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Salem Health: Infectious Diseases & Conditions, 2nd Edition

Parotitis

by Annie Stuart;

Category: Diseases and conditions

Anatomy or system affected: Glands, mouth

Also known as: Salivary gland infection, sialadenitis

Definition

Parotitis causes swelling in one or both of the parotid glands, the two large salivary glands inside each cheek over the jaw and in front of each ear. Usually, the problem goes away by itself, but some cases require treatment. One should see a doctor if there is swelling or other symptoms on this part of the face.

Causes

A variety of factors can lead to an inflamed parotid gland. They include a viral infection such as mumps, which is the main viral cause of parotitis (this virus is rare today because of vaccines), and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Another cause of parotitis is a blockage of saliva flow, which can lead to a bacterial infection. Causes of this blockage include a salivary stone in the parotid gland, a mucous plug in a salivary duct, a tumor (usually benign), Sjögren’s syndrome (an autoimmune disease), sarcoidosis, malnutrition, and radiation treatment of head and neck cancer.

Other conditions can cause the parotid glands to become enlarged, but not infected. These conditions include diabetes, alcoholism, and bulimia.

Risk Factors

The risk factors for parotitis are poor oral hygiene; not being vaccinated against mumps; having human immunodeficiency virus infection; having AIDS, Sjögren’s syndrome, or diabetes; malnutrition; alcoholism; and bulimia. Also, persons age sixty-five and older are at higher risk.

Symptoms

People with any of the symptoms should not assume those symptoms are caused by parotitis. These symptoms may be caused by other health conditions. To determine the cause of the following symptoms, one should see a doctor: swelling in front of the ears, below the jaw, or on the floor of the mouth; dry mouth; strange or foul taste in mouth; pus draining into the mouth; mouth or facial pain, especially when eating or when opening the mouth; and fever, chills, and other signs of infection. If parotitis recurs, it can cause severe swelling into the neck and can destroy the salivary glands.

Screening and Diagnosis

A doctor will ask about symptoms and medical history and will perform a physical exam. This may be enough to make a diagnosis. Tests may include removing fluid from the gland and checking it for signs of infection; X rays (a test that uses radiation to take a picture of structures inside the body, in this case, to look for salivary stones); ultrasound (a test that uses sound waves to take pictures of structures inside the body); and a computed tomography (CT) scan (a detailed X-ray picture that identifies abnormalities of fine tissue structure).

Treatment and Therapy

Treatment options include good oral hygiene, such as flossing and thorough tooth brushing a minimum of twice a day. Warm salt-water rinses can help keep the mouth moist and quitting smoking also may help.

Antibiotics, which are used to control bacterial infections only, are not effective for viral infections such as parotitis. Other medications, which treat underlying conditions such as Sjögren’s syndrome or AIDS, may be prescribed instead. Anti-inflammatory drugs maybe recommended to help manage swelling and pain.

A doctor may need to remove a stone, tumor, or other blockage. Increasing saliva flow may be all that is needed to remove a mucous plug.

Prevention and Outcomes

To help reduce the chance of getting parotitis, one should get treatment for infections, get regular dental care, drink increased amounts of fluids, and suck on sugarless candy or chew sugarless gum to increase the flow of saliva.

Further Reading

1 

Chitre, V. V., and D. J. Premchandra. “Review: Recurrent Parotitis.” Archives of Disease in Childhood 77 (1997): 359-363.

2 

Ferrari, Mario. PDxMD Ear, Nose, and Throat Disorders. Philadelphia: PDxMD, 2003.

3 

National Library of Medicine. “Salivary Gland Infections.” Available at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001041.htm.

4 

Scully, Crispian, and Athanasios Kalantzis. Oxford Handbook of Dental Patient Care. 2d ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Web Sites of Interest

Canadian Health Network

http://www.canadian-health-network.ca

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

http://www.cdc.gov

National Library of Medicine

http://www.nlm.nih.gov

See also: Autoimmune disorders; Bacterial infections; Cellulitis; Epiglottitis; Hygiene; Inflammation; Mononucleosis; Mouth infections; Mumps; Oral transmission; Pharyngitis and tonsillopharyngitis; Saliva and infectious disease; Sarcoidosis; Strep throat; Tooth abscess; Viral infections; Viral pharyngitis.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Stuart;, Annie. "Parotitis." Salem Health: Infectious Diseases & Conditions, 2nd Edition, edited by H. Bradford Hawley, Salem Press, 2020. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Infect2e_0414.
APA 7th
Stuart;, A. (2020). Parotitis. In H. B. Hawley (Ed.), Salem Health: Infectious Diseases & Conditions, 2nd Edition. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Stuart;, Annie. "Parotitis." Edited by H. Bradford Hawley. Salem Health: Infectious Diseases & Conditions, 2nd Edition. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2020. Accessed September 16, 2025. online.salempress.com.