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Poliomyelitis
What are the symptoms?
The majority of infections are characterized by a mild fever often with vomiting or diarrhoea. Weakness or complete paralysis of any of the skeletal muscles appears in a minority of subjects, but this may develop rapidly. After a few days or weeks the weakness begins to improve and may continue to do so for one to two years.
Post-Polio syndrome
It has recently been recognized that after an interval of at least
thirty-five years after the acute infection a condition known as the
Post-Polio syndrome may develop. This is due to dying back of the
peripheral nerve fibres which were damaged, but regenerated after the
acute illness. This causes weakness, pain and fatigue in muscles which
were previously affected. The Post-Polio syndrome occurs in around
fifty per cent of those who have had polio, but in eighty per cent of
these it is either static or only slowly progressive. Specialist advice
about how to adapt the lifestyle to minimize the risk of the
progression of this syndrome is often effective. Respiratory support
usually with a non-invasive ventilator system used at night may be
needed if the respiratory (breathing) muscles are affected. The
Post-Polio syndrome should be distinguished from similar symptoms which
may be due to degenerative changes in the joints or soft tissues,
peripheral nerve entrapment, or aging.
Background
| How is it treated? 
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