Mumps is typically a viral infection that is contracted between the ages of 6-12. There are vaccines for mumps now but usually it happens only to children. In the rare case that mumps does happen to an adult woman, there is a chance it can affect the menstrual cycle of the woman but rarely is the effect permanent.
Mumps usually affects the parotid glands which produce saliva. Therefore this infection spreads rapidly by coughing. Typically kids are infected till they are about 15 years of age. One of the most prominent symptoms of mumps is the swollen glands which lead to swollen face. In some cases, very infrequently, mumps are even contracted by adults. The infection of mumps is a viral infection that affects the throat and even the jaw. The infection starts off in one side of the jaw and can spread to both sides of the jaw and even show fever. There is the possibility that this infection affects the thyroid gland which in turn can affect the ovarian function. The suppressed ovarian function can affect the menstrual cycle. The cycle can get affected for as long as the infection is in the body, which is about 5-7 days.
The popular myth is that contracting mumps can affect fertility. This is not true. It can delay your menstrual cycle, in the case of women but it will not affect fertility. Through the course of a case of adult mumps, women might experience inflamed ovaries. This condition is known as oophoritis but is not known to have any effect on fertility. The inflammation of ovaries is one of the known complications of mumps.
It can be tricky to contract this infection in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. There is a chance of miscarriage if the woman contracts mumps then. But other than, she can go through her pregnancy unharmed.
Since it an infection, there is no real cure for mumps. You have to let it ride out of the body. There are preventive vaccines today. These vaccines are given in a bundle – as the MMR vaccine or vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella. Usually an infection of mumps does not cause complications but in rare cases it can cause a case of viral meningitis. Viral meningitis is when the infection reaches the outer layer of the brain.
Reference:
answered by G M