What is Poliomyelitis? Poliomyelitis is a viral infectious disease unique to the human race that can develop into full body paralysis, in some rare cases. However, in most cases, Poliomyelitis passes through the system without showing any debilitating or clear symptoms. It is often referred to as polio. Because it is unique to humans, it cannot be transferred from animal to human or vice versa.
Because there is no actual cure for the Poliomyelitis virus, the goal of treatment is not to cure the actual disease or to directly kill the virus, but to ease the symptoms for a time long enough for the disease to pass through the body, because most of the time, the virus has no long lasting effects on the body's systems. In the rare and severe cases, infected persons may need help maintaining their bodily systems with life saving measures, such as regular aid in breathing. Symptoms are treated based on their severity.
These include antibiotics for urinary tract infections, medications for urinary retention, moist heat to reduce muscle pain and spasm, pain killers to relieve fever-induced symptoms such as headaches, muscle pain, or spasm, ice bath, depending on the severity of the fever, non-narcotic pain killers, because they increase the risk of breathing difficulty, and even physical therapy or body braces to aid in the regular movement of limbs as well as the structure of the skeleton and to help the muscles regenerate.
During the contraction of the Poliomyelitis virus, the immune system may be caused to misfire because of malfunctioning in the central nervous system. This can result in easier contraction of lesser diseases such as the flu, common colds, or heavy fever. In some cases, if the pneumonia virus is encountered, pneumonia may also be contracted.