Living With Polio

Millions of individuals who had polio are living in all areas of the world. Survivors range in age from a few months to nonagenarians (in their nineties). Aftereffects vary greatly depending on the number and location of the nerve cells destroyed by the poliovirus. The challenge or ease of living with polio varies for each survivor, depending on the availability of medical care and rehabilitation opportunities, and their family and social support.

Advice, hints, explanations, etc., are categorized by topic and are searchable. The source of the material is identified.

Reminder: PHI’s post-polio.org and IVUN’s ventusers.org or ventnews.org features numerous articles to assist in living with polio.

Kitchens

CREATING A USER-FRIENDLY KITCHEN
Many of us arranged our kitchen back in the days when we were physically capable, so what did it matter if we had to walk extra steps or carry heavy pots? Now, however, we have a finite amount of energy and strength, and we need to assess whether the kitchen meets our needs. Take a few minutes, sit down, look around and evaluate your kitchen.

Closets

Most closets are organized too high for someone in a wheelchair or for someone who is vision impaired. The best way to achieve “low oriented” closet space is to unload the closet and take out all the original shelving and hanging rods. Next the disabled person should get in front of the empty closet and describe where the clothes and other items should be placed for daily living. Then put shelves and rods in the places where the disabled person needs them.

Safety in the Bathroom

Sit down for showering. Difficulty with transfers, poor balance, and fear of falling affects people’s ability to bathe safely. For those who need to access a bathtub to bathe or shower, a bathtub transfer bench which rests partly inside and partly outside the tub enables one to sit down outside the tub and gradually slide over to the inside. Some models come with a backrest, adjustable height legs, and various seat sizes and types.

Grab Bars

Grab bars are useful in many locations. For example, if a stairway has a chairlift, it is a good idea to place grab bars at both the top and bottom. Or, even if there is only a step up of a few inches at a doorway, a grab bar will help the disabled achieve the extra stability needed to enter or exit their home.

Yoga

"Our goal in this video is to introduce Hatha yoga, breath awareness and stress reduction to people with Post-Polio Syndrome in order to increase their energy, reduce fatigue and create an increased sense of well-being.

Opportunities to Participate in Research

NEW STUDY ON AFM AND POLIO A new study concerning acute flaccid myelitis (AFM... More

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