I have read the standard literature on post-polio syndrome, PPS and seen an almost universal claim that late effects are not caused by a recurrence of the virus. I would suggest an easy way to resolve the question. It would be simple to take blood samples from people with post-polio syndrome and look at the number of antibodies to the virus that are present against a control population of the same age who had never been reported as having had polio. This is a relatively cheap means of performing such research.

It does seem logical that if the chicken pox virus can lie dormant for many years and resurface as shingles, much the same could be true of other viral diseases, including poliomyelitis.

When I suffered severe problems from PPS, my physician failed to take the blood samples I requested and send them for analysis. I had located a laboratory with the capability to do this and gave my physician the address. I had offered to pay cash to have it done as I was having the second acute attack of whatever it was that robbed me of an arm and leg, regardless of what insurance paid.

The problem I had with all of this is that my initial polio occurred in late 1950-early 1951. I had had major involvement in breathing and limb function and later had an acute attack in 1981. The last attack was in 2002 when the doctor failed to pursue what might have been an instructive lead on PPS. The cost would have been paid out of pocket had the insurance refused payment. I changed physicians as a result of what I view as a lack of care.

Each attack has left me a much weaker than the time immediately predeing the attack. I would argue at present that a recurrence of the polio virus may be a causative agent in at least some cases of post polio syndrome in much the same manner as there is a connection between chicken pox virus and shingles.

By the way, I also had chicken pox as a child but have not experienced shingles. I suspect late viral effects may be a bit of a matter of chance.

I would also like to raise the question of: “Does a person who has had a viral disease ever really kill all the virus in the body or does it lie more or less under control by the immune system?” Is some sort of stasis achieved in the body? I believe these are legitimate questions that physicians should attempt to answer when the patient requests a test and is willing to cover all costs.

I personally believe my physician was negligent in this matter. No malpractice suit is in the works but the man was wrong in my opinion for not asking a question that would have been paid for by the patient. I still want an answer on behalf of all people with PPS.

I am old enough to recall how physicians treated stomach ulcers when they attributed them to diet or stress and totally missed the microbiological connection. I was formerly a scientist and have certain credentials in microbiology as well as other disciplines. I am puzzled by the resistance of the medical community to any idea that is a bit new. Perhaps some wiser person can explain this to me.

Sincerely,

Matthew

Hope to see you there…

Cheers, Rachel

The key reason we did for our kids is that the vaccine, because it is not a live virus, provides immunity without the risk of shingles later in life. (The vaccine makers seem a bit reluctant to claim that, probably for liability reasons, but my wife and I both have biology degrees, and I can’t see any reason that wouldn’t be the case.)

Shingles can be debilitating if you get it at an advanced age or if it affects your face or eyes. Like you, Julie, we’re not among those who are suspicious of vaccines — we may be a bit overzealous, in fact, vaccinating our kids for nearly anything reasonably available. So it seemed an obvious choice to us, even if it isn’t to everyone.

Since the vaccine didn’t exist when I was a kid, I ended up getting chicken pox when I was 14, and the older you are, the worse it seems to be: I had a fever of 105 degrees and was in bed, completely non-functional, for nearly a week. My wife got it young and mildly, but then got shingles a couple of years ago in her mid-30s, and it was both excruciatingly painful for her and very tiring. And a single instance of the shingles recurrence of the virus is no guarantee it won’t come back.

It’s good that your kids got it young, since their symptoms are probably relatively mild in the long run. But for us, avoiding shingles in their future was a good argument for vaccination.

I think for vaccines in general, it is worth keeping in mind that those who denigrate vaccinations because of the perceived risks seem to forget the severity of the diseases they avoid. I haven’t seen any actual statistical evidence of increased risks from MMR or polio vaccines. But even if those risks were there, the risks from actually contracting measles, mumps, rubella, or especially polio are massive. Just ask anyone old enough to have contracted polio, or to have post-polio syndrome (a recurrence, like shingles is).

Over human history, millions upon millions of people have been killed by viral infections that are now entirely preventable by vaccination, and bacterial ones treatable with antibiotics. Until recent decades, families routinely watched people (especially kids) die from them, or women who did not survive childbirth because of them. We should not forget that.

I believe that you are at risk of shingles as an adult because you had chicken pox some time in your life. Here is a site that talks about it:

http://www.aftershingles.com/shingles.html

Mary and I went back and forth on whether to vaccinate Jared or not. Could the vaccine fail and cause him to get them as an adult? In the end, he got the vaccine. The neighbor kids got the poxs last summer. Oddly enough, one of the older kids got shingles causing chicken pox in the younger kids. Jared had three spots on his back. We are not totally sure if it was a very mild case of Chicken Pox or not.

Glad y’al are feeling better. It can be SO rough trying to keep little ones entertained when all they want to do is itch-itch-itch!