"Polio": Infantile Paralysis

INFANTILE PARALYSIS
Prudential HEALTH SERIES
When polio strikes some child in a community, it is only natural for all parents in that community to become concerned about their own children. It is well to keep in mind, however, that even during an epidemic the number of persons who get the disease is very small in comparison with the total population. For example, approximately 45,000 cases were reported for the entire United States and Canada in 1949—and this was a bad year.
Furthermore, about 50% of those who get polio seriously enough to become paralyzed recover completely. Another large group has very slight after-effects. Comparatively few are seriously affected by the disease, and many of these can be considerably improved by means of surgery and prolonged special treatment. Very few cases end fatally.
This does not mean, however, that polio can safely be ignored. The disease is a serious one—it is the most frequent cause of deformity in children—and wise parents will take every possible precaution to help their children avoid contracting it.
It is a contagious disease in which the gray matter of the spinal cord is attacked, producing destruction of certain cells and causing paralysis. The disease is caused by a virus—tiny “bugs” smaller than bacteria. Apparently these “bugs” enter through the mouth on food or in water that has been contaminated in some fashion, or through the nose in breathing. It is not conclusively known how the disease is spread. Many people harbor the virus without any reaction whatsoever. Many others have mild symptoms which they disregard as a summer cold. Once symptoms have developed, special laboratory studies made by experts are usually carried out to establish the diagnosis accurately.
There is no characteristic symptom or sign to be found in all cases. This makes the diagnosis difficult. Quite frequently, the patient cannot bend his head forward as far as usual. A doctor should always be called if anyone in the family has a fever associated with a bad headache, or with pain in the muscles in either the arms or legs or in the neck and back. Even minor upsets in children should be looked upon with suspicion. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, a slight cold coupled with pain in the joints, are also possible danger signs. A child catching polio may become drowsy or restless, feverish and irritable. He may complain about and resist being moved. These symptoms are particularly important during the summer and early fall months because this is the period during which most outbreaks of polio occur.