PPS Campaign

On this World Polio Day, Cross the Hurdles is glad to announce the launching of an awareness campaign on Post Polio Syndrome.

Post-polio syndrome (PPS) is a disorder of nervous system affects polio survivors, years after recovery from an initial acute attack of the poliomyelitis virus. It is a variable combination of new progressive muscle weakness and other symptoms. Polio survivors may start to experience gradual new weakening in muscles that were previously affected by the polio infection. The most common symptoms include slowly progressive muscle weakness, fatigue (both generalized and muscular), and a gradual decrease in the size of muscles (muscle atrophy). Pain from joint degeneration and increasing skeletal deformities such as scoliosis (curvature of the spine) is common and may precede the weakness and muscle atrophy, Breathing or swallowing problems and sleep-related breathing disorders, such as sleep apnoea. Though India has officially been declared polio free country yet there are hundreds and thousands of polio survivors who are at risk of developing this problem, years after initial infection. The awareness and research work on this condition is minimal in India and in many other underdeveloped and developing countries.

Cross the Hurdles is committed to work in the direction of educating people on PPS and its management and coping up. We would like to make people aware about how to prevent further physical and emotional damage. This year long campaign would be carried out in different phases. Our activities would involve:

• Organizing workshops on the issue
• Releasing education material, whether audio/visual or in print, on management and coping up of PPS. It may include:
  • Management of weakness
  • Management of Pain
  • Management of Fatigue
• Providing counselling to the polio survivors
• Collecting data through surveys and questionnaires
• Sharing survivors’ own narrative of their ongoing conditions
• Involving media to spread awareness on the issue
• Involving experts and organizing discussions and holding webinars