Polio is an acute infectious disease that seriously endangers the health of children, caused by the poliovirus. The poliovirus is a neurotropic virus that mainly affects the motor neurons of the central nervous system, with damage to the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord being the main manifestation. Patients are mostly children aged 1 to 6 years old, and the main symptoms include fever, general discomfort, severe limb pain, and the occurrence of irregular and varying degrees of flaccid paralysis, commonly known as poliomyelitis. Poliomyelitis has a variety of clinical manifestations, including non-specific lesions of mild severity, aseptic meningitis (non-paralytic poliomyelitis), and flaccid paralysis of various muscle groups (paralytic poliomyelitis). In patients with poliomyelitis, the muscles related to the anterior horn motor neurons atrophy due to damage, and at the same time, subcutaneous fat, tendons, and bones also atrophy, resulting in a thin body.
This disease belongs to the category of warm diseases before paralysis, and later belongs to "wei syndrome", "childhood stroke", "infantile paralysis", and other disease patterns.
Massage Techniques
Upper limb paralysis: The child should sit upright. Use rolling technique from the first thoracic vertebra to the shoulder well, and from the shoulder well to the cubital fossa. Repeat for 5 minutes, and the technique should be gentle. Use grasping technique on the inner and outer sides of the upper limb. Use rubbing technique from the cervical vertebrae to the fifth thoracic vertebra for 5 to 10 minutes.
Lower limb paralysis: The child should lie flat. Use rolling technique from the lumbar region to the front and back sides of the affected lower limb. Use grasping technique from the inner side of the affected limb to the outer side until the Achilles tendon.
Prevention
1. Active Immunization
All children should receive active immunization with oral polio attenuated vaccine. Basic immunization should start at 2 months after birth, with 3 doses given at monthly intervals. A booster immunization should be given at the age of 4. Currently, the international community is gradually replacing oral polio attenuated vaccine with inactivated polio vaccine for active immunization, and this is also being piloted domestically.
2. Passive Immunization
Children under 5 years old who have not received the vaccine and have close contact with patients, as well as children with congenital immunodeficiency, should receive early injection of immunoglobulin. The dose should be 0.3-0.5ml/kg per day for 2 consecutive days to prevent the onset of the disease or alleviate symptoms.
