Although the incidence of polio in industrialized countries decreased dramatically in the mid-1950s, millions of polio survivors still suffer daily from the effects of the disease. In addition to the physical damage caused by the original disease, a condition known as post-polio syndrome (PPS) may affect polio survivors decades after the original infection.
Symptoms of PPS may include new or increased muscular weakness, pain in the muscles, and fatigue. Severe muscle weakness can lead to complications such as:
- Falls due to weakness in the leg muscles making it easier to lose balance.
- Malnutrition and dehydration due to problems with chewing and swallowing. Problems swallowing can also lead to aspiration pneumonia caused by inhaling food into the lungs.
- Acute repiratory failure due to weakness in the diaphragm and chest muscles.
- Osteoporosis due to prolonged immobility.
Some things victims of PPS can do to minimize the effects of the problem are:
- Limit activities that cause pain or fatigue.
- Conserve energy through assistive devices and lifestyle modifications.
- Stay warm because low temperatures increase muscle fatigue.
- Avoid falls by getting rid of loose clutter on the floor, avoiding slippery surfaces, and wearing good shoes that are well-fitted to your feet.
- Join a support group and/or lean on family and friends for support.
Many polio survivors have one foot considerably larger than the other. Because of the additional expense involved in buying a pair of shoes in each size, many try to get by with the larger size pair of shoes alone. This is understandable, but also greatly increases the chances of falls and resulting complications.
Nordstrom department stores have long offered mismatched pairs of shoes for those with feet at least two sizes different from each other. However, many people live far from a Nordstrom store. Further, many with mismatched feet have special shoe needs not offered at Nordstrom.
The Internet has provided those with mismatched feet several new options. At least two retail sites, MixMatchShoes.com and OneShoeTwoShoe.net, offer single shoes or mismatched pairs of shoes. Another site, OddShoeFinder.com, allows users of the site to buy and sell their single shoes and mismatched pairs of shoes – usually for less than what they would pay for a single pair of matched shoes. Those who buy two pairs of shoes at a time are also able to recoup part of their costs – not to mention clean out their closets – by selling their unused shoes on OddShoeFinder.com.
Kent Basson is the originator of oddShoeFinder.com, free online websites that help mismatched footwear. He works to help for those who want information about foot injury, different sized feet, foot length difference, diabetes foot problems, diabetes support group, polio survivors group, one shoe, <a href="http://www.oddShoeFinder.com/">post-polio syndrome</a>, foot deformity. For more detail visit: <a href="http://www.oddShoeFinder.com/"> www.oddShoeFinder.com</a>
