Polio and acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) are illnesses that cause muscle
weakness and paralysis (when you’re not able to move). They both
typically affect children.
Polio is a viral infection that paralyzed mostly in children. It’s a
problem in some African countries.
Doctors don’t know exactly what causes AFM, but many cases seem to be
brought on by a viral infection, too. (Researchers aren’t sure how the
virus triggers it.)
Symptoms
AFM causes sudden weakness in your arms and legs, along with a loss of
muscle tone and sometimes pain . Your face may also feel weak.
Other symptoms include:
Drooping eyelids and trouble moving your eyes; hard time swallowing or
speaking; slurred speech and trouble breathing.
With polio, most children who have the virus don’t show any signs of
it. Only about 1 in 4 kids who are infected have symptoms like these:
sore throat, tiiredness, fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, pain in
the arms and legs, as well as stiff neck.
These typically last 2 to 5 days, then go away.
A much smaller number of children who get the virus have more serious
symptoms like: A pins-and-needles feeling in their legs; hard time
moving their arms and legs and trouble breathing.
Only about 1 out of every 200 children with the virus has paralysis,
but when it happens, it can be permanent.
AFM is harder to diagnose because its symptoms can be a lot like those
of other diseases related to the brain and nervous system, such as
transverse myelitis and Guillain-Barre syndrome.
Doctors do the following to try to find out if it’s AFM or something else:
Check muscle tone and reflexes with a physical exam; get a closer
look at brain and spinal cord with an MRI scan.
Treatment
There’s no cure for either polio or AFM, but some things can help with
symptoms. Children with either polio or AFM may need: Pain relievers
like ibuprofen to ease pain and bring down fever; fluids to keep them
from being dehydrated; machine called a ventilator to help them
breathe; physical therapy to make weak muscles stronger, and
occupational therapy to help with everyday activities like dressing
and eating.
Outlook
Most of the time, polio goes away within a few days. Even children who
have the most serious kind are rarely paralyzed.
But a small number of people can have symptoms like these years
afterward: Muscle weakness and pain, tiredness, trouble breathing,
chest pain or an irregular heart rhythm, pauses in breathing during
sleep , called sleep apnea
Prevention
The polio vaccine will help keep your child from getting the virus
that causes the disease. Children need four doses of the vaccine at
ages:2 months, 4 months, 6 to 18 months and 4 to 6 years.
There’s no vaccine for AFM and no sure way to prevent it. But you can
lower your child’s chances of getting a virus that might trigger it:
Get them vaccinated against polio.
-Ward off the virus by keeping them indoors at dusk and dawn, when
mosquitoes are most likely to bite.
-You also may have to use bug repellent and get rid of any pots or
other sources of standing water near your home where mosquitoes can
lay their eggs .
-Teach your children to wash their hands often with soap and water or
to use hand sanitizer.
