Multiple sclerosis facts and information

Multiple sclerosis is defined as a disease that affects the central nervous system and leads to damage in various places in myelin, which is a white substance that surrounds nerve fibers to isolate and protect them.

The disease is caused by a slow-spreading viral infection, an autoimmune reaction, or both, or an environmental factor. The disease usually affects females more than males, as it affects those aged 20-40 years.

Heredity plays an important role in the disease. The most important symptoms of multiple sclerosis are numbness, numbness, weakness in one side of the body, a feeling of sudden and painful weakness in one eye, double vision, memory disturbance, difficulty walking and loss of balance, as well as a defect in the control of urine and stool output.

Although there is no cure for this disease, the severity and duration of the attack can be reduced by using cortisone medications and medications to relieve some symptoms such as numbness, numbness and urinary problems.

Nutritional intervention is often helpful in relieving some of the symptoms associated with the disease. For example, a patient who has difficulty chewing and swallowing can eat soft food that does not require chewing and is easy to swallow. In some advanced cases, food can be in the form of liquids or through the tube to relieve as much as possible the difficulty of eating.

The patient who suffers from the loss of the ability to control urine can eat most amounts of water during the day, and limit the amounts of fluid intake of all kinds during the night (that is, during sleep periods), taking into account that excessive amounts of fluids are reduced during the whole day (day and night). ) may lead to infections in the urinary tract, which doubles the patient's suffering. If the patient suffers from constipation, it is recommended to eat a lot of foods rich in fiber, such as vegetables of all kinds (especially leafy vegetables), as well as whole fruits (especially red peaches), brown bread or wheat bread, with more water than the patient is used to.

It is also preferable to reduce the intake of sodium salts, especially in the case of taking cortisone, so as not to cause fluid retention inside the body, and to increase the intake of sources rich in folic acid, such as leafy vegetables, meat and liver. There are some cases that may not be visible and require a long period of follow-up, in addition to many From tests to ensure that the cause is a factor other than multiple sclerosis, and these cases, if there is no change in the patient’s condition, and his condition is good, we may wait for other tests until we are sure that the symptoms are due to multiple sclerosis or due to other diseases; Because some other diseases may resemble multiple sclerosis to different degrees.

As for the treatments used, they are many, including cortisone, including interferon injections, and there is a treatment called natalizumab, and there is another treatment called glatiramer, in addition to some other immunosuppressive treatments, such as azasiprin and cyclophosphamide, so it is necessary to evaluate the situation well, and ascertain the causes and treatment options. appropriate under the supervision of a physician.