A Natural Approach To Health

Living With Mumps

I had a question the other day about mumps.

Mumps is a contagious viral infection causing painful swelling of your salivary glands, especially your parotid glands (between your ear and your jaw).

Some people with mumps won’t have gland swelling.

They may feel like they have a bad cold or the flu instead.

Mumps usually goes away on its own in about 10 days.

But in some cases it can cause complications affecting your brain (meningitis), testicles, ovaries, or pancreas.

The mumps vaccine protects against the illness.

This vaccine is part of the MMR vaccine.

Most children get the vaccine as part of their regular shots.

Before the mumps vaccine existed, mumps was a common childhood disease in the United States and Canada.

Mumps is spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes near you or shares food or drinks.

You can spread the virus 1-2 days before and for 5-9 days after symptoms start.

Symptoms may include:

>Swelling and pain in your jaw.  One or both cheeks may look swollen.

>Fever.

>Headache, earache, sore throat, and pain when you swallow or open your mouth.

>Pain when you eat sour foods or drink sour liquids, like citrus fruit or juice.

>Tiredness, with aching in your muscles and joints.

>Poor appetite and vomiting.

It usually takes 2-3 weeks to get symptoms after you’ve been exposed to the virus.

This is called the incubation period.

Some people who’re infected with the mumps virus don’t have any symptoms.

If you have more serious symptoms, like a stiff neck or severe headache, painful testicles, or severe belly pain, seek medical attention right away.

In most cases, people recover from mumps with rest and care at home.

To deal with mumps, it’s beneficial to:

*Drink 6-8 cups of purified water and plenty of fresh juices daily to keep your body well hydrated and flush your system.

*Catnip and chamomile teas are good calming agents and help to induce sleep.  (Don’t use chamomile if you’re allergic to ragweed, or if you’re pregnant or nursing.)

*Dandelion tea cleanses and supports your liver.  Ground into a powder and combined with a little aloe vera gel in a poultice, it helps to reduce swelling.

*Echinacea helps cleanse your blood and lymphatic system.  Take it in tea form, mixed with a little juice, 4 times a day or more (don’t use for longer than 3 months, and don’t use if you’re allergic to ragweed).

*Elderflower tea helps to reduce fever.

*Mullein poultices are good for relieving pain and swelling of your salivary glands.

*Peppermint tea soothes an upset stomach and helps to flush infection from your body.

*Adding powdered slippery elm bark to barley water makes a drink that’s nourishing and soothing to your throat and digestive tract.

*Yarrow reduces fever and inflammation and is a good lymphatic cleanser.

*As long as your glands are swollen, eat mostly raw fruits and vegetables that are juiced or softened.  Sticking to a diet of soft foods helps to minimize the pain of chewing.

*Don’t consume coffee, dairy products, tobacco, or white flour or sugar.  Avoid acidic foods, like pickles and citrus fruits or juices, as they’re likely to cause discomfort.

*Follow a fasting program to detoxify your body.

*Stay warm and dry, and get plenty of rest.

*Intermittently apply warmth or cold, whichever feels best, to swollen glands and around your neck.  Use hot towels, hot water bottles, and ice packs with caution.

*Supplements may be crushed, gelcaps opened and added to juice, shakes, applesauce, etc.

*Decrease exposure to toxic products (cleaners, laundry, personal care, etc.)

*Become educated regarding all views and possible side effects of vaccinations.

*Become educated regarding possible side effects of any and all medications, over-the-counter or prescribed.

If you’re dealing with mumps, try these (100% money-back guarantee):

It’s essential to use:  Vita-Lea or Incredivites, Vitamin C Chewables, Optiflora, CarotoMax, FlavoMax.

It’s important to use:  Alfalfa, Zinc, Vitamin D.

It’s beneficial to use:  Calming Complex, Performance, Protein.

Please comment below, like, retweet, and share with your friends!

email:  lenay@dickandlenay.com

PS:  If you have any questions about mumps, and would like to know how supplements can help, give us a call at 715-431-0657.  We’re here to help.