How to try to differentiate Mumps from cervical lymph node enlargement?

I just saw a 5 year old boy with swelling in the angle of the jaw with mild pain 
I became a bit confused since I was not sure if the kid had Mumps or cervical Lymphadenopathy.
Here is what I found on reading about it... I guess this is basic information, but I was challenged by this case.

The Virus

Mumps is a viral illness caused by a paramyxovirus, a member of the Rubulavirus family. The average incubation period for mumps is 16 to 18 days, with a range of 12 to 25 days.

Clinical Features

Mumps usually involves pain, tenderness, and swelling in one or both parotid salivary glands (cheek and jaw area). Swelling is first visible in front of the lower part of the ear. It then extends downward and forward as fluid builds up in the skin and soft tissue of the face and neck. Swelling usually peaks in 1 to 3 days and then subsides during the next week. The swollen tissue pushes the angle of the ear up and out. As swelling worsens, the angle of the jawbone below the ear is no longer visible. Often, the jawbone cannot be felt because of swelling of the parotid. One parotid may swell before the other, and in 25% of patients, only one side swells. Other salivary glands (submandibular and sublingual) under the floor of the mouth also may swell but do so less frequently (10%). 

Nonspecific prodromal symptoms may precede parotitis by several days, including low-grade fever which may last three to four days, myalgia, anorexia, malaise, and headache. Fever may persist for 3 to 4 days. Parotitis, lasts at least 2 days, but may persist longer than 10 days. However, mumps infection may present only with nonspecific or primarily respiratory symptoms, or may be asymptomatic. 

Mumps infection is most often confused with swelling of the lymph nodes of the neck. Lymph node swelling can be differentiated by the well-defined borders of the lymph nodes, their location behind the angle of the jawbone, and lack of the ear protrusion or obscuring of the angle of the jaw, which are characteristics of mumps.

People with mumps are usually considered most infectious for several days before and after onset of parotitis. Source

Mumps. The swelling of mumps parotitis crosses the angle of the jaw. On the other hand, cervical lymph nodes are usually below the mandible (Leung & Robson, 1991). Source

In my case, after reading up, I felt that the swelling was behind the angle of the jaw and I was able to feel the angle of the jaw, PLUS because the child was vaccinated, Mumps was less likely.
On the other hand, there is a hint of swelling appearing on the other side as well, and there is no other obvious focus, meaning that Mumps cannot be ruled out too.
So I have begun anti inflammatory, and kept Antibiotics on an as needed basis if the symptoms worsen.

The Dwindling Humaneness Of Medicine - Dr Sunil Chandy, Director CMC Vellore

Imagine you are a patient and you have a long story to tell your personal physician. You make an appointment with him. He lets you into his chamber, asks you to sit on a side stool and tell him your history. As you narrate, he is rapidly typing on the keyboard hardly looking at you. He intermittently asks you to stop the narration for him to catch up with typing. He still does not look at you. At the end of the consultation, he hands you a set of slips, investigations, prescription and a bill. Your data has been very accurately entered into the hospital information system, archived forever and he can retrieve it at will. As you move through, the lab is ready to take your blood and the pharmacy has already packed your drugs. This conveyor belt experience in Medicine is today the standard of care - efficient, rapid and standardized. But ask yourself this question - how satisfied and complete would you feel if your physician did not establish eye-contact, examined you and touched you with his hands. This is how most patients feel nowadays, with gadgets, monitors and scans replacing the human being in the doctor-patient relationship.  Medicine has undergone three radical changes which challenge the humane-ness of medicine. 

Reductionism: The spare-part approach induced by the specialist culture has broken our whole body into several parts. It is as if  the body is a warehouse of several organs, stacked and shelved in compartments to be taken out by specialists to treat and fix it back. Like the digital boards in electronic devices. The headache-to-a-neurologist --chest pain-to-a-cardiologist practice has been to the detriment of the human body as a whole. The interconnectedness of organ systems that talk to one another in disease and in health has been forgotten. As a result, the poor patient runs from pillar to post spending all his money without his problem being addressed. Quite often, it may just be an infected pimple in the sacral region that escaped the palpation of the physician.  

Standardization: The clamour for SOPs, guidelines and protocols has de-personalized medicine. To everything there is an algorithm, we just have to dig it out on 'Up-to-Date' and apply it. Apps freely available on smartphones is making the resident 'unsmart'.  These quick-aids have obviated the need to think and apply scientific logic in clinical situations.  No two human beings are alike, not even twins, then how can we even think of standardizing clinical practice. The heterogeneity of clinical presentations is the challenge of clinical medicine. The mystery of a certain presentation and the nuances of treatment add up to the thrill of being a physician.  Sherlock Holmes would testify to this. The algorithm-driven practice  of today has completely wrecked the joy of being a clinician. And this explains the disinterest among young physicians today.  

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Can A Smiling Doctor Cure A Visitor?

While researching on various trends in the healthcare practices, I came across an interesting finding by one of the renowned medical institutes. Cleveland Clinic, USA, through a detailed study of the HCAHPS (patient experience survey) data, found that most of the patients have a better experience when their doctors and caregivers smile more. The findings also said that when the doctors and nurses do not smile, patients interpret it as a means of hiding problems from them which leads to anxiety and impacts the experience. This potentially can create a trust deficit and hence sometimes might result in non-compliance with the prescribed treatment and possible medicolegal hassles for doctors. 
Do you think it is a valid observation? Do you think that a smile can create more trust between doctors and patients? Should adjunct staff personnel be trained regarding better patient care approaches? What are your experiences?

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