My Mumps

We all know that mumps is a kind of disease caused by a virus. Called "Beke" in the vernacular, I used to think it's just a simple swollen of the lower portion of the ear. I thought, it was no big deal. When my daughter had it first in the house, I had this impression that she was just making excuses not to do chores in the household because she had this virus. But what a big mistake, I had to become a victim myself just to understand how difficult it was to have it.

Imagine, I'm already in my 50's and eversince I never had this disease. What are the symptoms? Fever at night and a few chills here and there. then, you'll soon notice that the lower part of your ear, almost near your jaw are both swollen (on both sides). And on the 3rd or 5th day, when you look at the mirror to see your reflection, you'll noticed your face may somewhat looked distorted.

The hardest part is not being able to sleep well enough because of back pains and body discomforts. You can't also eat well due to lack of appetite. Sometimes, you'll get dizzy, you may also resort to vomit and you can't do anything else but rest.

You have to take vitamin C three times a day. And according to the physician, it's not advisable to put vinegar and dye on your mumps, contrary to the Filipino old ways of curing mumps. All you need to do is to drink lots of water and Vitamin C.

You also have to "temporarily isolate" your utensils so as not to transfer the virus t another one. Mumps virus can be transfered through saliva alone. The physician also emphasized that mumps may be even harder for men because it may affect his reproductive system in really extreme cases, so we should all be cautious.

Mumps lasts for about 3 weeks, so be careful on what you eat. Load up on fruits and avoid common "sawsawan" with other people whom you do not know.