Genealogy Chat

I am trying to find an uncle who died of polio in a London nursing home in 1972 and am wondering if anyone may have come across any medical records relating to this. I believe it was quite unusual for anyone to die from Polio at this time following the discovery of vaccination but it appears that deaths did still occur.

have you tried to find his death registration, and bought that??

That will tell you how long he had suffered from polio. He could well have been living in that nursing home for as long as 30 years.

There would still have been people suffering from polio alive in the 1970s, from the polio epidemics of the 0s and 50s, especially the two major ones in 1949 and 1952. There were also many earlier cases.

Vaccination only really came in in the late 50s. The Salk Vaccine was first tested in 1952, success announced in 1955, and generally used by 1957. Trials of the Sabin vaccine began in 1957 and it was licensed in 1962.

The so-called iron lung was being made until 1970, which is an indication that it was still needed



As a side note, I remember taking 3 doses of polio vaccine over a period of about 3 months in 1956/57 ........... the first was given at school, the next 2 were at a tent site set up in the middle of the town. If I remember correctly, the second two were drops of vaccine on a sugar lump ............... so probably the Sabin

I can also remember the panic of the 1952 epidemic ............ we were scared to go to public swimming pools, etc etc, and the slightest headache caused our parents great worry.

Many thanks for your response. You have covered some ground that I had missed. Sadly I have not been able to find any reference to my uncle's death due to the info we have not being accurate enough for a proper trace. I shall keep casting my net and see what comes in. Regards, Sue

Sue, if you know his name and that he did actually die in 1972 then have you not been able to find a death registration so that you could order the death certificate?

People who had polio were treated in hospital not a nursing home

We have a cousin who caught polio as a child in the 1952 outbreak and he was in a specialist hospital unit

It may be your relative was in a nursing home as a result of not being able to be cared at home after he left with difficulties from the polio .

Our cousin had a leg brace after his recovery from polio

Thanks all for your contributions. My info is very sparse. I have 2 possible surnames that I am working with; 1972 as a remembered date of death; and a mother's name(?). So far I have not been able to trace either a certain birth or death date hence my working from my niece's memories of conversation with her mother (now also passed away). A real puzzle for me.

I don't understand how you don't know his surname.

If he's your uncle he is either your mother or your father's brother.

If you post their names and when/where they were born it shouldn't be that difficult to trace him.

Rose

Hi Rose - its complicated and I am not able to go into too much detail on a board that is to all intents and purposes "public". And believe me it is public as I found my way to GR through a string of info I put into the internet. Regards, Sue

I can take a look if you want to PM the names.

Rose

suan ................


we are all far too aware of how public this site is .............. but it is very unusual for a newbie to appreciate that fact.

I guess we assumed that as your uncle was dead, then it was OK.

You can PM any one of us, and we'll do our best to help you.

On the subject of polio

In the 1990's, I took one of my children to the GP for a polio vaccine.
I was told to be extra vigilant with hand washing after a nappy change

She told me that there had been a very recent case where a new father had contracted polio.
He contracted it from the soiled nappy of his recently vaccinated infant.

Same here. In fact I've mentioned it to our grandchilds parents. They are going to ask what the current advise is.

You'd probably find that 1972 medical records, if they still exist, would be closed for up to 100 years unless you have a copy of the DC.

Thanks Detective, the medical records is one thing that I had guessed. However, onwards and upwards or is it downwards into the morass of paperwork.

My grandson was born in 2000 and his parents were advised at the time that anyone changing his nappy should be up to date with the polio sugar lump treatment. Our surgery happily gave us the drops and said it was a good idea. I did consider it as a good excuse to avoid the dreadful deed, but relented!

Sue.

My Grandmother contracted Polio at the very beginning of 1930, she thought she had " overdone it " at a New Years Eve party.

She was the only person in the country to be in hospital with it at that time.

She was isolated and in an iron lung for over a year and spent four years in hospital before being allowed home.

Her legs were paralysed and she wore calipers ever more.

There was an epidemic in America around that time, they had American contacts thorough my Grandads work, possibly she caught it from one of them who went back to the States for Christams without knowing they were ill.

After my children had their polio sugar cubes I was told to wash my hands well after nappy changes, didn't we all do that anyway !!!??? I was given a dose when my eldest had his but my doctor said the chances of ever getting it were zero as I had lived with my Grandmother all my life. Don't know how true that was.......

M.

There is now of course a post polio syndrome .....................

Polio sufferers who seemingly recovered well have begun to show a cluster of potentially disabling signs and symptoms that appear decades ........ an average of 30 to 40 years ....... after the initial illness. It is believed that almost 50% of those who have had polio may develop post-polio symptoms.

Common signs and symptoms of post-polio syndrome include ...................

.......... Progressive muscle and joint weakness and pain
.......... General fatigue and exhaustion with minimal activity
.......... Muscle atrophy
.......... Breathing or swallowing problems
.......... Sleep-related breathing disorders, such as sleep apnea
.......... Decreased tolerance of cold temperatures

In most people, post-polio syndrome tends to progress slowly, with new signs and symptoms followed by periods of stability.

Of course, many of these symptoms are also found in other medical problems.


I found out about this about 20 years ago when I was having a problem with my hand ............ the joint between my wrist and my thumb had begun to lean inwards towards my palm. It was actually due to OA, but my doctor did ask if I had had polio when I was a child (I hadn't)