If polio goes untreated, the virus can cause paralysis in some cases. This paralysis can occur within a few hours or days of being infected with the virus. Polio can cause symptoms such as muscle weakness and paralysis in the legs, arms, torso and even the neck.
In severe cases, it can cause paralysis of the diaphragm and cause respiratory failure. This can be life-threatening as the person may not be able to breathe on their own. If a person experiences paralysis because of polio, it can be permanent in some cases.
In addition to paralysis, polio can also cause fatigue, fever, headaches and stiffness in the neck and back. If polio is not treated in a timely manner, it can lead to permanent disability or even death.
It is important that people who are infected with polio receive prompt medical care, including vaccinations for those who have not been previously vaccinated. Vaccination and prompt medical care are the best ways to prevent long-term complications caused by polio and reduce the risk of death.
How long can you live with polio?
It is difficult to give an exact answer to the question of how long someone can live with polio because the disease and its effects can vary widely from person to person. Some people who are infected with the polio virus may only experience a minor illness and never show any symptoms, while others may develop severe paralysis and associated complications.
Generally speaking, most people with polio will live a normal lifespan, as long as the person takes proper care of their health and pays extra attention to potential complications.
For those with severe paralysis due to polio, the outlook may not be as optimistic. Without access to proper medical care and rehabilitation, some people with severe paralysis may experience an early death due to respiratory exhaustion, ongoing infection, or complications from bedsores or muscle contractures.
Those with moderate or mild paralysis, who have access to good medical care, however, can often live a healthy life.
In rare cases, the polio virus can mutate and cause what is known as “post-polio syndrome.” This occurs in people who have previously been infected with the polio virus and can lead to tiredness and fatigue, increasing weakness, muscle and joint pain, and swelling and shrinking of muscle groups.
People who develop post-polio syndrome may not experience an affected lifespan and may still be able to live a long and fruitful life.
Can you recover from polio on your own?
Although recovery from polio is possible, it is not advised to attempt recovery on your own without the help of a health care professional. Polio can cause lifelong physical disabilities and even death in some cases, so recovery requires extensive medical care and treatment.
Polio is an infectious virus that enters the body through the mouth, most people recover fully within a few weeks with only minor residual effects. However, some people may be left with permanent disability, such as, muscle weakness, contractures, scoliosis, and paralysis, which can require lifelong care.
Therefore, it is important to seek professional medical help soon after the initial diagnosis. Recovery from polio will depend on the type and severity of the disease. Mild cases may only require rest and pain medication, while severe cases may require hospitalization and intensive rehabilitation.
Treatment may include antibiotics, antiviral medications, physical therapy, and braces for support. Since no single treatment will be the same for everyone, it is important to seek medical advice from your doctor in order to devise the best plan for recovery.
What happens if you dont get polio vaccine?
If you do not get the polio vaccine, you will be at risk of contracting the polio virus, which can lead to permanent paralysis, disability, and even death. Polio is still present in some countries, and can be imported through travel or contact with infected individuals, so it is important for everyone to get the vaccine regardless of travel plans.
Without the vaccine, people of all ages are at risk – adults are just as likely to be infected as children, and can spread the virus to those who are unvaccinated. In addition, without the vaccine, the risk of polio returning to places where it was previously eradicated is much higher.
Vaccination has been tremendously successful in eradicating polio and providing protection to millions of people. It is critical for everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
How long did polio patients stay in iron lung?
The length of time a polio patient stayed in an iron lung generally depended on the severity of the patient’s condition. People with milder forms of the virus often stayed in an iron lung from just a few days to a few weeks, while those with more severe forms could be in the device for months or even years.
Those who were unable to breathe on their own—due to either complete paralysis or partial paralysis of their diaphragm muscles—were sometimes attached to the device for their entire lives. Iron lungs were slowly phased out after the invention of the mechanical ventilator, which could provide the same type of respiratory support but with less discomfort and disability.
Could I have had polio and not know it?
Yes, it is possible to have had polio and not have known it. Some cases of polio are so mild that they don’t cause significant symptoms, yet still create the necessary antibodies to protect against future cases of the virus.
This type of polio is called subclinical or abortive polio. Research suggests that between 10-15% of polio infections in the US were subclinical. Additionally, a person may have had polio as a child and forgotten about it as the symptoms could have been very mild or easily confused with other illnesses like the flu.
This makes it difficult to confirm previous exposures to the virus.
Can you fight polio without a vaccine?
No, it is not possible to fight polio without a vaccine. Polio is a highly infectious virus that affects the human nervous system and can lead to paralysis, breathing difficulty, and even death. Vaccines are currently the only way to effectively fight polio, as they help to build up immunity to the virus.
Polio has no cure, so vaccination is the only way to protect against the virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that all children should be vaccinated against polio. By increasing vaccination rates, we can help to protect all children from this potentially fatal virus, and ultimately reduce the disease burden globally.
Can you walk again after polio?
Yes, it is possible to walk again after polio. While the effects of polio can be lifelong, many people who have had polio are able to regain the ability to walk and to be as functional and independent as possible.
Depending on the severity of the attack, rehabilitation such as physical and occupational therapy can help to improve muscle strength and coordination. The process of rehabilitation may take some time, and may even stretch for a few years until the patient is able to regain normal function.
Most importantly, it is important to be consistent with therapy, exercise and stretches to help improve motor skills, strength and coordination. Additionally, there are also devices and braces available to allow those with polio to walk and move with greater ease, such as a walker, crutches, or wheelchair.
Can you have a mild case of polio?
Yes, it is possible to have a mild case of polio. Polio can range in severity from a mild fever and sore throat to muscle weakness, paralysis, and even death in some cases. Mild cases often cause flu-like symptoms, such as headache, fever, fatigue, and sore throat.
These symptoms usually fade within two weeks, but some people may suffer from mild muscle weakness for several months or even longer. In some cases, people can develop a mild form of paralysis, called ‘aseptic meningitis’, which causes the person’s limbs to become weak or even paralyzed temporarily.
In rare cases, the virus can cause permanent damage to nerves and muscle tissue, which can lead to paralysis. Polio is preventable with a vaccine.
How long did it take to get a cure for polio?
It took more than 30 years to develop a cure for polio. Dr. Jonas Salk began his research into finding a polio vaccine in 1947, and in April of 1955, he announced that he had developed a successful vaccine to prevent polio.
This was a monumental breakthrough as polio had been one of the most feared and devastating illnesses of the time. It had caused widespread suffering, disability, and even death in the years prior. However, the vaccine was not yet a cure—it prevented people from becoming infected with the polio virus, but it did not treat those already sick with the virus.
In the early 1960s, Dr. Albert Sabin developed a live, weakened form of the polio virus vaccine, which was able to fully protect people from the disease. In 1963, the first oral polio vaccine was administered to children in the United States.
This vaccine was deemed so successful that by 1979, it had eradicated polio entirely from the United States.
It took over 30 years from when Dr. Salk began his research in 1947, to when polio was eradicated from the US in 1979. There are now only a handful of polio cases in the world each year, with most occurring in countries that have yet to adopt polio vaccinations.
Thanks to the work of Dr. Salk and Dr. Sabin, polio is no longer the pervasive global threat it once was, enabling millions of people to live healthier, fuller lives.
How many polio survivors are still alive?
That is a difficult question to accurately answer as records of survivors are often incomplete or not available, and polio disproportionately affected people who were born prior to the establishment of comprehensive global recording systems.
Estimates based on studies of polio survivors in different parts of the world suggest that there are between 10 million and 20 million survivors still alive today. Many of these survivors are living in areas of the world where there was a major polio epidemic prior to the development of a vaccine, such as the United States and Canada during the 1950s and India in the 1970s and 1980s.
In addition, the World Health Organization estimates that over the course of history, more than 500 million people have been infected with polio globally. While the numbers are difficult to precisely determine, we do know that polio survivors continue to face physical, psychological and social challenges, including Post-Polio Syndrome, which can cause muscle weakness, breathing difficulties and other problems as they age.
As such, it is important to raise awareness and provide necessary resources and care to aid survivors in living healthy and full lives.
What is the last stage of polio?
The last stage of polio is Post-Polio Syndrome (PPS). PPS is a condition that affects polio survivors several years after recovering from an acute infection of the polio virus. This condition typically develops 15-40 years after the initial polio infection, but it has been known to start up to 60 years later.
PPS is characterized by muscle weakness, joint and/or muscle pain, and fatigue due to a decrease in functioning of the nerves that used to stimulate the affected muscles. It is a progressive disorder, meaning it gets worse over time and is usually a lifelong condition.
Treatment for PPS involves rest, exercise, physical therapy, and sometimes hormone supplements. Though there is no known cure for PPS, it is possible to manage symptoms with a combination of these treatments.
Does polio stay in your body forever?
No, polio does not stay in your body forever. Poliovirus, the virus which causes the disease polio, typically enters the body through the mouth and intestinal tract and travels to the spinal cord and brain.
In some cases, the virus may enter the blood and spread to the rest of the body. When this occurs, a person may have a fever, headaches, stomach pain, vomiting and/or diarrhea. If the virus invades the nervous system, it can cause paralysis.
However, in most cases, the virus does not stay in the body. The immune system will usually fight off the virus and the person will recover from the illness. However, if the virus does not leave the body, it can cause lifelong paralysis and, in some cases, death.
Therefore, it is important to take measures to prevent catching polio and to seek medical advice if you have been infected.
Is polio Painful?
Yes, polio can be painful. It is a highly infectious disease that is caused by a virus and affects the nervous system. The most common symptoms of polio are flu-like illness, muscle weakness and pain.
People who have been infected with the virus may experience headache, muscle aches, fever and fatigue. In more severe cases, polio can cause muscle pain, loss of reflexes, and paralysis or even death, due to the destruction of nerves controlling the muscles.
Poliomyelitis is also known as infantile paralysis because it is most common in children under the age of five. Symptoms can range from mild to severe and usually begin with fever, headache, fatigue, vomiting, and stiffness in the neck, torso and limbs.
Muscle weakness, pain and tenderness can also occur. In more severe cases, people may experience a loss of reflexes, muscle degeneration and paralysis in the legs, arms, and legs.
What does polio do to a person?
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a virus that attacks the nervous system and can cause muscle paralysis, difficulty breathing, and even death. It is an infectious virus that is spread through contact with an infected individual, contaminated food, water, or objects.
Those infected with the polio virus may experience a number of symptoms including fever, fatigue, headache, sore throat, vomiting, nausea, stiff neck, pain in the arms and/or legs, and a tingling sensation in the arms and/or legs.
In severe cases, polio can lead to a number of complications, including paralysis of the arms and/or legs, irreversible deformity in the arms and/or legs, abdominal pain, and even death. In individuals who experience paralysis, the virus typically affects the motor and/or sensory neurons in the spinal cord, preventing signals from travelling to the muscle fibers, ultimately resulting in paralysis.
Death from polio or from the complications of polio typically occurs due to respiratory paralysis, an inability to breathe properly.
Vaccines and vigilant hygiene practices can help prevent polio from spreading, however, it has yet to be completely eradicated, highlighting the importance of prevention through vaccination.
