How does polio affect mental health?

How does polio affect mental health?

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – People who had polio in childhood seem to be at somewhat increased risk of being hospitalized for a psychiatric disorder later in life, according to a Danish study. “Chronic and life-threatening diseases are known to be accompanied by increased risk of anxiety, depression, and suicide,” Dr.

How does polio affect physical development?

Some people with polio would have had paralysis, muscle weakness and shrinking of the muscles. But usually, these problems would have either gone away over the following weeks or months, or remained the same for years afterwards.

What challenges can polio survivors face?

Still, years after surviving the disease, patients may be affected by post-polio syndrome, a weakening of the muscles already affected by polio. Symptoms include fatigue and muscle atrophy.

How is a person’s daily life affected by polio?

Between 2 and 10 out of 100 people who have paralysis from poliovirus infection die, because the virus affects the muscles that help them breathe. Even children who seem to fully recover can develop new muscle pain, weakness, or paralysis as adults, 15 to 40 years later.

Can polio affect your brain?

Autopsies in some polio patients have found damage to the brainstem and motor cortex as well as to spinal motor neurons. Alternatively, polio may have spared the motor cortex, but the cortex reorganized in different ways to compensate for the loss of spinal motor neurons.

Can polio cause schizophrenia?

Eagles suggested that polioviruses might cause schizophrenia because 1) several reports of a recent decline in the incidence of schizophrenia coinciding with the introduction of polio vaccination, 2) the observed winter excesses in schizophrenic births (in temperate climates) could be explained by fetal exposure to …

Can polio be passed from mother to child?

Can post polio syndrome be inherited? No. Post polio syndrome is not inherited . Post polio syndrome only affects people who have had polio.

What are the signs and symptoms of polio?

Symptoms of polio 1 severe muscle pain. 2 stiffness of the neck and back – with or without paralysis. 3 swallowing and breathing problems. 4 long-term disability – due to paralysis of the muscles. 5 death – in severe cases, when breathing and swallowing muscles are paralysed.

What kind of paralysis is caused by polio?

Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. In about 0.5 percent of cases there is muscle weakness resulting in an inability to move.

What can you do about the late effects of polio?

Aids and equipment (including orthoses, braces, walking sticks and electric scooters) can help relieve the symptoms of the late effects of polio. Poliomyelitis (polio) is a serious disease caused by infection with 1 of 3 types of poliovirus. The virus is live for 6 weeks.

What are the factors that increase the risk of polio?

Factors that can increase your risk include: being unimmunised and having contact with someone recently immunised with the oral polio vaccine. To diagnose polio, a doctor will: swallowing and breathing problems. cerebrospinal fluid (the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord). There is no cure for polio.

What are the symptoms of a mild polio case?

In mild polio cases, symptoms include: fever tiredness and weakness (malaise) headache nausea and vomiting muscle stiffness.

What happens to the body of a polio survivor?

Most often, polio survivors start to experience gradual new weakening in muscles that were previously affected by the polio infection. Some individuals experience only minor symptoms while others develop visible muscle weakness and atrophy.

How does polio affect a person’s mental health?

“Overall, history of poliomyelitis was associated with a 40% increased risk of being hospitalized for a psychiatric disorder,” Nielsen’s group reports. The likelihood of suffering a mental disorder seemed to be higher before age 45 years, and among those who had polio before the age of 7.

When do you feel the late effects of polio?

The late effects of polio are when physical symptoms return 15 years or more after the first polio infection. It is important to avoid too much physical exertion if you experience the late effects of polio.