WHAT IS POST POLIO SYNDROME
Post Polio Syndrome is a poorly understood condition that can affect people who have had polio in the past.
Polio is a viral infection that used to be common in the UK, but is now rare.
Most people who had Polio would have fought off the infection without even realising they were infected.
Some people with Polio would have had paralysis, muscle weakness and shrinking of the muscles. But usually, these problems would have either gone away over the following weeks or months, or remained the same for years afterwards.
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Post Polio Syndrome is where some of these symptoms return or get worse many years or decades after the original polio infection.
SYMPTOMS OF POST POLIO SYNDROME
Post Polio Syndrome can include a wide range of symptoms that develop gradually over time, including:
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persistent fatigue (extreme tiredness)
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muscle weakness
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shrinking muscles
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muscle and joint pain
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The condition can have a significant impact on everyday life, making it very difficult to get around and carry out certain tasks and activities. The symptoms tend to get gradually worse over many years, but this happens very slowly and treatment may help slow it down further.
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Post Polio Syndrome is rarely life-threatening, although some people develop breathing and swallowing difficulties that can lead to serious problems, such as chest infections.
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WHO'S AFFECTED
Post Polio Syndrome only affects people who've had polio. It usually develops 15 to 40 years after the infection.
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The condition has become more common in the UK in recent years, because of the high number of Polio cases that occurred during the 1940s and 1950s, before routine vaccination was introduced. It's estimated that there are around 120,000 people living in the UK who survived Polio when they were younger. Some of these have, or will develop, Post Polio Syndrome.
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It's not known exactly how many Polio survivors are or will be affected by Post Polio Syndrome. Estimates vary from as low as 15% to as high as 80%.
WHAT CAUSES POST-POLIO SYNDROME?
The exact cause of post Polio Syndrome is unclear. It's not known whether anything can be done to prevent it.
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The leading theory is that it's the result of the gradual deterioration of nerve cells in the spinal cord (motor neurones) that were damaged by the Polio virus. This would explain why the condition can take years to appear.
Post Polio Syndrome isn't contagious. The theory that the Polio virus may lie dormant in your body, causing Post Polio Syndrome when it becomes reactivated at a later stage, has been disproven.
It's not clear why only some people who've had polio develop Post Polio Syndrome. Those who had severe Polio when they were younger may be more likely to develop the condition.
Contacts us: 0800 043 1935
Email us: info@britishpolio.org.uk
Frances Burrows
A childhood moment under the table marked the start of paralysis and years of hospitals and callipers, met with determination rather than defeat. Despite challenges, Frances built a career, raised a family, and remains independent and active - still “under the table,” but living life fully.
It’s 1946.
Normal day. Playing under the table, my favourite place.
Mummy called - legs went the wrong way, I couldn’t get up.
Mummy called again - nothing happened, fell over.
Start of nightmare……..
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The ambulance came and I was taken to Norwood Isolation Hospital and put in an iron cot with other children, distraught parents only allowed visits once a week.
Even then, at two years old, I was determined to stand, refusing to eat and clinging to the cot sides until I could pull myself up.
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My parents decided to move north to Newcastle and there started years of physio, hot water baths, electric shocks, operations and the world of callipers and boots - I hated those boots, I wanted pretty little patent shoes.
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But it wasn’t all bad - you just had to get used to the system and a new way of doing things. Having an operation in the 1960s was very different from today - months in plasters and we made lots of friends in the hospital. I remember jumping up and down on the clean white bedspreads and singing all the current songs (Matron wasn’t too impressed!). Visits once a week and all sweeties had to be handed in, we were allowed six treats after supper……I always chose the Smarties.
I loved school - I wanted to join in with everything and there was many a broken calliper where I had landed badly after skipping. I started a new school and was so excited, had to catch the bus, and of course could never wait for anything so took a flying leap off the platform, and yes, broke my calliper. There I was at the gates, sitting forlornly on a staddle stone, when along came a coal lorry. So, I arrived on my first day aloft a coal truck - it’s one way to make an entrance! I was probably labelled troublemaker from thereon in.
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At thirteen I went to a co-ed boarding school with a whole new chapter and met a special friend who now only lives an hour away. We were in a dormitory together and of course once I had taken off my calliper at bedtime, I then had to crawl to the loo - I learned to scamper along the corridor at great pace. We had such an enlightened headmaster who allowed me to do anything, things that other people had deemed “too difficult”. I could shin up a rope in the gym faster than anyone else, became a guide patrol leader, won prizes for French, Latin and Handwriting, swam nearly every day, and my disability did not exist.
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I married young, worked hard to become an accountant/auditor but had to retire when I was just turned fifty - PPS had entered my life. I was very lucky to meet all sorts of lovely people in the workplace and outside and met no prejudice. Two sons, six grandchildren and a Staffy called Rosie. I was widowed six years ago after so many wonderful years but still live on my own and tear about on my electric wheelchair, dog in tow, scaring the locals. I love watercolour painting, genealogy and gardening (amazing what you can do with a long-handled fork!).
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So, it’s 2026.
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Still under the table, but with a bottle of ginger wine and a chocolate bar!