Mumps was always considered to be a relatively benign disease. It was described in 1982 as follows in the MacMillan Guide to Family Health.
"A fairly common risk of mumps is the swelling of testes in a boy or the ovaries in a girl. This is much more common in an adult. Invariably the swelling goes down after a few days leaving no ill effects. It is excessively rare for the swelling to cause sterility. A rare complication is acute pancreatitis which passes within a few days. Mumps is generally a mild disease. The usual outcome is complete recovery within about 10 days".
It would seem that there was little to worry about, and this had always been the situation. But by this time the MMR (Mumps, Measles and Rubella) vaccine had been introduced, and the pharmaceutical industry were eager to promote it. This is more difficult if it is protecting children from an acute illness with such a benign prognosis.
So mumps suddenly became more serious. Compare the above description to the one that appeared in the British Medical Association "Complete Family Health Encyclopaedia" published in 1995.
"Mumps is an acute viral illness mainly of childhood. Serious complications are uncommon. However, in teenage and adult males, mumps can be a highly uncomfortable illness in which one of both testes become inflamed and swollen. Most infections are acquired at school or from infected family members. In the US, where many states required proof of mumps vaccination for school entry, the incidence has dropped markedly over the last 20 years. In the U.K. by contrast, before routine immunisation was introduced in 1988, mumps affected a large proportion of the population at sometime in their lives, usually between the ages of 5 and 10. An occasional complication of mumps is meningitis. A less common complication of mumps is pancreatitis which causes abdominal pain and vomiting. In males after puberty, orchitis (inflammation of the testes) develops in about a quarter of the cases. Subsequently the affected testis may shrink to smaller than normal size. In rare cases, mumps orchitis affects both testes leading to infertility".
The book also contains strong warnings about the consequences of older people coming into contact with people infected with mumps. Yet other than the financial incentive to promote the MMR vaccine, it is tempting to ask what had occurred during the intervening 13 years to transform mumps. As always, the answer is to 'follow the money'! There are profits to be made!
Mumps is not the only disease that conventional medicine has used in this way to promote the use of drugs and vaccines. It is easier to sell them if patients (in this case parents) are made to feel afraid. Fear leads to looking for prevention, or treatment. It can make customers of all of us!
Yet there is an easier, safer and more effective way of dealing with mumps. I have outlined several key remedies that deal with the disease in one of my "Why Homeopathy?" pages, which compares conventional and homeopathic treatment of mumps.
"A fairly common risk of mumps is the swelling of testes in a boy or the ovaries in a girl. This is much more common in an adult. Invariably the swelling goes down after a few days leaving no ill effects. It is excessively rare for the swelling to cause sterility. A rare complication is acute pancreatitis which passes within a few days. Mumps is generally a mild disease. The usual outcome is complete recovery within about 10 days".
It would seem that there was little to worry about, and this had always been the situation. But by this time the MMR (Mumps, Measles and Rubella) vaccine had been introduced, and the pharmaceutical industry were eager to promote it. This is more difficult if it is protecting children from an acute illness with such a benign prognosis.
So mumps suddenly became more serious. Compare the above description to the one that appeared in the British Medical Association "Complete Family Health Encyclopaedia" published in 1995.
"Mumps is an acute viral illness mainly of childhood. Serious complications are uncommon. However, in teenage and adult males, mumps can be a highly uncomfortable illness in which one of both testes become inflamed and swollen. Most infections are acquired at school or from infected family members. In the US, where many states required proof of mumps vaccination for school entry, the incidence has dropped markedly over the last 20 years. In the U.K. by contrast, before routine immunisation was introduced in 1988, mumps affected a large proportion of the population at sometime in their lives, usually between the ages of 5 and 10. An occasional complication of mumps is meningitis. A less common complication of mumps is pancreatitis which causes abdominal pain and vomiting. In males after puberty, orchitis (inflammation of the testes) develops in about a quarter of the cases. Subsequently the affected testis may shrink to smaller than normal size. In rare cases, mumps orchitis affects both testes leading to infertility".
The book also contains strong warnings about the consequences of older people coming into contact with people infected with mumps. Yet other than the financial incentive to promote the MMR vaccine, it is tempting to ask what had occurred during the intervening 13 years to transform mumps. As always, the answer is to 'follow the money'! There are profits to be made!
Mumps is not the only disease that conventional medicine has used in this way to promote the use of drugs and vaccines. It is easier to sell them if patients (in this case parents) are made to feel afraid. Fear leads to looking for prevention, or treatment. It can make customers of all of us!
Yet there is an easier, safer and more effective way of dealing with mumps. I have outlined several key remedies that deal with the disease in one of my "Why Homeopathy?" pages, which compares conventional and homeopathic treatment of mumps.