Pediatric Paralysis

The diagnosis of paralysis is a significant event for children, parents, and the entire unit of family and friends. Paralysis is the inability to make your body part(s) move voluntarily. This can be due to an issue in the brain, the spinal cord, or the peripheral nerve in the body that controls that body part(s). Examples of some causes of paralysis in children include:

• Diseases such as multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, or Guillain-Barré
• Congenital issues
• Trauma at birth
• Infection of bacteria or viruses
• Chemical imbalance

There are different classifications of pediatric paralysis. These include:

• Facial Paralysis
• Monoplegia-one limb affected by paralysis
• Diplegia-limbs affected by paralysis on both sides of the body such as both arms or both legs.
• Hemiplegia-one side of the body affected by paralysis
• Paraplegia-paralysis from the trunk down
• Tetraplegia (Quadriplegia)-paralysis affecting the body
  
  

Treatment of paralysis in children is similar to adult treatment but adapted to the differences in pediatric anatomical and physiological differences. If the cause of paralysis is correctable as with antibiotic or nutritional treatment, the issue can be managed by the medical team. Some advanced treatments will be managed by pediatric specialists such as plasma exchange to clean the blood or intravenous immune globulin to remove excessive antibodies from blood.