All You Need To Know About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is a painful condition caused due to degeneration of the myelin sheath. This could occur when the body’s immune system attacks the myelin sheath, a protective layer covering the nerves present in the brain and spinal cord. When this occurs, the nervous impulses that carry signals to and from the brain to different parts of the body immediately get hampered, leading to loss or misinformation of nervous signals, in turn affecting many voluntary and involuntary actions in the body.

Are You Susceptible?

Gender: The number of women reporting incidences of multiple sclerosis is much higher when compared to the number of men reporting the same.
Age: Multiple sclerosis is not limited to any age group but those between 20-40 years are at a higher risk of developing this disease.
Infections: In some cases, multiple sclerosis could be triggered due to certain types of infections caused by viruses.
Genetics: Multiple sclerosis is believed to be hereditary in nature as well. Therefore, if one or both your parents have reported incidences of multiple sclerosis, there are higher chances of you being affected with the same.

What Are The Symptoms Of Multiple Sclerosis?

The signs and symptoms vary greatly depending on the severity of the disease condition and the progression of the disease. Some people might experience extremely mild symptoms, requiring no medical treatment whatsoever. In other cases, the person might have extreme difficulty in performing his/her daily activity due to nervous damage, requiring the help of medications or physical therapists.

Some of the common symptoms of multiple sclerosis include:

•     Vision impairment, double vision or blurred vision,
•     Tremors experienced in fingers, hands and legs,
•     Dizziness,
•     Inability to concentrate,
•     Fatigue and lethargy, crippling the person’s ability to perform his/her daily activities,
•     Abnormal gait, leading to imbalance, and
•     Slurred speech making it difficult for the person to communicate with people.

Treatment Procedures

While mild symptoms of multiple sclerosis do not require any type of medications, severe forms of multiple sclerosis will require specific treatment procedures to keep the symptoms under control.

Drugs

Corticosteroids, beta interferons and plasma exchange are some of the numerous medications employed to prevent aggravation of the symptoms and decrease the severity of relapses. However, it is important to note that these medications cannot prevent the immune system from attacking the myelin sheath.

Physical Therapy

Since multiple sclerosis interferes greatly with the person’s ability to perform his/her daily tasks with ease, physical therapists help the person to stretch his/her hands and legs with ease, helping the affected person have improved coordination and mobility.

Nutrition

Eating nutritious foods is an effective way to pump the body with the right type of nutrients that act internally by boosting the immune system in a natural and effective manner.
Relaxation and meditation regimes are also employed to help the patient cope with the disease in an efficient manner.