Multiple Sclerosis is a progressive autoimmune disease. A suffers immune system thinks that its soft tissue, the myelin sheath is a virus and attacks it. The destruction cause open areas known as lesions to form on the nerve endings and nerve roots. This makes it difficult for the body to send and receive messages to and from the brain. It’s this miscommunication that causes the symptoms associated with this disease. Do people with MS have a weakened immune system? If so, what are some ways to improve it? You will find the answers to these questions in the following paragraphs.
Multiple Sclerosis Signs and Symptoms
Because these lessons cause damage to the spinal nerves, people who suffer with MS have numerous of symptoms. These symptoms can last briefly or they can be permanent, depending on the disease and the treatments. Since it affects the nerves a person with MS People often have tingling, numbness and pain in their extremities. Their muscles may become weak and they might have problems with their balance, which can cause them to have difficulty walking. Someone with MS might have poor eye hand coordination.
People with MS often experience double or blurred vision. They may have eye pain. It can affect one or both eyes and usually goes away once the inflammation has decreases. Occasionally people might experience permanent vision difficulties. They are generally treated with steroids and the problem usually isn’t severe. Rarely do people with MS have hearing problems. If they do, it is usually temporary and doesn’t require any type of treatment.
People with MS could have speech impairments. Some of them might include slurred speech speaking loudly, hoarseness, breathlessness. A person’s pitch of their voice might change and the speech may sound nasality. Some of these problems might be the result of breathing problems. If so, you should discuss this with your doctor.
Occasionally a person suffering with MS might have swallowing difficulties. If left untreated, this could cause a person to have aspiration pneumonia. If you are choking or coughing when you eat, you need to see and speech therapist as soon as possible, they’ll help you solve the problem.
Because of the lack of activity, the use of steroid and other medicines, people with MS have a higher risk of developing osteoporosis, and bone density loss. It’s suggest, to take calcium supplements with vitamin D and a healthy diet to prevent this from occurring. It’s also thought that the lack of Vitamin D may have contributed to the disease development. So vitamin D will decrease the symptoms.
People suffering with MS often have problems with sexual arousal and orgasm. It’s thought that nerve damage, pain, low self-esteem, depression and fatigue might cause this to occur. Multiple sclerosis does not cause infertility. In fact, many women have reported having fewer symptoms in their second and third trimester of pregnancy. They also reported an increase in symptoms during the postpartum.
People with MS often have difficulty with bowel and bladder incontinence. They might have times when they are constipated or have diarrhea. They are also susceptible to things like UTI, infections of the bladder and kidneys. Some may have spastic bladders. Medicines, physical therapy, catheters may be needed.
Treatments
Doctors often use the following medicines to prevent any further damage and disabilities while reducing the severity of the symptoms. Some of the most common medicines include; Copaxone,Tysabri, Aubagiom, Novantrone, Avonex, Gilenya, Rebif, Betaseron, Tecfidera andExtavia.
Supplements
Some suggested supplements might include, N acetyl, COQ10, Acetyl-L, multivitamin, calcium with Vitamin D, magnesium, Omega 3, Omega 6,zinc and L-theanine.
Herbal remedies
Turmeric, peppermint, wood Betony, Echinacea, ginger, selenium, Chinese hemp seed, bilberry leaf probiotics, oat seed, or oat straw. Before you begin taking any of the supplements or the herbs check with your doctor first. Some of them might cause a counter action with your medicines.
Healthy Living Can Reduce Symptoms
From the time you were little, you’ve probably heard how eating all your vegetables will help you grow big and strong. They were right. Now that we’re a little older we still need healthy fruits and vegetables to keep our body healthy. Studies show that people who suffer with MS will notice an improvement in their symptoms if they start eating healthy.
Did you also know that some of your symptoms can be caused by what you put in your mouth? It’s true. I will give you a rundown of the foods below. We will start with fruits and veggies. You should eat 4 servings of each one each day. That’s approximately 2 cups a piece. When you eat meat you need to pick out lean meat. Be sure to eat your seafood, too. Don’t forget your 8 servings of whole grains. For snacks you can have 5 servings of seeds, legumes or nuts a day.
Foods That Increase Symptoms
Since MS has such a variation I can only suggest the things that’s shown to cause the most trouble. You can eliminate then reintroduce them one at a time to see how it affects you. Some of the most common are; Corn, soy, eggs, dairy, sugar, flour, yeast and gluten. Night shade vegetables, tomatoes potatoes and eggplant and citrus fruits increase inflammation. Foods that are processed like crackers and cookies, store bought bakery items and regular cooking oil contain the bad fats, saturated and Trans fats. They can increase your symptoms and cause you to have heart disorders. Central nervous system stimulants like caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, aspartame, additives and preservatives increases neurotransmitter activity which increases your pain.
Does MS Leave its Suffers Susceptible to Secondary Infections?
The answer is yes and here is why. We know that MS is an autoimmune disorder that attacks and destroys its own tissue. We also realize that people suffering with MS often have nutritional deficiencies, Lastly MS cause an increase in stress, fatigue, anxiety and a decrease in restful sleep. This deadly combination will weaken the immune system.
