The Sometimes Invisible Disease – Multiple Sclerosis

MS affects the central nervous system, restricting nerve fibers from conducting electrical impulses to and from the brain.

medicalprogress.org

(SALEM) - Four-hundred thousand Americans suffer from Multiple Sclerosis which has the subtleness of invisibility to others, but is devastating to those afflicted with this debilitating disease.

In researching Multiple Sclerosis, I came to realize how little I knew about it, and was soon to learn that those not specifically educated on MS have very little insight.

Several years ago there was an instructor at the business school I attended who told his students about the disease he had. He informed us if we were to see him stagger or act a little “out of it”, that he was not on drugs but was suffering from MS. What an eye opener for some of us because we had heard rumors that Mr. “?” was acting strange and of course some thought he was abusing drugs. It is nasty how “little” minds work when the unknown prevails - it is so easy to think the worse. His disease progressively worsened and the last I heard he was in a wheelchair. MS had taken its toll!

I have a cousin with MS and she said many times people have looked at her strangely when she parked in the handicapped zone. Their look was very clear, “You certainly don’t look handicapped.” There were times people told her, “But you look so normal!” The devastating effects of MS are just not understood. That's the invisible disease. People don’t know that suddenly an MS sufferer could lose their balance and fall, or a devastating headache could occur, or just as suddenly, one with MS can become so dizzy they cannot stand by themselves. These assaults of symptoms could occur at any time.

MS affects the central nervous system (CNS) and is thought to be an autoimmune disease. The CNS is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and the optic nerves. There is a fatty tissue called myelin that surrounds the nerve fibers of the CNS and this tissue helps nerve fibers conduct electrical impulses. Once myelin is lost in multiple areas, it leaves scar tissue called sclerosis, hence multiple sclerosis. The destroyed or damaged nerve fibers inhibit the ability of the nerves to conduct electrical impulses to and from the brain causing a myriad of symptoms.

The symptoms include changes in cognitive abilities which deal with memory, lack of attention and problem solving; and fatigue, difficulty in walking, balance, vision problems, vertigo, dizziness, numbness, sexual dysfunction, depression, spasms, and bladder and bowel dysfunctions and pain.

As with most misunderstood illnesses, individuals who suffer from the symptoms of MS often refrain from telling the people around them about the disease they are suffering from. The fear of rejection, being different, and losing social status is prevalent and many tend to keep it a secret for as long as possible.

If you have a loved one, a co-worker, or a friend who suffers from this disease, you will be doing yourself a favor by becoming as informed as possible about Multiple Sclerosis.

There are 400,000 Americans who suffer from MS. The average range is 20 to 50-years of age, and it is more prevalent in women than men. The disease does, although rarely, afflict children.

www.nationalmssociety.org/Who%20gets%20MS.asp

There are many websites that give information and there are chat sites where people interact and help each other through difficult times. Following are some of the sites that give excellent information to help understand this complicated and elusive disease.

www.nationalmssociety.org

www.nationalmssociety.com

www.mswatch.com/community/

www.msinbalance.com/