How do you know if you had polio as a child?
Progressive muscle and joint weakness and pain. General fatigue and exhaustion with minimal activity. Muscle atrophy. Breathing or swallowing problems.
Is there a test to see if you had polio?
There’s no diagnostic test for post-polio syndrome. Diagnosis is based on a medical history and physical exam, and exclusion of other conditions that could cause the signs and symptoms.
Can polio cause problems later in life?
Polio symptoms vary from mild flu-like symptoms to paralysis and possibly death. People who have had polio may experience effects later in life called the late effects of polio, when physical symptoms emerge 15 years or more after the first polio infection.
How do you know if you have post-polio syndrome?
Fatigue is the most common symptom of post-polio syndrome. It can take many forms, including: muscle fatigue – where your muscles feel very tired and heavy, particularly after physical activity. general fatigue – where you feel an overwhelming sense of physical exhaustion, as if you’ve not slept for days.
What are long term effects of polio?
The most common long-term problems seen in polio are brace problems, knee recurvatum, increasing weakness due to overuse and ankle equinus. A definite increased incidence of problems is seen after the patient is more than 30 years post-polio.
Who gets post-polio syndrome?
Post-polio syndrome affects people who have had acute episodes of poliomyelitis. It occurs 10 years or more after the original illness, and can occur as long as 40 years afterward. According to one estimate, 25% to 50% of the 300,000 polio survivors in the United States may develop the syndrome.
What is a post polio syndrome?
Post-polio syndrome (PPS) is a disorder of the nerves and muscles. It happens in some people many years after they have had polio. PPS may cause new muscle weakness that gets worse over time, pain in the muscles and joints, and tiredness.
Can you catch polio twice?
There are three types of polio virus. Lifelong immunity usually depends on which type of virus a person contracts. Second attacks are rare and result from infection with a polio virus of a different type than the first attack.
How many polio survivors are left?
The World Health Organization estimates that 10 to 20 million polio survivors are alive worldwide, and some estimates suggest that 4 to 8 million of them may get PPS.
How is polio treated today?
Because no cure for polio exists, the focus is on increasing comfort, speeding recovery and preventing complications. Supportive treatments include: Pain relievers. Portable ventilators to assist breathing.
Why does polio affect the legs?
In a growing child, bone grows as a result of the muscle pull on it and/or weight bearing. Therefore, many who contracted polio as a growing child may have one arm or leg or foot that is shorter and smaller than the non-affected/less affected limb. New weakness.
What does Polio do to muscles?
Some people with polio would have had paralysis, muscle weakness and shrinking of the muscles. But usually, these problems would have either gone away over the following weeks or months, or remained the same for years afterwards.
Can polio affect one leg?
Muscle and joint pain go along with PPS. One possibility of apparent scoliosis in your case is of a leg-length discrepancy (one leg longer than the other), which is exceedingly common in polio survivors. When one leg is longer than the other, it may lead to changes in the body to compensate.
How can I improve my polio legs?
“Physical therapy. Your doctor or therapist may prescribe exercises for you that strengthen your muscles without you experiencing muscle fatigue. These usually include less strenuous activities, such as swimming or water aerobics, that you perform every other day at a relaxed pace.
Can you walk if you have polio?
Polio often paralyzed or severely weakened the legs of those who contracted the disease. Regaining the ability to walk was thus a significant measure of recovery from the disease. However, walking meant more than the physical act itself.
Can polio come back in old age?
ALS usually strikes between the ages of 40 and 70. In some countries, ALS is often called motor neuron disease. To date, researchers are not certain what causes PPS, but they have theories. One possibility is that the polio virus becomes active again after decades of lying dormant in the victim’s cells.
Can you still get polio if you’ve been vaccinated?
Do people still get polio in the United States? No, thanks to a successful vaccination program, the United States has been polio-free for more than 30 years, but the disease still occurs in other parts of the world.