– السؤال :
اسم الطفل: ح. البلد: مسقط ــ عُمان
What are the common symptoms of polio??
How can we prevent polio?

– جواب الدكتور باسل الخطيب:

Most
of the cases of polio are asymptomatic.

For
those who have symptoms, we have nonparalytic polio and paralytic
polio.

In
nonparalytic
polio,
the patient gets flu-like symptoms (fever, sore throat, vomiting, headache,
fatigue etc) that last for about 10 days.

Paralytic
polio,
the most serious form of the disease, has several types (spinal, bulbar and
bulbospinal).The initial symptoms are similar to the nonparalytic type, then the
specific signs and symptoms develop, including loss of reflexes, severe muscle
aches, loose and floppy limbs (flaccid paralysis) that is usually worse on one
side of the body. Then the patient get the post-polio syndrome which comprises a
cluster of crippling signs and symptoms including progressive muscle or joint
weakness and pain, general fatigue, muscle atrophy, breathing and swallowing
problems, and sleep
apnea.

Prevention
is by immunization.