Pulverizing Polio
You are experiencing flu-like symptoms. Your legs feel like pins and needles are attacking them. Your doctor suspects you have polio. You never got vaccinated. Your family is devastated.
Polio is a serious and life threatening disease. A virus that can affect the nervous system and cause muscle weakness, some polio cases may result in paralysis and even death. There is no cure for polio but it can be prevented through vaccination.
Excluding a recent case of man in Rockland County, New York, the last case of naturally occurring polio was in 1979. Despite a worldwide effort to eradicate polio, there are still some cases in Africa and Asia.
Some people acquire symptoms that don’t lead to paralysis, known as nonparalytic polio, signs and symptoms include fever, sore throat, headache, vomiting, fatigue, back pain or stiffness, neck pain or stiffness, pain or stiffness in the arms or legs, and muscle weakness or tenderness.
The more debilitating form of the disease, paralytic polio, is rare. Initial signs and symptoms of paralytic polio are similar to nonparalytic polio, however, in a week, other signs appear including loss of reflexes, severe muscle aches or weakness and loose and floppy limbs (flaccid paralysis).
Another form of polio, known as post polio is a group of disabling signs and symptoms that affect some people years after having polio. Signs and symptoms include progressive muscle or joint weakness and pain, fatigue, muscle wasting (atrophy), breathing or swallowing problems, sleep-related breathing disorders such as sleep apnea, and decreased tolerance of cold temperatures.
Polio is spread via microscopic fecal matter. That’s why children with poor handwashing skills and hygiene are at higher risk.
Generally, polio infects people who touch their mouth with feces-contaminated hands or objects but a limited risk of spreading the virus still exists through droplets from a sneeze or cough.
The main thing about polio and a lot of viruses, is that you’re most likely to get infected with someone you’re in close contact with, such as family members.
Another risk factor involves people without polio symptoms, who unknowingly spread the virus, regardless of vaccination status. But vaccines are still the best way to deal with polio.
Most children in the United States receive four doses of inactivated poliovirus vaccine at two months, four months, between 6 and 18 months, between ages 4 and 6 when children are entering school.
Adults aren’t vaccinated against the poliovirus because most are already immune and the chances of contracting polio are minimal.
Since there is no cure, the focus is put on increasing comfort and relying on loved ones for assistance.
Since the most recent case of polio in Rockland County, six wastewater samples have tested positive for polio. Unfortunately, polio is here to stay.
If you suspect that you have polio, please contact your doctor and discuss your concerns with her.
