How poliomyelitis is transmitted, symptoms, prevention, causes and treatment

We rarely think about how many insidious diseases surround us in everyday life. And we sound alarm already when our state of health starts to deteriorate. That's why doctors urgently recommend young parents to give their children all the necessary vaccinations in order to avoid serious diseases in the future. One of such measures is vaccination against poliomyelitis. But what is this disease and how is poliomyelitis transmitted? How is it manifested, is it treated and how serious are the consequences? Is it worth it to put crumbs at risk by agreeing to a planned vaccination against poliomyelitis? Let's figure it out together.

Children's spinal paralysis

Poliomyelitis is also called childhood spinal paralysis, but this disease may well manifest in an adult. How is poliomyelitis transmitted? Its causative agent is poliovirus poliovirus hominis, which penetrates the body of a healthy person through the mucous membranes of the respiratory system or the oral cavity. He gets into the lymphatic system, where he successfully multiplies, and then gets into the bloodstream. So it spreads through the body and can settle in the central nervous system, causing serious irreversible violations in the human body, leading to paralysis. The main risk group is small children under the age of 10 years. But an adult can get infected, especially if he was not vaccinated against polio as a child. In adults, the disease is very aggressive and causes severe consequences.

How the virus spreads

How is the polio virus transmitted? The carrier of the pathogen is the infected person, less often the flies transporting the poliovirus on themselves. The most common infection occurs precisely by oral-fecal route, that is, the virus can be picked up through unwashed hands, contaminated food or common household items. Also, poliomyelitis is transmitted by airborne droplets. The virus is widely spread all over the world. But we in our life encounter such cases very rarely, thanks to widespread vaccination. It is she who saved developed countries from insidious disease, but in Africa and South Asia outbreaks are epidemic in nature and to this day. If you plan to travel abroad but have never vaccinated against poliomyelitis, you should seek appropriate vaccination in a health facility.

Symptoms of atypical poliomyelitis

Now we know what poliomyelitis is, as it is transmitted. Signs and symptoms of the disease - this is another insidiousness of this disease. The fact is that with the atypical form the disease proceeds with signs very similar to the usual cold. The infected person has a headache, fever, malaise, soreness in the throat, which is sometimes confused with sore throat. Sometimes the disease occurs at all with little expressed symptoms and remains unnoticed. In cases where the body of an infected person has overcome the virus by itself, it develops immunity, and the probability of re-infection is almost zero.

There are several stages in how polio is manifested. Causes and symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and further prognosis are formed depending on the type and course of the disease.

Typical poliomyelitis: signs

Such a disease is fraught with a violation of the functions of the nervous system. There are several stages of its flow:

1. Preparalytic - manifests itself in the same way as atypical poliomyelitis. Symptoms resemble ARI, sometimes combined with digestive system disorders. This condition lasts from 3 to 5 days, and after it comes an improvement. The patient thinks that the cold has receded, but after the illness comes back, other symptoms are added to it: a sharp deterioration in the state of health, severe headaches, soreness in the back and extremities. Sometimes there is confusion. The disease goes to the next stage.
2. Paralytic - the muscle tone decreases , and after a few hours there is paralysis. To common symptoms, pain in the muscles is added. Usually, the lower extremities are affected, and less often the muscles of the trunk and neck. In the latter case, respiratory failure may develop, the patient can not swallow normally. This condition can last from several days to several weeks. After there comes an improvement, and the disease flows into the next stage.
3. Recovery period - the motor function quickly begins to return to normal, but with time the recovery slows down. Such a period can last up to several years. There is no guarantee that the patient will be able to recover from the disease completely. The patient may have a residual polio syndrome.

Effects

It is important to know which way poliomyelitis is transmitted, how to protect against it, and to regularly follow preventive measures. This disease refers to those that are easier to prevent than to deal with the consequences. With the onset of severe paralytic form of the disease, poliomyelitis leaves a memory for itself until the end of a person's life. More than half of patients live with permanent muscle weakness or other pathologies. In those muscle groups that have been exposed to the disease, over time, weakness can develop even more, up to complete atrophy. With age, this condition can worsen. One third of the patients who survived the paralytic form remain disabled.

But for people who have had an easy form of poliomyelitis, the outlook is very good. In such a state, there is no violation of the central nervous system, because the person recovers completely, having received immunity to poliomyelitis, which will persist until the end of life.

Diagnostics

There are a large number of diseases that are similar to poliomyelitis. Who is suffering from them, symptoms, prevention, and many other factors play a role in the collection of anamnesis. In mild form, the presence of the virus is usually manifested by fever or other symptoms similar to a cold. A potential patient with suspected poliomyelitis is given swabs for the detection of the virus and lumbar puncture. In poliomyelitis, it will show an increased level of protein and an increase in the number of lymphocytes. Further treatment is carried out only in a medical institution with limited access for visitors.

There is still no remedy

Everyone needs to know how poliomyelitis is transmitted and what needs to be done to prevent the disease, because there is no polio medication. There is no antibiotic against this virus. It perfectly tolerates cold, long time is preserved in the environment and does not collapse under the influence of gastric juices. The only weapon that can defeat an insidious virus is the immunity that the body produces after a disease or vaccination.

Treatment

Treatment is appointed or maintained. Patients are placed in isolated boxes, where they will stay for 40 days. They must strictly adhere to bed rest, this will reduce the likelihood of complications. The drugs are prescribed symptomatically, the intake of vitamins is indicated. In severe cases, when the respiratory function is disrupted, the patient undergoes mechanical ventilation. To prevent the work of joints, hot compresses are shown in the painful muscle area. During the recovery period, physiotherapeutic procedures are prescribed to patients: massage, baths and exercise therapy. If after the disease there are residual phenomena, the person is shown orthopedic treatment aimed at preventing further deformation and improving the quality of life.

Prevention

How is poliomyelitis transmitted? If the rules of personal hygiene are not respected and direct contact with a sick person. Therefore, you should strictly adhere to sanitary and hygienic standards. To eat only fresh and clean food, you need to boil water, and wash your hands as often as possible.

The virus is destroyed by boiling, is afraid of chlorine-containing substances, is destroyed under the influence of ultraviolet. In the room where the patient was, you need to conduct a thorough disinfection cleaning. Some things can be boiled, and the room itself is decontaminated with ultraviolet lamps. Those who contacted the infected person are placed in quarantine for 2-3 weeks. Do not tempt fate once again and go on a journey to countries where poliomyelitis is common. And remember: the only guarantor of preventing the disease is a vaccine against poliomyelitis. The characteristics of the vaccine should be known to every young parent.

Vaccine to the baby: "Yes" or "No"?

Recently, more and more parents have refused routine vaccinations for their babies. The reasons for this can be very different: from the unwillingness to once again expose the child's body to the effects of the vaccine to the banal negligence, because terrible diseases today are not so often. But it should be remembered that the more people pass this vaccine in childhood, the more their chances in the future not only become sick, but also become a participant in this epidemic. Also, parents often wonder about how poliomyelitis is transmitted after vaccination and whether it is transmitted at all.

In modern medicine vaccines are used, which practically do not cause any complications. Such a chance exists, but it is negligible - 1: 2.5 million people. To avoid such a fate, you just need to follow clear instructions. So, for children with immunocompromised vaccine is contraindicated. In rare cases, there may be an allergic reaction to the drug, in which case the subsequent vaccination is canceled. Serious consequences for the health of the baby such a cancellation will not cause.

Do I sign a refusal to vaccinate my child or still risk and agree? This decision can only be made by you. Comprehensively consider your choice, if necessary - visit several specialists at once, talk with parents who have already passed this stage, read additional medical literature. But remember: only the immunization of children at an early age can protect them from a terrible illness in 99% of cases. Unfortunately, there is no other alternative.

Let's sum up the results

History remembers a lot of cases, when a tiny virus called humanity to a duel. How many similar with us still will occur, and how many it will be possible to avoid? To date, we have been able to curb the virus of poliomyelitis and hope that soon it will not remain in any corner of the globe. And help us in this timely vaccination against a terrible disease.

Be healthy!