mumps?

[jrabbit]

DD6.5yo has a mysterious swollen jaw/lymph node today. Yes, I'm calling the doctor tomorrow.

She has never been vaccinated, nor has DD1.5yo. DD10.5yo had many/most vacccines on a delayed schedule, but we stopped at about 2.5yo. (I'm pretty sure she would have had the MMR, and I'm also thinking it was the one vacc that she reacted to, which is when we stopped vaccinating her.)

Anyway, DD has this sudden swelling. She says it hurts - it's not her teeth - there is no bruising, and she says she didn't "bonk" it on something. She can still eat, but she does have a headache and maybe a really low fever. I'm giving her arnica, and she's playing normally.

DH is starting to feel like a bad parent. He is worried that maybe we should have done more research and done 'selective & delayed' instead of none. Also, he's concerned that other people will blame us for 'allowing' this to happen ... and what we should do now with regard to our youngest ...

And, lastly, **where** would she have caught it?? We were playing with other kids last night who are probably not vaccinated, but I don't plan to say anything to the mother until we find out something from our doctor. No sense needlessly worrying her, right?

--janis

[nia82]

First of all relax, you are doing great. I had mumps, as did all of my peers in 4th grade (I was born in 82 and MMR wasn't used until later back home). It started with what I thought was toothache, on one side. It lasted for about 3 days before my cheek started to swell and it was obvious that it was mumps (several classmates had developed it at that point, we all got it on a field trip). It lasted 1 week on one side, then 1 week on the other side. Apart from a really, really low fever I had pain attacks that were alleviated by our pediatrician with Ibuprofen, but I'm sure Arnica or whatever you guys use will do the trick. We all recuperated within 2 weeks, our school was closed as everybody got it (300 kids) and that was about it. Mumps is mostly benign and testicle infection is more a concern of adult mumps cases, and even then, usually only one testicle is affected. I hope your little one feels fine and will get over it soon. I had a diet of chocolate and soda and was watching 2 weeks TV straight while I had it, so I guess a better diet will help with getting over it sooner.

[amnesiac]

Since this is about an illness rather than vaccination I'm moving to H&H.

[MountainMamaGC]

Mumps is usually a mild illness. Avoid acidic drinks which can irritate the salivary glands.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/infecti...al/mumps.html#

[Marnica]

I don't follow your DH's thinking that if your child gets sick, that makes you a bad parent?

Not vaccinating is a choice that parents usually make after much thought and consideration. Most parents that do not vaccinate understand that there is a chance that their child may come down with a VPD, but that the calculated risks from said VPD would not outweigh the risks from the vaccine.

If your child has mumps, they will get over it and be fine. Their immune system will be the better for it

[lyterae]

We're fairly certain that DD had the mumps back in late winter. The swelling lasted about 4 days, but really everything was pretty mild. She was tired and slept more than usual and we did end up giving her tylenol because her jaw hurt, she also didn't eat a whole lot because it hurt to chew.

[jrabbit]

I think DH is just nervous because he perceives this as a disease kids 'shouldn't get'. He's afraid he'll be blamed, and he doesn't have a well-formulated opinion on "why" we didn't vaccinate. I personally don't think we've been irresponsible, but you know how society has a tendency to make us hippies feel that way.

The doctor thinks it probably is mumps. She has a 99 temp, and she is behaving normal. Her jaw presents as mumps, but it only hurts when palpated. I forgot to discuss whether or not Molly should be allowed to play with other kids - their best friend is expecting a baby brother in the next week or two. We did a CBC to check white blood cell count - but a titre for mumps was "expensive" she says.


Now, I just have to figure out who we've played with in the last few weeks! Does anyone know if the mumps vaccine sheds? Could she have caught it from someone who had just gotten the MMR?

--janis