Orchitis Myths: Does Every Case Come From Mumps, and Is Rest Alone Enough?

It is a little after two in the morning and a man in his late twenties is sitting on the edge of the bath with his phone. One testicle has swollen over the evening until it feels heavy and hot, and every step to the bathroom announced itself. Somewhere in his memory is his mother’s voice warning that mumps could “go down” and ruin a boy’s chances of fathering children. So he searches, and the first thing he finds is a forum thread telling him to rest, ice it and wait.

That thread is where orchitis myths do their quiet damage. Two ideas travel together: that a swollen testicle is almost always the mumps virus, and that lying still is all the treatment anyone needs. Both contain a grain of truth. Both, applied to the wrong person, can cost a testicle.

What follows is what the mainstream evidence actually shows about where orchitis comes from, how clinicians tell one cause from another, and why the word “rest” needs a qualifier attached.

What is orchitis, and why does the word get misused?

Orchitis is inflammation of a testicle, one of the paired glands inside the scrotum that make sperm and testosterone. That definition sounds tidy. In real clinics the word is stretched to cover a much larger territory, and that stretching is where several orchitis myths begin.

Most of the time the testicle is not the first structure to get into trouble. Sitting along the back of each testicle is the epididymis, a tightly coiled tube where sperm mature and are stored. Bacteria that travel up from the bladder or the urethra, the tube that carries urine and semen out of the body, reach the epididymis first. Only when inflammation spreads onward into the testicle does the picture become epididymo-orchitis, meaning both structures are inflamed together. Mayo Clinic describes this combined form as the usual way orchitis presents in adults.

Pure orchitis, inflammation confined to the testicle with the epididymis spared, is a rarer event, and when it happens it is usually viral. Mumps is the classic culprit, which explains why the two words became welded together in popular memory.

Why should a reader with a sore, swollen testicle care about the distinction? Because the two patterns point toward different causes and different care. A viral orchitis is managed by supporting the body while it clears the infection. A bacterial epididymo-orchitis usually needs antibiotics, and the choice depends on where the bacteria came from. Lumping everything under one word makes it easy to assume the wrong story and, in the worst case, to wait at home when an examination was needed.

The sections that follow separate what the evidence supports from what gets repeated at kitchen tables, starting with the mumps question itself.

Orchitis myths: does every case really come from mumps?

No, and in adults the opposite is closer to the truth. Mumps was once the dominant cause of testicular inflammation because almost every child caught the virus. The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine changed that. CDC estimates two doses are about 88 percent effective at preventing mumps, so in well-vaccinated populations the virus is uncommon and orchitis has shifted toward bacterial causes.

The pattern now depends heavily on age and circumstance. In sexually active men under about 35, the organisms most often found are those behind chlamydia and gonorrhea, two sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that can climb the urethra without producing any symptoms there. In older men, and in anyone with an enlarged prostate, a urinary catheter or recent urinary tract surgery, the usual culprits are gut bacteria such as E. coli that have colonized the urinary tract. Mayo Clinic and MedlinePlus both describe this split.

Mumps still matters. Outbreaks continue among teenagers and young adults in close quarters such as college dormitories, and among people who were never vaccinated or received a single dose. The virus has not vanished; it has become one cause among several rather than the default explanation.

Other viruses can inflame a testicle too, though far less often. Case reports link orchitis to a range of viral illnesses, and a swollen testicle sometimes accompanies a broader feverish illness in young boys. These are exceptions.

So when a man remembers a childhood warning and decides his swollen testicle must be a ghost of mumps returning, he is reaching for one of the less likely explanations. The more probable causes need a urine test, a swab and a prescription, not a wait for the virus to pass.

How does mumps orchitis develop, and what are mumps orchitis symptoms?

Mumps is a viral infection that classically swells the parotid glands, the saliva-producing glands in front of each ear, giving the puffy-cheeked look many people picture. The virus does not stay in the face. It spreads through the bloodstream with a particular fondness for glandular tissue, and the testicle is a gland.

In boys before puberty this rarely matters. After puberty the testicle is larger, more metabolically active and richly supplied with blood, and the virus finds a foothold. NHS notes that testicular pain and swelling affects around 1 in 4 males who catch mumps after puberty, making orchitis the most frequent complication of mumps in this age group. CDC likewise lists orchitis as the most common complication in post-pubertal males.

The timing is distinctive. NHS describes the testicular swelling as typically beginning 4 to 8 days after the facial glands swell, occasionally as late as six weeks afterward. It usually comes on suddenly, affects one side and brings a return of fever, aching and a testicle that feels warm, tender and noticeably enlarged. A minority of men develop swelling on both sides.

This timeline is useful for myth-busting. A testicle that swells without any preceding cheek swelling, without fever and without recent mumps exposure is behaving unlike mumps orchitis. Clinicians weigh that history heavily. Contact with someone who had mumps, incomplete vaccination or a current community outbreak tilts the diagnosis toward the virus; a new sexual partner, urinary symptoms or a recent catheter tilts it firmly away.

Inflammation inside the testicle’s tight fibrous capsule is also what makes mumps orchitis so painful. The capsule barely stretches, so swelling raises pressure on the delicate sperm-producing tubules, which is the mechanism behind the fertility concerns discussed later in this article.

What causes orchitis when mumps is not to blame?

Most non-mumps orchitis is really epididymo-orchitis, and its origin story usually starts somewhere lower in the urinary or reproductive tract.

In younger sexually active men the route is ascending infection from the urethra. Chlamydia and gonorrhea often cause few or no symptoms at the urethra itself, so a man may have no idea he carries an infection until the epididymis swells days or weeks later. Mayo Clinic identifies these two as the most frequent bacterial causes in men under 35.

In older men the reservoir is more often the bladder. An enlarged prostate can leave urine pooling and prone to infection; a catheter gives bacteria a direct route; recent prostate or bladder procedures can introduce organisms. Gut bacteria then travel backward along the vas deferens, the tube carrying sperm from the epididymis toward the urethra, and settle in the epididymis and testicle.

A few less common triggers complete the list. Tuberculosis can involve the testicle in regions where the disease is widespread. One class of heart rhythm medicine has been linked to a non-infectious epididymitis in a small number of people, a rare adverse effect a prescribing clinician would recognize. Injury to the scrotum can inflame the testicle without any infection, and in children a swollen testicle may follow a viral illness other than mumps.

The practical consequence is that treatment depends on the source. STI-related infection calls for antibiotics chosen to cover those organisms and for partners to be tested and treated so the infection does not bounce back. Urinary-source infection calls for different coverage and often a look at why the urine became infected in the first place. Neither decision can be made by guessing at home, which is why a proper assessment matters more than any home remedy.

How is orchitis diagnosed, and why does the ultrasound matter?

The first job of anyone assessing a painful, swollen testicle is not to confirm orchitis. It is to make sure the problem is not testicular torsion, a twisting of the testicle on its own blood supply that can destroy the organ within hours. Mayo Clinic notes that the chance of saving a twisted testicle falls steeply the longer blood flow is cut off, with roughly six hours often quoted as the window that matters most. Everything else in the workup follows from that priority.

Assessment usually begins with a conversation and an examination. The clinician asks when the pain started and how fast it built, whether there has been fever, urinary burning or discharge, a new sexual partner, a recent catheter or procedure, and any contact with mumps. Gently examining the scrotum helps distinguish a tender, swollen epididymis from a hard, high-riding testicle that suggests torsion.

Urine is tested for white cells and bacteria and can be sent for culture. In sexually active men a first-catch urine sample or urethral swab is checked for chlamydia and gonorrhea. Blood tests are sometimes added to look for markers of infection.

The key imaging test is a Doppler ultrasound of the scrotum, a painless scan that shows the testicle’s structure and, crucially, its blood flow. In orchitis and epididymitis flow is typically increased because inflamed tissue is engorged. In torsion it is reduced or absent. Ultrasound can also reveal an abscess, a walled-off pocket of pus that may need drainage, and exclude a tumor mimicking inflammation.

When torsion cannot be confidently ruled out, surgeons do not wait for scans to settle the question; exploring the scrotum in the operating room is the safer path. That urgency is why home diagnosis is a poor bet for this particular symptom.

Orchitis vs epididymitis vs testicular torsion: a side-by-side view

Three conditions can produce a painful scrotum, and the differences in tempo and accompanying features are what clinicians lean on. The table summarizes typical patterns described by Mayo Clinic, NHS and MedlinePlus. It is an aid to understanding, not a tool for deciding at home whether to seek care.

Feature	Orchitis (usually viral)	Epididymo-orchitis (usually bacterial)	Testicular torsion
Typical onset	Sudden, often days after mumps facial swelling	Builds over hours to a day or two	Abrupt, often severe within minutes
Common age	Post-pubertal teens and young adults	Sexually active men under 35; men over 35 with urinary problems	Newborns and adolescents most often, any age possible
Usual companions	Fever, recent mumps exposure, sometimes both sides	Urinary burning, discharge, fever, one side	Nausea, vomiting, high-riding testicle
Ultrasound blood flow	Increased	Increased	Reduced or absent
Main treatment	Supportive care while the virus clears	Antibiotics plus supportive care	Emergency surgery

Two points deserve emphasis. First, the columns overlap more than a table can show. Early torsion can resemble infection, and a bacterial infection can occasionally arrive quickly. Second, nothing in the right-hand column waits. Torsion is a surgical emergency in which minutes count.

Notice too that the treatment row is where the myth about rest collapses. Rest features in every column, but it is the whole answer in only one, and even there it comes alongside assessment, pain control and follow-up. The next section takes that question head on.

Is rest alone enough to treat orchitis?

For viral orchitis, rest and supportive care are the treatment, because no antiviral medicine has been shown to shorten mumps or protect the testicle once inflammation has begun. Supportive care means lying down with the scrotum elevated, wearing supportive underwear or an athletic support, applying cool packs wrapped in cloth for short periods, drinking enough fluids and using pain relief from the anti-inflammatory class if a clinician confirms it is safe for that individual. NHS and Mayo Clinic describe this approach. The body clears the virus on its own, usually over one to two weeks.

For bacterial epididymo-orchitis, rest alone is not enough. Bacteria do not leave because a man lies down. Untreated, infection can progress to an abscess, spread into the bloodstream or damage the testicle permanently. Antibiotics are the core of treatment, chosen according to the likely source and adjusted if culture results point elsewhere. The same supportive measures are added for comfort, and men whose infection is sexually transmitted are asked to avoid sex until they and their partners have completed treatment. The type and length of the antibiotic course is a decision for the prescribing clinician.

There is a third situation where rest is actively dangerous: torsion. Every hour spent resting a twisted testicle is an hour of lost blood supply.

So the honest answer to the title question is conditional. Rest is sufficient only after someone qualified has confirmed the cause is viral and excluded torsion. Rest chosen instead of assessment is a gamble with poor odds, because the most common adult cause is the one that rest cannot fix.

Who is treated straight away, and who is asked to wait and watch?

Urgency runs on a spectrum. At one end sits anyone whose pain began abruptly and severely, especially a boy or young man, because torsion must be excluded within hours. Emergency departments treat these cases as time-critical, and the decision to operate belongs to the surgical team on the spot.

Next come men with clear signs of bacterial infection: fever, urinary symptoms or discharge alongside a swollen, tender epididymis and testicle. NHS describes starting antibiotics promptly, often before culture results return, because delay risks abscess formation. A man with high fever, vomiting or signs of spreading infection may be admitted for intravenous antibiotics rather than sent home.

Men who are older, live with diabetes, take medicines that suppress the immune system, or have a catheter or recent urinary surgery are watched more closely, because their infections can escalate faster and the usual organisms differ.

Who is asked to wait? Chiefly those in whom a viral cause is well established. A teenager with confirmed mumps whose testicular swelling appeared several days after the classic facial swelling, with normal blood flow on ultrasound and no urinary symptoms, is usually managed with rest, support and pain control, plus a plan to return if anything worsens. Watchful waiting here is not neglect; it reflects the absence of a medicine that changes the course of the virus.

Children are a special case. Isolated orchitis in a prepubertal boy is unusual, and the priority is excluding torsion, including torsion of the appendix testis, a tiny remnant that can twist and mimic other conditions. Antibiotics are used more sparingly because STI and urinary causes are rare at that age.

In every group the same principle holds: the clinician who examines the patient decides the pathway, and the plan is revisited if the picture changes.

How long does orchitis last? What the following days and weeks usually look like

For mumps orchitis, the acute phase is short but miserable. NHS describes the swelling and pain as usually lasting about a week, although the testicle may stay tender for longer. Fever tends to settle first. Over the following weeks the testicle returns toward its former size, though NHS notes that some degree of shrinkage of the affected testicle is common afterward.

Bacterial epididymo-orchitis follows a different curve. Pain and fever usually begin to ease within a few days of starting antibiotics, according to NHS. Swelling lags behind. It is common for the epididymis to remain firm and enlarged for several weeks, and NHS notes that full resolution can take longer in some men. That slow tail worries people who expect the testicle to look normal the day the tablets run out. A clinician may arrange a review to check the swelling is receding rather than persisting.

A few practical patterns appear in most recovery plans. Scrotal support and elevation continue while the testicle remains tender. Heavy lifting and vigorous exercise are usually paused until pain settles. Men treated for a sexually transmitted cause are asked to abstain from sex until they and their partners have finished treatment and to attend follow-up testing if advised.

Warning signs during recovery include pain that worsens after initially improving, fever that returns after settling, a rapidly enlarging or soft, fluid-filled swelling, or redness spreading across the scrotal skin. These can signal an abscess or a first antibiotic that missed the target, and they need prompt review.

No two recoveries run to an identical schedule. The ranges above describe what NHS and Mayo Clinic report as typical, not what any individual is promised.

Can orchitis cause infertility or other lasting harm?

This is the question men ask quietly, often after the pain has faded. The evidence is more reassuring than the folklore, with important caveats.

Mumps orchitis carries the best-studied risk. The sperm-producing tubules are squeezed by swelling inside the testicle’s rigid capsule, and some are permanently damaged. NHS reports that the affected testicle shrinks to some degree in a substantial proportion of cases and that about 1 in 10 men experience a fall in sperm count afterward. Because the second testicle usually continues working normally, that drop is rarely enough to cause infertility. When both testicles were inflamed the risk is higher, and a semen analysis after recovery can clarify matters for men planning a family.

Bacterial epididymo-orchitis that is treated promptly seldom harms fertility. The greater risks come from delay: an abscess needing drainage, scarring that blocks the epididymal tube on that side, or in rare cases damage so severe that the testicle must be removed. Chronic scrotal pain persisting for months after infection is a recognized complication and is managed by the treating team rather than waited out.

Testosterone production is more robust than sperm production. The hormone-producing cells sit between the tubules and are less vulnerable to pressure, so low testosterone after a single episode of orchitis is uncommon, though it can follow severe disease on both sides.

None of this should be read as a forecast for any individual. What the evidence supports is a sensible plan: treat infection promptly, protect the testicle from further injury during recovery, and ask about a semen analysis or hormone check if fertility or symptoms such as fatigue and low libido are a concern. The treating clinician can arrange these at the appropriate time.

What people often get wrong about orchitis

Myths about the testicles travel well because the subject is awkward enough that few people check them. Here are the ones clinicians hear most often, each set against the evidence.

• ‘It is always mumps.’ In vaccinated adult populations, bacterial epididymo-orchitis is far more common than mumps orchitis, as Mayo Clinic and MedlinePlus describe.
• ‘Rest and a hot bath will fix it.’ Rest aids comfort in any cause, but bacterial infection needs antibiotics and torsion needs surgery. Heat is not advised for a swollen testicle; cool packs are.
• ‘If I can still walk, it is not an emergency.’ Some people tolerate torsion pain for hours. Sudden severe onset, not the ability to walk, is the signal.
• ‘It means I will be infertile.’ NHS estimates about 1 in 10 men have a reduced sperm count after mumps orchitis, and infertility is rare because the other testicle compensates.
• ‘Only promiscuous men get it.’ A single new partner, a catheter, an enlarged prostate or a viral illness can each lead to orchitis. Sexual history is one risk among several.
• ‘Leftover antibiotics will do.’ The organism differs by source, so borrowed or leftover medicine may miss the target and blur the diagnosis. Any medicine decision belongs with a prescriber.
• ‘Once the pain stops, it is over.’ Swelling can persist for weeks, partners may still need treatment, and follow-up can catch a slowly forming abscess.

The common thread is that each myth invites delay. Delay is precisely the variable the evidence identifies as harmful, whether the underlying problem is a twisted blood supply, an unchecked bacterial infection or an untreated partner who will pass the infection straight back.

There is also a quieter cost. Men who believe the mumps story often skip the STI conversation entirely, and a partner goes untested. Correcting the myth is, in that sense, a public health act as well as a personal one.

Can orchitis be prevented? Vaccination and safer sex

Prevention maps neatly onto the two main causes.

Against mumps, the tool is the MMR vaccine. CDC reports that two doses are about 88 percent effective at preventing mumps and one dose about 78 percent. That is not complete protection, which is why outbreaks still occur on college campuses even among vaccinated students, but CDC notes that vaccinated people who do catch mumps tend to have milder illness and fewer complications. Adults unsure of their vaccination history can discuss checking records or receiving the vaccine with their clinician; that decision is made together.

Against sexually transmitted causes, condoms used consistently reduce transmission of chlamydia and gonorrhea, and regular STI testing catches silent infections before they climb to the epididymis. Because both infections are often symptom-free in men, testing after a new partner is a practical habit rather than an accusation. Prompt treatment of an infected partner protects both people.

Against urinary-source infection, the levers are less within personal control but still real. Men with symptoms of an enlarged prostate, such as a weak stream or a sense of incomplete emptying, benefit from having that assessed, because pooled urine breeds infection. Anyone with a long-term catheter should follow the care routine set out by their team and report cloudy urine, fever or new pain early.

Protective equipment during contact sports prevents the traumatic form of inflammation and reduces the chance of an injury that can be confused with infection.

What prevention cannot do is remove the need for prompt assessment when symptoms appear. A vaccinated, monogamous, otherwise healthy man can still develop orchitis, and the response is the same: get examined, get the cause identified, and let the treating team choose the plan.

Questions to ask your care team

A consultation about a swollen testicle can feel rushed and embarrassing, and important questions get swallowed. Writing them down beforehand helps. These are the ones that tend to change what happens next.

• Has torsion been excluded, and how? Knowing whether an ultrasound showed normal blood flow is reassuring and clarifies why surgery was or was not considered.
• What do you think the cause is, and what tests will confirm it? Ask whether urine culture and STI testing were sent and when results are expected.
• If antibiotics are prescribed, what should improve first and by when? Ask what to do if pain or fever has not begun to settle within the timeframe your clinician expects.
• Does my partner need testing or treatment, and when is it safe to resume sex? This applies whenever an STI is possible, not only when one is confirmed.
• Which activities should I pause, and for how long? Lifting, cycling and sport are common concerns.
• Do I need a follow-up appointment or repeat scan to check the swelling is resolving?
• Should I have a semen analysis or hormone check later, given my situation and plans?
• Which specific changes should make me return urgently rather than wait for the next appointment?

Two further questions are worth raising when they apply. If mumps is suspected, ask whether household contacts need to check their vaccination status and how long you should stay away from work or school; NHS gives guidance on isolation after mumps symptoms begin. If you have a catheter or a known prostate problem, ask whether that underlying issue needs its own review to lower the chance of a repeat infection.

Write the answers down or ask for them in a printed summary. Pain and worry make details slip, and a plan you can reread at home is worth more than one you half remember.

When to call your doctor

Any new swelling or pain in a testicle deserves a same-day conversation with a clinician, because the most dangerous cause is also the fastest. The signs below need emergency care, not an appointment next week.

• Sudden, severe testicular pain, especially if it began within minutes or woke you from sleep. This is the classic presentation of torsion, and Mayo Clinic stresses that time is critical.
• Pain accompanied by nausea or vomiting, or a testicle that sits higher or at an unusual angle compared with the other side.
• High fever, shaking chills, confusion, or feeling very unwell, which can indicate infection spreading into the bloodstream.
• Rapidly increasing swelling, skin over the scrotum that is turning dark, purple or black, or a swelling that feels soft and fluid-filled, which may point to an abscess or compromised tissue.
• Inability to pass urine, or a catheter that has stopped draining.
• Pain in a child or teenager of any severity, because torsion is most common at these ages and children often describe symptoms poorly.

Call your doctor promptly, though not necessarily an emergency department, if you have already begun treatment and the pain has not started to ease within the period your clinician described, if fever returns after settling, if swelling persists or grows several weeks after antibiotics finished, or if you notice a lump that feels different from the surrounding tenderness. A painless lump that remains after inflammation has settled always needs examination, because testicular tumors are sometimes first noticed this way.

Reach out too if you develop symptoms of low testosterone months later, such as persistent fatigue, low mood or reduced libido, or if you are trying to conceive after mumps orchitis and it is not happening. These are not emergencies, but they are questions your treating team can answer with tests rather than guesswork.

Whatever the situation, the decision about next steps rests with the clinicians who can examine you. This article can explain the map; it cannot read the territory.

Frequently asked questions

Is orchitis vs epididymitis just a matter of naming, or does it change treatment?

It changes treatment. Epididymitis is inflammation of the coiled tube behind the testicle and is usually bacterial, so antibiotics are central. Isolated orchitis, inflammation of the testicle alone, is usually viral and managed with rest and pain relief. In adults the two often occur together as epididymo-orchitis, which is treated as bacterial. Your clinician decides which pattern fits based on history, examination, urine tests and ultrasound.

What are the typical mumps orchitis symptoms compared with a bacterial infection?

Mumps orchitis usually appears 4 to 8 days after the cheeks swell, with sudden testicular pain, warmth and fever, according to NHS. Bacterial epididymo-orchitis more often builds over a day or two and comes with urinary burning or discharge, without any prior facial swelling. Neither pattern is reliable enough to self-diagnose, and sudden severe pain in either scenario needs urgent assessment to exclude torsion.

How long does orchitis last once treatment starts?

For mumps orchitis, NHS describes the acute swelling and pain lasting about a week, with tenderness sometimes lingering longer. For bacterial epididymo-orchitis, pain and fever usually start to ease within a few days of antibiotics, while swelling can take several weeks to settle. These are typical ranges from NHS and Mayo Clinic, not guarantees, and your clinician will tell you what to expect for your situation.

Can orchitis cause infertility?

Rarely. NHS reports that about 1 in 10 men have a reduced sperm count after mumps orchitis, and some shrinkage of the affected testicle is common, but the other testicle usually compensates, so infertility is uncommon. The risk rises when both testicles are affected. Promptly treated bacterial infection seldom affects fertility. Men planning a family can ask their clinician about a semen analysis after recovery.

Can adults who were vaccinated still get mumps orchitis?

Yes, though it is much less likely. CDC estimates two MMR doses are about 88 percent effective against mumps, which means some vaccinated people still catch it during outbreaks, particularly in crowded settings such as college campuses. Vaccinated people tend to have milder illness and fewer complications. If you have mumps symptoms and testicular pain, tell your clinician about your vaccination history and any known exposure.

Should I use heat or ice on a swollen testicle?

Cool packs wrapped in cloth, applied for short periods, are what NHS and Mayo Clinic describe for comfort, alongside scrotal support and elevation. Heat is not recommended for an acutely inflamed testicle. Neither approach treats the underlying cause, and neither should delay an examination, because a bacterial infection needs antibiotics and torsion needs surgery. Ask your clinician before using any pain relief medicine.

Do I have to tell my partner if I have orchitis?

If tests show a sexually transmitted cause such as chlamydia or gonorrhea, yes. Partners need testing and treatment even without symptoms, otherwise the infection can be passed straight back. Your clinician or a sexual health service can advise on how to notify partners, and you will be asked to avoid sex until treatment is complete on both sides. If the cause is mumps or urinary bacteria, partner treatment is not needed.

Can children get orchitis, and is it always mumps in a child?

Children can get orchitis, but it is uncommon before puberty, and mumps orchitis in particular mostly affects teenagers and adults. In young boys a swollen, painful testicle is treated first as possible torsion until proven otherwise, because torsion is most common in that age group. Other viral illnesses and twisting of a small remnant called the appendix testis are also considered. Any testicular pain in a child needs urgent assessment.

Why did my clinician send me for an ultrasound if the diagnosis seemed obvious?

Because the one condition that must not be missed, testicular torsion, can look like infection in its early hours. Doppler ultrasound shows blood flow: increased in inflammation, reduced or absent in torsion. It also detects an abscess that might need drainage and can exclude a tumor. The scan is painless and quick, and it gives the treating team the certainty that a physical examination alone cannot always provide.

The swelling is still there weeks after my antibiotics finished. Is that normal?

It can be. NHS notes that swelling of the epididymis and testicle often lingers for weeks after pain has resolved, and sometimes longer. It should be gradually shrinking, however. Swelling that is growing, becoming painful again, feels soft and fluid-filled, or is accompanied by fever needs prompt review, as does any firm lump that persists once tenderness has gone. A follow-up examination or repeat scan settles the question.

References

• NHS: Mumps, complications
• NHS: Epididymitis
• MedlinePlus: Orchitis
• CDC: About Mumps

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.