Epidemic parotitis in children (in the common people"pig") is an acute infectious disease of the viral etiology with a predominant lesion of the parotid as well as the salivary glands. Often, the pathological process extends to the nervous system and sex glands.
The causative agent of this disease is persistentto the effect of low temperatures the virus. It penetrates the body and is localized in the salivary glands (may not cause their inflammation). Along with particles of saliva, the pathogen can get into the air. Therefore, the main source of infection is the patient himself, and he poses a threat of infection for others throughout the period of the disease (even when it is hidden, without obvious signs). It is easy to get infected with "mumps" from virus carriers, who themselves do not suspect that they are the source of transmission of infection. Its causative agent perishes at high temperatures, sunlight, and also under the influence of means of disinfection.
The most vulnerable to mumpsare children, mostly boys, although adults can get sick if they do not suffer a "mumps" in childhood. This ailment forms a reliable immunity in a person. Newborns and toddlers of the first years of life suffer from a "mumps" relatively rarely. They are protected by the immunity acquired in the womb of the mother, if she had suffered the disease in her time. Parotitis in children is usually observed in the age range of 5-16 years, and then the risk of getting an infection decreases. With "mumps" it is also possible to increase the activity of other microbes that can provoke other inflammatory processes in the child's body.
Symptomatology
Parotitis in children is a disease, the firstthe symptoms of which appear 10 to 20 days after infection. As a rule, it is a headache, lethargy and general malaise. The patient is in a fever. The temperature often rises to more than 38 degrees (sometimes up to 40). Often there is vomiting. First, the tissues of the organ affected by the pathogen become inflamed and then swell. If it is the testes or salivary glands, then, as a rule, the swelling first appears on one side, and after a while (no more than 3-4 days) on the other. The larger the size, the stronger the pain, and the more pronounced the effects of intoxication, which is characterized by a high degree of severity.
Parotitis in children: treatment
"Pig" is a dangerous disease that cangive serious complications (on the brain, on the testicles of boys, etc.). Therefore, if there are suspicions, it is not necessary to engage in independent treatment of the child. Epid. parotitis in children should be diagnosed by doctors and prescribe the necessary drugs. If the doctor witnessed the "pig" and prescribed treatment at home, then it is necessary to take the patient to a separate room, which must be ventilated twice a day and do wet cleaning with disinfectants.
