Mumps (Kan Pede) in Kids: Swollen Cheeks, Isolation, Red Flags

Puffy cheeks just below and in front of the ears, a sore jaw, a fever: that is the usual picture of mumps (kan pede). There is no medicine that makes it go faster. What helps is comfort care, soft food, keeping the child home for 5 days after the swelling starts, and knowing the few signs that need a doctor quickly.

What mumps (kan pede) is, and how it differs from other swellings

Mumps is a virus that settles in the parotid glands, the spit-making glands that sit in front of each ear and wrap round the angle of the jaw. When they swell, the earlobe can look pushed outward, and the line of the jaw disappears. One side often swells first; the other may follow a day or two later, or not at all.

Not every swollen cheek is mumps. Here is how the common look-alikes differ.

Swollen neck glands with a throat infection are common and usually harmless; our guide to swollen lymph nodes in the neck covers when they need checking. A swelling with a rotten tooth needs a dentist, not waiting.

How to reduce mumps swelling and pain at home

Parents want to know how to make mumps go faster. Honestly, you can’t. The swelling peaks in 1 to 3 days and goes down over about a week however you manage it. What you can do is make that week much easier.

1. Cold or warm compress. Hold a clean cloth wrung out in cool water, or a warm (not hot) one, against the swollen cheek for 10 minutes at a time. Use whichever feels better; children often prefer cool.
2. Pain and fever. Paracetamol or ibuprofen, with the amount worked out by the child’s weight on the pack or by a pharmacist. Don’t combine syrups containing the same drug. No aspirin under 16.
3. Soft food. Chewing hurts. Offer khichdi, daliya, soup, mashed potato, yoghurt, soft eggs, custard or kheer.
4. Skip sour things. Nimbu, imli, achar, orange juice and sour sweets make the glands squeeze out spit, which hurts. Plain water, milk and lassi are gentler.
5. Fluids little and often. Aim for pale urine. Use a straw if opening the mouth is painful.
6. Rest. School and sport can wait.
7. Mouth care. Rinse with plain warm water after meals, or gentle brushing for younger children, since less spit means a drier mouth.

Mumps by age

• Under 6 months: rare. Any fever or swelling in a young baby means a doctor. Breast milk or formula only.
• 6 to 12 months: see a doctor. Keep up feeds.
• 1 to 3 years: often milder. Soft food, fluids, compresses.
• 3 to 6 years: the usual picture; home care after a doctor has confirmed it.
• Over 6, teens and adults: more painful and more likely to have complications such as testicle swelling after puberty.

Does mumps get worse? Complications to know

Most children feel worst on days 1 to 3 and improve steadily after that. Something new appearing after the cheeks settle is the warning sign.

Testicle pain (orchitis)

It shows up mostly in boys past puberty, often about a week after the cheeks swell: a painful, swollen, red testicle, sometimes with fever returning. It needs a doctor the same day, partly to rule out other causes of testicle pain that are emergencies. It usually settles, and complete loss of fertility after it is rare.

Ovary pain

Girls past puberty can get lower tummy pain from swollen ovaries. Strong pain should be checked the same day.

Headache and stiff neck

Mumps can inflame the lining of the brain. A headache with a stiff neck, vomiting, dislike of light or drowsiness is urgent.

Hearing

Rarely, mumps affects hearing in one ear. If a child seems not to hear on one side after mumps, ask for a hearing check.

Mumps isolation: how long to stay home

Mumps spreads through coughs, sneezes, spit and shared cups. A child is catching for a few days before the swelling appears and for about 5 days after it starts.

• Keep the child home from school or daycare for 5 days after the swelling began.
• Separate cups, spoons and towels. Wash hands after wiping the child’s nose or mouth.
• Keep them away from pregnant women and babies where you can.
• Other children in the house may show signs 2 to 3 weeks later.

Myth: tying a cloth or applying a paste pulls the swelling down

Tying a cloth round the jaw, or smearing a paste of haldi, chuna or a crushed seed on the cheek, is a common home habit. The swelling is inside the gland, not in the skin, so nothing on the surface draws it out. A tight cloth only makes swallowing harder, and chuna (lime paste) can burn skin. The belief stuck because the swelling goes down on its own in a week, whatever was applied. A clean cool or warm cloth, held and removed, does ease the ache.

Can you get mumps after the MMR vaccine?

Yes, though it is less common and usually milder. Two doses give better protection than one, and protection can fade over the years, which is why outbreaks sometimes happen in colleges. Pakistan’s routine EPI schedule gives measles and rubella (MR) rather than a mumps vaccine, and India’s public programme is similar, so many children are protected only if MMR was given privately. Check the child’s card and ask your child’s doctor whether MMR is worth adding; the EPI vaccination schedule shows what the card should hold.

A small fact that surprises people: the name “mumps” is thought to come from an old English word for mumbling or grimacing, the face a child pulls when chewing hurts. For other childhood illnesses and home care, browse Bachon Ki Sehat.

Mumps questions from parents