Symptoms and Signs of Post-Polio Syndrome

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=110 BGCOLOR="#CCFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="039506e1egerbq.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#339900" FACE="Arial" ><B>Post-Polio Syndrome Information and More</B></FONT><B> </B><B> </B><B> </B></div> <div> <B>                                                                                                               </B><A HREF="index_page.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Index"><U><B>INDEX</B></U></A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=190 BGCOLOR="#339900" TEXT="#080000"> <div>                     <IMG SRC="1ab32e10.gif" border=0 width="50" height="225" ALT="Bolt of lightening" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=370 BGCOLOR="#99CC00" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Symptoms and Signs of Post-Polio Syndrome</B></div> <div> <B><U>General</U></B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>:                                                                           </B></FONT></div> <div> <B>  Increased weakness                                                      </B></div> <div> <B>  Increased fatigue                                                          </B></div> <div> <B>  Reduced endurance for routine activities               </B></div> <div> <B>  Lifestyle changes                                                           </B></div> <div> <B>  Increased instability and falling                                 </B></div> <div> <B>  Need for walking and mobility aids                           </B></div> <div> <B>  Weight gain                                                                     </B></div> <div> <B>  Dependent edema                                                         </B></div> <div> <B>  Genito-urinary problems                                              </B></div> <div> <B>  Gastro-intestinal complaints</B></div> <div> <B>  Sexual problems                                                        </B></div> <div> <B>  Anxiety and depression                                               </B></div> <div> <B>  Change in tone of voice                                               </B></div> <div> <B>  Swallowing problems                                                  </B></div> <div> <B>  Choking                                                                            </B></div> <div> <B>  Poor memory and concentration                               </B></div> <div> <B>  Sensitivity to cold                                                           </B></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Neuromuscular</U></B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <div> <B>  Increased pain</B></div> <div> <B>  Muscle atrophy </B></div> <div> <B>  Muscle pain</B></div> <div> <B>  Local muscle fatigue</B></div> <div> <B>  Increased or new muscle weakness</B></div> <div> <B>  Muscle twitching</B></div> <div> <B>  Muscle cramps</B></div> <div> <B>  Anterior nerve root entrapment</B></div> <div> <B>  Peripheral neuropathy</B></div> <bR> <div> <B> </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B><U>Muscular-skeletal</U></B></FONT><B>:</B></div> <div> <B>  Joint deformity</B></div> <div> <B>  Spinal deformity</B></div> <div> <B>  Chronic back pain</B></div> <div> <B>  Osteoporosis</B></div> <div> <B>  Degenerative joint disease</B></div> <div> <B>  Tendonitis</B></div> <div> <B>  Ligament laxity, especially in the knees</B></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Cardio-respiratory</U></B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>:</B></FONT><B>                                                          </B></div> <div> <B>  Increased shortness of breath                                    </B></div> <div> <B>  Difficulty in speaking                                                     </B></div> <div> <B>  Snoring                                                                             </B></div> <div> <B>  Morning headaches                                                       </B></div> <div> <B>  Peripheral swelling </B></div> <div> <B>  Increased respiratory infections</B></div> <div> <B>  Sleep disturbance</B></div> <div> <B>  Sleep apnea</B></div> <div> <B>  Daytime somnolence</B></div> <div> <B>  Weak cough                                                      </B></div> <div> <B>My thanks to the Westside Post Polio Support Group Newsletter for this information.</B></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="1ac8a130.gif" border=0 width="394" height="19" ALT="Line of hearts" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>POLIO RETURNS TO ATTACK SURVIVORS</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LONDON (Reuters) - The campaign to rid the world of polio is marching toward victory but survivors of the virus have found themselves the target of a surprise counteroffensive. Post-polio syndrome hits people around 30 years after they were originally infected with the virus, like the delayed sting in a scorpion's tail. Intense fatigue, respiratory problems, painful joints and declining muscle strength leave people with PPS feeling as if they have aged before their time.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"Over the next several years 100 percent of polio victims will have</B></div> <div> <B>some symptom that is attributable to PPS," Dr. Richard Bruno, a</B></div> <div> <B>director of the Post-Polio Institute at Englewood hospital and</B></div> <div> <B>medical center in New Jersey and chairman of the International</B></div> <div> <B>Post-Polio Taskforce said.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>He believes there are 15 to 20 million polio survivors worldwide but</B></div> <div> <B>that does not include a large number of people who were never</B></div> <div> <B>diagnosed with the disease and whose PPS symptoms are often </B></div> <div> <B>mistaken for something else. "A study published last year shows that half of</B></div> <div> <B>all people with chronic fatigue syndrome have in fact got PPS,"</B></div> <div> <B>Bruno, who has been working with post polio patients for 17 years,</B></div> <div> <B>told Reuters.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>At about the time the World Health Organization began its polio</B></div> <div> <B>eradication program in 1989, polio survivor Esther O'Leary  began to</B></div> <div> <B>notice that a walk that usually took her five minutes was taking 15</B></div> <div> <B>minutes and left her exhausted.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Eleven years later, polio has been stamped out in all but 10 </B></div> <div> <B>countries in Africa and South Asia. But O'Leary, a 53-year-old  </B></div> <div> <B>mother of four, can no longer sit up straight at the table and lift her food</B></div> <div> <B>to her mouth. She has to hunch over her plate, bringing her mouth</B></div> <div> <B>down to meet the fork halfway.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>For a five-minute walk she uses a wheelchair.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"I used to sip my tea from a cup. Now, because of the weakness, I</B></div> <div> <B>have to suck it through a straw. At least I have a good excuse for</B></div> <div> <B>avoiding the ironing," she said.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>OUTWARDLY FINE</B></div> <div> <B>Although polio evokes images of leg braces and coffin-like iron </B></div> <div> <B>lungs in which some victims were encased, many survivors including </B></div> <div> <B>actress Mia Farrow and renowned British photographer Lord Snowdon </B></div> <div> <B>exhibit no trace of the virus.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Most people who were infected with polio contracted only a mild</B></div> <div> <B>strain that attacked their brains but did not cause muscular</B></div> <div> <B>paralysis. Some experienced only flu-like symptoms and were </B></div> <div> <B>never diagnosed with polio.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>In the confusion of the sporadic epidemics that broke out during the</B></div> <div> <B>1940s and 1950s even people whose muscles were paralyzed </B></div> <div> <B>were not always diagnosed correctly.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"If you could breathe you were sent home from the hospital.  They</B></div> <div> <B>needed the beds," said Bruno, who estimates that 39 percent of</B></div> <div> <B>paralytic cases were never diagnosed and the figure for </B></div> <div> <B>nonparalytic polio could be even higher.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>A major hurdle in the battle against PPS is ignorance of the </B></div> <div> <B>condition within the medical profession. Widespread vaccination  </B></div> <div> <B>means many doctors have no practical experience of the virus and are</B></div> <div> <B>skeptical about its late effects.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"Doctors reject anything new that they did not learn in medical</B></div> <div> <B>school," Bruno said.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Patients trek from every corner of the globe to his New Jersey </B></div> <div> <B>clinic to get treatment they cannot get at home. Although there is no </B></div> <div> <B>cure for PPS, physiotherapy helps and patients are advised to rest</B></div> <div> <B>frequently.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>'THERE IS NOBODY TO HELP'</B></div> <div> <B>"There is nobody to help them. Doctors say to them, 'Yes I have </B></div> <div> <B>heard about it but I do not believe in PPS,' as if it is some sort of</B></div> <div> <B>religion," he said. "People have been told it is all in their head</B></div> <div> <B>and they should go and see a psychiatrist."</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Dr. Ali Arshad, a rehabilitation specialist based in the northern</B></div> <div> <B>English city of Leeds, agreed that doctors are still wary of PPS.</B></div> <div> <B>"The medical profession here are still quite skeptical, they still</B></div> <div> <B>have not embraced it 100 percent."</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>This skepticism frustrates people with PPS who have struggled to</B></div> <div> <B>establish the source of their fatigue.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"It has been an uphill struggle, like trying to climb Mount Everest,"</B></div> <div> <B>said Hilary Hallam, 52. Before PPS stopped her in her tracks the</B></div> <div> <B>mother of two had led an energetic life that belied any trace of the</B></div> <div> <B>polio that had paralyzed her in childhood.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>A former policewoman and swimming teacher with an orange belt </B></div> <div> <B>in judo, Hallam now uses both hands to lift a pint glass.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"I could not swim fast anymore, could not pull myself out of the</B></div> <div> <B>water anymore, but the doctors told me there was nothing wrong </B></div> <div> <B>with me," said Hallam, who founded a support group called the </B></div> <div> <B>Lincolnshire Post-Polio network in eastern England at</B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ott.zynet.co.uk/polio/lincolnshire/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ott.zynet.co.uk/polio/lincoln"><U><B>http://www.ott.zynet.co.uk/polio/lincolnshire/</B></U></A><B>.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"I have had to fight every step of the way with the medical </B></div> <div> <B>profession and I am still fighting," she said. "Doctors are still not</B></div> <div> <B>getting the full picture."</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Copyright c2000 ABC News Internet Ventures. Click here for </B></div> <div> <B>Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Internet Safety Information applicable to</B></div> <div> <B>this site. 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