Mumps can cause infertility in men. But its very rare and occurs only if a certain criteria is met. I’ll explain everything you need to know about the relationship between Mumps and male infertility.
First of all; let us have a quick look at what is meant by mumps?
Among many viral infections’ mumps can cause many types of conditions. It is mainly affecting Parotid glands. Earlier children were the target of these contagious diseases. But after the introduction of the MMR vaccine this condition had been controlled. When the children are attacked by this virus they are getting a swollen area just below the ears at the side of their faces. It can be really painful. This face with swollen sides is called hamster faces. But there is a question we are having nowadays. That is; can mumps cause infertility of men? Well, this article is all about that question. So, let’s go through the story of mumps.
What is the cause of Mumps?
Of course, it is the mumps virus. Among various types of virus families in the medical world mumps virus belongs to the virus family called paramyxoviruses. This common virus family attacks the children specifically.
What happens when mumps virus enters your body is that it moves in your respiratory system. Likewise, they travel through your mouth, nose, and throat and finally reaches its target destination which is the parotid glands. These glands are existed at both sides of the face and are producing saliva. At these glands, this mumps virus starts to reproduce itself causing swollen glands. It also attacks the cerebrospinal fluid. This fluid surrounds the spine and brain while protecting them. Once they have made their entrance to the cerebrospinal fluid it continues to spread towards various body parts including brain, testicles (of men), pancreas as well as ovaries of the ladies.
What are the symptoms of Mumps?
As discussed earlier the most recognized symptom of mumps is the swollen face right under the ears. This happens because of the Parotid gland swelling. These Parotid glands are the producers of saliva. Apart from that mumps can cause headaches, high body temperature, endless pain in the joints, etc. These symptoms can appear a few days before you get the swollen face.
When someone is infected with the virus the symptoms will start to appear after 14-25 days. After you get the swelling at the side of the face it will become hard to swallow and will cause tenderness and pain. Also, you will feel sick and tired with dry mouth, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, etc.
Apart from causing infections in Parotid glands and other symptoms, mumps can also cause severity in the testicles. This condition is named as orchitis. When that happens, the male testicles get inflammatory.
Complications come with mumps
Normally mumps doesn’t harm the body and gradually pass away from the body with the time. It is not causing any serious damage to the body. But sometimes on rare occasions, it can cause some serious damages.
Moreover; it can cause to the body is opening a freeway to harmful viruses like meningitis. This serious condition will occur if the virus reaches the outer layer of the human brain.
Another harmful condition that can because of the mumps is the inflammatory testicles. This happens only with the male bodies which passed the puberty stage. There is a chance that if both testicles get affected by this condition that it will lead to infertility. But the chances are very low and those are very rare cases.
The connection between mumps and the infertility
Mumps Orchitis is the inflammation occurring in testicles as a complication of the mumps virus. A person can get an inflammatory testicle as a result of mumps and there is a chance of infertility, but only under some conditions.
- According to the researches, 30% of the males develop orchitis when they get infected by mumps.
- If a male person gets infected with mumps before he gets sexually matured, then he is not going be infertile due to Mumps orchitis.
- if he gets infected after getting sexually matured then there is a chance that he might become infertile.
- Out of that 30 %, there is one-third of a chance that both testicles will be affected. As a result of this testicles will become weak and it will reduce the amount of sperm produced.
- But don’t worry. It is very rare that someone goes completely infertile because of Mumps Orchitis. In most cases Mumps orchitis cannot lead to 100% infertility.
So, can mumps cause infertility in men?
Yes! But, it is not common, because the possibility is very low. To become infertile both testicles have to be affected, But still that doesn’t mean a person is definitely going to be infertile, just because they developed bilateral Mumps orchitis.
Mumps orchitis infertility treatment
Mumps orchitis is a serious condition that occurs because of the mumps virus. Under this condition, if the patient has passed the puberty period there is a chance that he might get inflammatory testicles which will finally lead to infertility. But the chance for this to happen is very low and very rare.
After the introduction of the MMR childhood vaccine, the mumps orchitis condition has been reduced gradually over the years. But sometimes still there are very rare cases that can be found. So, in such conditions, people wonder are there any treatments for mumps orchitis.
Well yes, there are mumps orchitis treatments. But before going into that aren’t you curious what is happening to the testicles when someone is attacked by mumps orchitis? Now it’s time to know.
After getting infected with mumps orchitis the testicles are encountered with testicular atrophy. During the first few days of getting infected with mumps, the virus will enter and start attacking testicular glands. This will lead to inflammatory testicles. This can lead to lower testosterone levels, increased level of luteinizing hormone and reduction in sperm production.
Even though the testosterone level becomes normal after a few months the sperm production still stays at low levels in some cases. This condition can sometimes lead to infertility. But the chances of occurring such an issue are very rare.
More about the mumps orchitis infertility treatment…
As for the treatments when someone gets affected by mumps orchitis he should get plenty of bed rest, fluids, support of the scrotal and also, he should take anti-inflammatory medications. These should be nonsteroidal medications.
Steroids treatments also help to control the pain as well as edema. Even though it helps in some way by controlling steroids cannot destroy the root cause of the disease and also cannot help preventing complications that occur in the future. There are also several side effects occur when someone goes with the steroid’s treatments.
Interferon treatment is another type of treatment for mumps orchitis. By doing this treatment systematically it prevents the atrophy in the testicles as well as infertility. According to the experiments done with the patients’ systematic interferon usage has prevented the damage that occurred in testicles because of mumps orchitis and the treatment has also prevented infertility.
Broad-spectrum antibiotics will be commenced if a bacterial infection is suspected. Staphylococcus aureus is a bacteria which can cause both parotitis and orchitis.
Is Mumps Contagious?
There is no difference in the way of spreading between mumps and cold and flu. It is the same way. If you get contacted with a small drop of saliva which comes out from an infected person’s mouth or if you inhale those droplets accidentally then there is a huge chance that you will also get infected. These viruses are transferring to the outside world through the infected person’s mouth or nose. Once they sneezed or coughed there are thousands of tiny saliva droplets would be released from the nose and from the mouth. These droplets are breathed by people around and the virus will easily enter their systems also.
Apart from breathing mumps virus can be transferred through objects also. When an infected person touches some object, most commonly such as; seats in public transportation, work tools in an office environment, school equipment, etc, the virus is transferred into those objects. So, when someone touches those objects the virus will easily enter their respiratory system.
If you unknowingly shared cups, utensils, plates, cutlery with someone who is already infected then it is going to be your blind mistake.
One is at the maximum contagious level prior to the development of the symptoms and also for some days after developing the symptoms. If someone is affected with the mumps, it should prevent from spreading. Especially stay away from young adults and teenagers who are not vaccinated.
When someone is having mumps there are several ways of preventing it from spreading such as;
- Wash the hands using soap regular basis
- After using the tissues for sneezing please dispose of them.
- If someone gets affected by mumps, he/she should avoid contacting other people at least for five days. It means stay away from your work or school.
Who can get affected by mumps?
Young adults are the biggest target of the mumps virus especially the ones who were born between 1080 to 1990. This is because those times the kids didn’t get the MMR vaccine in their childhood. If they had mumps in their childhood the immunity would develop in their body through their whole life, so they would be prevented by the mumps virus when they become young adults or teenagers. But if they didn’t have mumps in their childhood that immunity wouldn’t adopt by their body and they would easily become the targets of mumps.
How to avoid mumps?
It is easy. Make sure you and your kids get the vaccine for mumps. Actually, that is a combined vaccine that pushes away mumps, rubella, and measles.
This is called the MMR vaccine and it creates immunization from childhood. You should give the first dose to your children when they are nearly 12 to 13 months in age and the 2nd dose should be given at the age of 3yrs and 4 months. After these two dosages, 95% of your child’s body will be immune to the mumps.
How are you going to identify that you have mumps?
Well, this is a tricky question. Even though mumps is not that much of a serious illness it has the symptoms of more critical diseases such as tonsillitis or glandular fever. So, to check whether you have mumps you should contact and visit your general physician. It is the best option you have so they will give you a correct diagnosis. Before you go to him you should tell him the symptoms you are having so they will take the necessary precautions to prevent the infection from spreading.
After you visit the physician he will check the swollen areas and the other symptoms and decide the sickness you are exactly having. According to their inspection if they suspect that you are having mumps then they are sending a sample of your saliva to confirm it.
What are the common treatments used for mumps?
Currently, there is no cure available for mumps. No one has found any cure for mumps. The only thing is to wait and let the sickness pass with time. Normally it will take 1 to 2 weeks. By taking below actions you can get some relief and make it pass away sooner.
- Have more fluids and have a good bed rest.
- Take painkillers to get relief from the body pain. Paracetamol and ibuprofen are suitable painkillers for mumps. Avoid giving aspirin for the children below the age of 16.
- Press the swollen areas gently with a fabric soaked from warm or cold water.
Conclusion : Can mumps cause infertility in men?
Mumps is a virus which can sometimes cause no damage to the body and at the same time capable of doing serious damage to the body. So, can mumps cause infertility in men? Yes, but the chances of that happening are very rare. Even if it does happen, there are mumps orchitis infertility treatments to cure the complications.
