Multiple sclerosis (MS) causes and Myths

The central nervous system is impacted by multiple sclerosis (MS) (including the spine, brain, and optic nerve). As you age, the symptoms can become increasingly severe and even debilitating. There are numerous misconceptions that give absolutely false information since MS is still, in many respects, a mystery.

Multiple sclerosis causes

Depending on where the damaged nerve fibers are located, the signs and symptoms of multiple sclerosis can vary widely from person to person and during the course of the disease.

Typical signs include:

• Usually affects one side of your body at a time, numbness or weakness in one or more limbs
• Tingling
• Ineffective coordination
• Incapacity to walk or an unsteady stride
• Partial or total blindness, generally affecting just one eye at a time, frequently accompanied by discomfort when moving the eye
• Long-lasting double vision
• Hazy vision
• Vertigo
• Issues with bowel, bladder, and sexual function
• Fatigue
• Unsteady speech
• Cognitive difficulties
• Disturbances in mood

Myth 1: There is no cure for Multiple sclerosis

Although MS is an incurable condition, it is treatable. There are several MS medicines in development that potentially lessen symptoms and enable individuals to manage their flare-ups and experience protracted periods of full or almost full remission while living with the illness for decades.

Myth 2: MS patients live incredibly brief lives

Fact: It is true that persons with MS often live shorter lives than those without the disease, but the gap is far smaller than this urban legend would have you believe. While a person without MS may expect to live for almost 83.5 years on average, a person with the condition can still expect to live for nearly 76 years on average, which is just a 7.5-year difference at most.

Myth 3: Multiple sclerosis is a “disease of the elderly”

Factual statement: MS diagnoses in patients over 50 are referred to as “late-onset.” The majority of patients receive a diagnosis between 20 and 50. Bonus information: Parents who have lost a child have a 50% greater risk of acquiring MS, and women are two to three times more likely to have MS than males.

Myth 4: MS patients shouldn’t have children

Although many MS cases have a family history, there is little danger of spreading MS to your children. Doctors don’t advise people with MS to put off starting families since the risk of MS for a child who has a parent with the condition is so low. Simply discuss with your doctor how to control your flares before, during, and after pregnancy, and be ready in case you’re one of the one in five MS-affected women who gives birth a little early.

Myth No. 5: MS will cause you to use a wheelchair

Fact: Since MS become worse with age, a lot of individuals believe that if they get a diagnosis, they’ll soon be in a wheelchair or even bedridden. Only 25% of MS patients develop full or partial immobility as a result of their illness, even before the most recent medications for managing MS symptoms were available. That proportion is significantly smaller now.

Conclusion

The myelin sheaths that surround your nerve fibers are gradually destroyed by the neurological disorder known as multiple sclerosis (MS). There is no cure for the condition, which scientists do not completely comprehend.