Cheeks puff up, jaw aches, and your group chat starts talking about mumps. Plants and Facts EP 123 breaks down the chipmunk cheeks virus with real science and unfiltered millennial commentary.

Pediatrician Dr Yvy and medical researcher Julz explain what mumps is, how it spreads in dorms, teams, camps, and households, and why vaccines dropped yearly cases from hundreds of thousands to a few hundred. You also hear wild history from Hippocrates to World War I barracks, how Maurice Hilleman built the MMR shot from his daughters infection, and why online vaccine myths keep dragging this virus back into the news.

What you learn in this episode

• Classic mumps symptoms in kids, teens, and adults, including parotid gland swelling, fever, jaw pain, and fatigue

• How the virus spreads through droplets in dorms, sports teams, schools, prisons, and households, plus how long you stay contagious

• Real risks, orchitis, oophoritis, meningitis, encephalitis, hearing loss, pancreatitis, miscarriage, and why severe outcomes stay rare in the vaccine era

• Why some vaccinated people still get mumps, what waning immunity means, and why third dose MMR shows up during campus outbreaks

• How to tell mumps from regular swollen lymph nodes, plus simple comfort tips for pain, fever, and soreness

• Clear, no nonsense talk about MMR safety, the debunked autism study, RFK Jr sound bites, Tylenol panic, and how misinformation hurts real families.

If you are a student, parent, teacher, health worker, or vaccine hesitant friend who likes medical facts with sarcasm and millennial chaos, this episode is for you.

Hit play, subscribe to Funny Medicine Podcast here on YouTube, then find the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and every major podcast app.

New episodes drop every Tuesday, plus extra Plants and Facts chaos during the week.

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Shop our hoodies, caps, and pet gear in the merch store if you want a chipmunk cheeks virus hoodie for your next clinic shift or study session.

New episodes every Tuesday with science based medical info, sarcasm, and millennial parent energy.

Hit subscribe, turn on notifications, and share this episode with a friend, parent group, or coworker who needs a straight answer on RSV without doom scrolling through random comment sections.

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Sources listed in video version of this episode on YouTube.

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