What To Know About MS Prevention

By Jerri Perry


Multiple Sclerosis, also known as MS, is the name of an inflammatory disease marked by damage of the insulating covers of the nerve cells in both the spinal cord and brain. The disease takes many different forms. Depending on who you ask, there may or may not be MS prevention. Professionals involved with conventional medicine believe there is no way to prevent the onset of this debilitating condition. However, holistic or naturopathic doctors may disagree.

Damage of the covers makes it more difficult for communication in the nervous system, resulting in a variety of bad symptoms and signs. The problems may be psychiatric, physical or mental. In relapsing forms the symptoms may be new and in progressive forms they may build with time. In-between the attacks, the signs and symptoms may disappear completely. There is usually still some permanent neurological damage done.

Many think that MS and its attacks are not preventable. People who have relapsing-remitting kind might use medicine for treatment to reduce relapse frequency and delay onset of disabilities. There are some claims that the disease is correlated with pregnancy, injury, shock or vaccinations. However, not a lot of evidence is available to prove these claims. If a person already has MS, viral infections such as the flu can lead to relapse.

People who believe in natural healing or religion may feel that prevention can be done and there is a cure. Every individual is different and much about MS is still unknown. Nonetheless, there are natural solutions and conventional treatments employed to reduce symptoms and signs for those with this diagnosis.

One thing that makes it difficult to prevent the onset of this disease is that the cause is not exactly clear. It is speculated to be caused by failure of cells that produce myelin or destruction by the immune system. These causes may be triggered by infections or other environmental factors or even genetics. Usually MS is diagnosed based on symptoms and signs, as well as results from medical tests.

There is not a cure for this disease, at least not one widely accepted. Treatments are meant to improve function following attacks and prevent new attacks. Medications are typically used for treatment, but people who want to test their natural healing may use herbs and other remedies. There are a lot of people choosing alternative treatment to battle this.

Long-term effects and outcome of MS patients is hard to predict. However, the best outcomes are usually associated with women, those who develop the disease early in life, people who have relapsing course, and individuals who experience few attacks overall. Life expectancy of people with MS is cut by five to ten years, compared to unaffected persons. For this reason, many people seek preventative care, especially those with family members who have MS.

MS prevention, depending on who you ask, may or may not be possible. Most professionals who practice conventional medicine say there is no prevention for this inflammatory disease. However, there are many who believe otherwise and encourage natural healing and lifestyle changes. The disease comes in many varieties and is different for every person.




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