Concept about Mumps – Health of the children has been considered as the vital importance to all societies because children are the basic resource for the future of humankind. Nursing care of children is concerned for both the health of the children and for the illnesses that affect their growth and development. The increasing complexity of medical and nursing science has created a need for special area of child care, i.e. pediatric nursing.
Pediatric nursing is the specialized area of nursing practice concerning the care of children during wellness and illness. It includes preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilitative care of children. It emphasizes on all round development of body, mind and spirit of the growing individual. Thus, pediatric nursing involves in giving assistance, care and support to the growing and developing children to achieve their individual potential for functioning with fullest capacity.
Concept about Mumps
Definition of Mumps:
Mumps is an acute infectious and communicable disease characterized by fever, tenderness and localized swelling of one or more of the salivary glands, usually the parotid and occasionally the sublingual or sub maxillary glands.
Or
Mumps is an acute infectious disease caused by a specific virus affecting the glandular and nervous tissues.
(Ref: Paediatric Nursing, Parul Datta/34/226+ K. Park/24)
Epidemiological Feature of Mumps:
A. Occurrence: The disease is worldwide in occurrence
B. Ecological triad:
- Agent factors:
✓ Agent: Myxovirus parotiditis
✓Source of infection: Both clinical and sub-clinical cases
✓ Secondary attack rate: Very high
✓ Period of communicability: 4-6 Jays before the onset of symptoms and a week or more thereafter
- Host factors:
✓ Age and sex: Mumps is the most frequent cause of parotitis in the age group of 5-15 years. However the infection can occur at any age
✓ Immunity: One attack is supposed to confer lifelong immunity.
C. Environmental factors: Peak incidence in winter and spring. Epidemics are often associated with overcrowding.
D. Mode of transmission:
- Person to person by respiratory droplet .
- By direct contact with items that have been contaminated
E. Incubation period: Usually 12-24 days
F. Organs involved in mumps:
- Salivary glands
- Extra salivary glands: Testis, pancreas, ovaries, CNS, prostate.
G. Organ involved in mumps are:
- Salivary gland
- Extra salivary glands-testis, Pancreas, ovaries, CNS, Prostate.
Clinical Features of Mumps;
Mumps is manifested as generalized viral infection. Approximately one-third cases are asymptomatic.
The initial features are –
- Fever
- Headache
- Nausea
- Malaise
- Anorexia
- Sore throat.
- Earaches and pain behind the ear on chewing and swallowing are diagnostic features found usually within 24 hours of onset.
- Tender edematous swelling of the parotid glands is found within 1 to 3 days.
- The enlargement of gland displaced the ear lobe upwards and outwards.
- The sub-maxillary and sublingual glands may also be involved later.
(Ref: Paediatric Nursing, Parul Datta/34/226)
Treatment of Mumps:
There is no specific treatment for mumps. The symptomatic management includes
- Antipyretics and analgesic to treat fever and pain.
- Steroids may be administered to relief pain and swelling in case of orchitis.
- Bed rest and local support to be provided for the child with orchitis.
- Warm saline mouth wash and liquid diet is needed in difficulty of chewing.
- The child should be kept isolated.
- Early detection of complications and prompt management to be done to prevent long- term sequelae.
Complications of Mumps:
Most mumps complications involve inflammation and swelling in some part of the body, such
as:
A. Testicles. This condition, known as orchitis, causes one or both testicles to swell in males who’ve reached puberty. Orchitis is painful, but it rarely leads to sterility the inability to father a child.
B. Pancreas. The signs and symptoms of this condition, known as pancreatitis, include pain in the upper abdomen, nausea and vomiting.
C. Ovaries and breasts. Females who’ve reached puberty may have inflammation in the ovaries (oophoritis) or breasts (mastitis). Fertility is rarely affected.
D. Brain. A viral infection, such as mumps, can lead to inflammation of the brain (encephalitis). Encephalitis can lead to neurological problems and become life- threatening.
E. Membranes and fluid around the brain and spinal cord. This condition, known as meningitis, can occur if the mumps virus spreads through your bloodstream to infect your central nervous system.
Other complications
A. Hearing loss. In rare cases, mumps can cause hearing loss, usually permanent, in one or both ears.
B. Miscarriage. Although it isn’t proved, contracting mumps while you’re pregnant, especially early on, may lead to miscarriage.
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