Nikki Sommer, a nurse with Key West Surgical Group, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning for Medical Matters.
Polio used to be much more prevalent than it is today.
Sommer said, “Polio is a contagious infection that’s caused, obviously, by the polio virus. The virus can live in your throat, intestines, and is spread mainly through fecal oral route, meaning, like, if somebody has polio, they go to the bathroom, don’t wash their hands, they touch somebody else’s hands, food or water, it can actually spread and it can also spread through saliva. So most people who get polio never feel sick. About 75% to 90% of the infections are completely asymptomatic. However, a small number of cases, the virus can reach the nervous system, the brain and the spinal cord, and this is what causes muscle weakness or paralysis. The severe form is rare, but historically, it’s the reason why polio was such a feared illness. I think you remember years ago between, I think the 1900s to 1960s mostly like the 50s and 60s, you saw the kids with the braces on their legs from polio. That is the fear of polio.”
What are some of the symptoms?
Sommer said, “Fever, headache, sore throat, fatigue, nausea or upset stomach. The smaller group like we talked about, might have the more serious symptoms that attack the nervous system, and this is called paralytic polio, and it can cause sudden weakness in an arm or leg, limp or floppy muscles, loss of reflexes, difficulty breathing of the chest muscles can also be involved. This severe form is rare, but it’s extremely serious. So it’s one of those things where not everybody gets it, but that one person gets it, I don’t know who to say, who that one person would be, so this is just educating and awareness of what what could occur if there should be polio cases in the United States.”
What is the prevention?
Sommer said, “In medicine, most diseases don’t have a true cure. That’s why we have treatment and we have prevention. So treatment is to manage the system, support healing and help the body recover, meaning, like usually, there’s some type of medication we can give you to treat the problem. Prevention is to reduce the risk of getting sick in the first place. So we use prevention methods where treatment isn’t available, in this case, polio, like we talked about, measles, mumps, rubella, they don’t have treatment. So that is why we talk about prevention. So polio, like I said, the treatment is just supportive. So prevention plays in the biggest role of reducing the complications. The polio vaccine that children get is not a live virus, so it’s not something that can cause polio. So that’s really important, some immunizations are live or are not live viruses. So in this case, polio is an inactivated virus, so it’s not a live virus.”
What is the treatment for polio?
Sommer said, “Rest, pain management, physical therapy for muscle weakness, bracing, if weak limbs. If there’s an issue with the limbs and they’re having trouble walking, they might need bracing. If there are severe respiratory complications, breathing support, if needed. That’s in the most extreme case, obviously, hydration, just maintaining everyday hydration, fluid intake, food intake, that’s really all you could do. If there’s fever, like they talked about, treat the fever with either Tylenol, ibuprofen. I mean, there’s really nothing more you can do than, like, treat the symptoms as best we can.”
Post polio syndrome can also happen.
Sommer said, “I didn’t know this. When we talked about the the measles, it could trigger an encephalitis years down the road. Polio has kind of the same thing. Years after you have polio, you may develop this post polio syndrome, where you may have new muscle weakness, fatigue or pain, and it says it could appear decades after the original infection. Polio is extremely rare in the United States today. It still exists in some parts of the world, so travelers should be aware. So like we said, fecal oral route, or it lives in the respiratory tract. So we may not see it here, but people who come into our country who are carrying the polio virus can infect people in the United States. I think they had a polio virus case in 2022 in New York, if I’m not mistaken. Good hygiene, especially washing hands, helps prevent many infections. That is why we wash our hands with soap and water regularly, especially after you go to the bathroom. I always use COVID as the example. We really knew how many people didn’t wash their hands. You’ll go in a public restroom and you’ll watch, I don’t know about men, but women, they just walk right out the bathroom. I’m like, that’s disgusting. Routine child childhood health care in the US, make sure you take your children to the pediatrician, get all the information you need about vaccines. Again, I’m not going to debate whether you should or not, but you need to be well informed of what the vaccines do, what they prevent, what their purpose is. The whole idea is that we’re informed. Our jobs are to inform people of of what’s out there and what treatments are available to them, and then they can make the decision.”
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