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Polio Research Paper

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Polio Research Paper
Daniel Iverson
2/5/2017
Period 3
Polio

The invention of the polio vaccine has undoubtedly benefitted not only the U.S but the whole world. In the United States, polio was the most notorious disease of the 20th century until AIDS appeared, by the 1950s polio had become one of the most serious communicable diseases among children in the United States. Polio changed the medical field, disability rights, and had social effects. And not to mention saved millions of children and adults having to go through this hardship.

Polio, or poliomyelitis is a crippling and potentially deadly infectious disease. It is caused by the poliovirus. The virus spreads from person to person and can invade an infected person’s brain and spinal cord causing paralysis.
…show more content…
There is no cure for polio but it can be prevented through multiple vaccinations this can protect a child for the rest of that person’s life. More than 15 million people are able to walk today, who would otherwise have been paralyzed. An estimated 1.5 million childhood deaths have been prevented, through the systematic administration of vitamin A during immunization …show more content…
‘You can’t burn my bear!’
‘I’m sorry,’ said the nurse as she dropped Teddy into the bag.
‘You wouldn’t want someone else to get polio just because you kept your teddy bear, would you?, Mother said.”
The enforced separation of families during the early, acute phase of disease contributed to the intense dread and fear that polio aroused. Children and parents were not allowed any contact for ten to fourteen days and then only limited visiting for weeks afterward. When the person returned home weeks or months later, adjustment to changed circumstances brought more stress.
“The nurses caring for patients in iron lungs had to be attuned to their respiratory need at all times to keep them alive, which meant being with the patient physically and psychically. Decisions had to be made regarding suctioning, postural drainage, giving oxygen, and the need for emergency tracheostomy, and nurses had to make these minute-to-minute

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