How to treat polio?

Polio, also known as poliomyelitis, is an acute infectious disease that seriously endangers children's health. It is mainly caused by the polio virus invading the motor neurons of the central nervous system. Most patients are children aged one to six years old. The main symptoms are fever and general discomfort. In severe cases, limb pain and even paralysis may occur. So how to treat polio? The following is a detailed introduction.

Unfortunately, there is no drug that can control the occurrence and development of paralysis. The current treatment options are mainly symptomatic treatment and supportive treatment. The treatment principles are to reduce the fear of children, reduce bone deformities, prevent and treat complications, and provide rehabilitation treatment.

The treatment methods commonly used in clinical practice mainly include the following aspects:

1. Bed rest: Bed rest should last until one week after the fever subsides, and you need to be isolated for 40 days, and then avoid physical activities for at least 2 weeks. When lying in bed, use a footrest to make the feet and calves present a correct angle to facilitate recovery.

2. Symptomatic treatment: Antipyretic analgesics and sedatives can be used to relieve muscle spasms, discomfort and pain throughout the body; moist heat compresses can be applied every 2 to 4 hours for 15 to 30 minutes each time; hot water baths can also be used for treatment, which can also produce good results, especially for young children, and can be used in combination with analgesics to enhance the efficacy; if conditions permit, intravenous infusion of immunoglobulin 400 mg/(kg/day) can be used for 2 to 3 days to alleviate the condition. In the early stages of the disease, intramuscular injection of interferon can be used, 1 million U/d, and a course of treatment is 14 days; in addition, mild passive exercise can be taken to avoid bone deformities.

3. Paralysis

(1) The correct posture for patients in bed is to keep the body in a straight line, with the knees slightly bent, the hips and spine straight (a board or sandbag can be used), and the ankle joint at 90 degrees. To avoid deformity, active and passive exercises should be performed immediately after the pain disappears.

(2) Ensure that the patient is provided with proper nutrition every day, and ensure that the patient consumes a nutritious diet and plenty of water every day. If the patient sweats due to high ambient temperature or hot compresses, sodium salt should be appropriately supplemented. If the patient has anorexia, food and water intake can be ensured through a gastric tube to avoid nutritional deficiencies.

(3) Drug treatment: Generally, drugs that promote nerve conduction function are used, and appropriate antibiotics should be used to treat secondary infections.

(4) For patients with bulbar paralysis, ① maintain unobstructed breathing: use a low head position (raise the foot of the bed to 20°~25°) to avoid accidental inhalation of saliva, food, vomit, etc. Do not use a gastric tube feeding in the first few days, and supplement nutrition through intravenous route; ② measure blood pressure twice a day. Once hypertensive encephalopathy is found, it should be treated in time to avoid delaying the disease; ③ Those with vocal cord paralysis and respiratory muscle paralysis need tracheotomy, and those with impaired ventilation need mechanical assisted breathing.

4. Recovery and sequelae: Start active and passive exercises as early as possible to avoid muscle atrophy. Acupuncture, massage and physical therapy can also be used to promote the recovery of normal functions of patients. Patients with severe limb deformities can undergo surgery for correction.

Polio can cause serious harm to children's growth and even paralysis, thus affecting their lives. Therefore, prevention should be carried out early before children are sick, and vaccination is often used to achieve the effect of prevention; once sick, do not give up, and seek treatment as soon as possible and actively receive treatment to strive for early recovery. I hope the above introduction to how to treat polio can help you.