Dear Alice,
I have a question about mumps: I had mumps while I was thirteen-years-old.
I remembered that because of embarrassment. I was afraid to tell my
parents about the inflammation (swelling of the testicles) at the same
time I had mumps. I did not have treatment for the swelling of my
testicles due to mumps. Later, the swelling went away about the same time
as my mumps. Although I still can produce semen, I am deeply disturbed
whether that swelling could have hindered my fertility (i.e., no
production of sperm due to the blockage of the sperm channels).
—Concerned about the future
Dear Concerned about the future,
Mumps, which is an acute viral illness usually occurring in childhood and
early adolescence, primarily causes inflammation and swelling of the
salivary glands. However, in young men, mumps can also cause inflammation
and swelling in one or both testes. This condition is called orchitis and
it develops in approximately 25 percent of all mumps cases in males.
Orchitis usually affects one testis, making it tender and painful for
about two to four days, and potentially resulting in shrinkage of the
affected testis to smaller than normal size. In extremely rare cases,
orchitis can lead to sterility, as the damage to the testes through
inflammation can cause defective sperm. As this is a concern for you, you
may want to undergo a semen analysis to determine the number, shape, and
degree of motility (ability to move around) of your sperm. A general
medical provider should be able to perform this analysis for you, and if
there did appear to be a fertility problem, you would be referred to a
fertility specialist. Again, infertility resulting from orchitis is very
rare.
- Alice
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Mumps and swelling of the testes — Affect
fertility?
