in the United States, but outbreaks may still occur. Outbreaks have most commonly occurred in places where people have prolonged, close contact with a person who has mumps, such as attending the same class, playing on the same sports team, or living in the same dormitory.

Dr. Robert Jacobson, a pediatrician and vaccine researcher at the Mayo Clinic Children’s Center and the director of the Mayo Clinic’s primary care immunization program, stated that there were more important matters to worry about.

“First of all, does this child really have mumps? It is very important because there are a lot of look-alike diseases. You can even have a bacterial infection of your salivary glands that presents as though you have mumps. A lot of mumps don’t look like mumps,” Dr. Jacobson stated. Jacobson also noted that only about 35% of all cases have swollen glands, and “a significant percentage” of patients do not get sick, while another 40% to 50% may only have cold-like symptoms. Knowing if one has mumps is very important because all mumps cases need to be reported to your state. A blood test is the proper way to be tested for mumps, in addition to antibody testing.

If one were to be diagnosed with mumps, the patient must isolate themselves for up to five days, although some symptoms can last up to ten days. There are not any antibiotics or  special medicine to treat mumps. A diagnosed patient needs plenty of bed rest and a large amount of fluid intake. Pain relief can be resolved by heating pads and ice packs for the swollen areas. Tylenol and acetaminophen can be taken to help with the pain also.

Mumps can be treated by the MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) vaccine. Most MMR immunization doses are between the age of 12 and 15 months, and 4 and 6 years old. The MMR doses are not 100% effective, but the people who only receive one dose instead of two have a better chance of getting mumps.

Mumps is a highly contagious disease that is seen in many college students. Although it may not be treatable by antibiotics, being well rested can help treat it. Stay away from sharing food and drinks, and you will be a swollen gland away from receiving mumps.