Multiple sclerosis onset can be a different experience for different people. The disorder attacks the nervous system in various areas of the body, and the pattern of this attack is often unpredictable. With that said, some of the more common symptoms of multiple sclerosis onset include equilibrium problems, tingling sensations on the skin, numbness, and loss of strength in the arms or legs. Some people may also have problems with their vision, or they might have temporary bouts with paralysis.
The process of multiple sclerosis onset involves an attack by the body’s immune system on the coating of nerves. This makes them function less effectively. Essentially, nerve impulses can be impeded or even stopped. This means messages from the brain to different body parts are interrupted, and a person may not feel anything in certain areas or he may lose the ability to control his own body.
After multiple sclerosis onset, the disease will generally fade and then return. This is the general way the disease functions. There are bouts of symptoms, followed by periods of good health. The length of time between bouts can be long or extremely short. Some patients have totally different experiences with multiple sclerosis, and it is often hard to make wide generalizations.
Usually the disease will gradually worsen as a person gets older, and eventually she may be severely handicapped by her symptoms. This might take more than 20 years. Patients who have more frequent symptomatic periods will often degenerate more rapidly, while those that have very infrequent symptoms might be able to live relatively normal lives for many years. Some doctors think that people who are younger at the time of multiple sclerosis onset are more likely to have a better outcome.
Medications are often used to treat multiple sclerosis, and some of them are known to slow down the disease or decrease the number of episodes. Sometimes it can be difficult for physicians to recognize that patients are suffering from multiple sclerosis. A lot of the symptoms during multiple sclerosis onset can be easily mistaken for various other illnesses, and for this reason, some patients may not receive treatment until the disease is fairly advanced.
Doctors are uncertain about the cause of multiple sclerosis. There is generally some evidence for both genetic and possible environmental components. It is normal for multiple sclerosis to appear among different members of the same family, but it is sometimes difficult to determine if this is because they have genetic similarities, share some environmental risk factor, or both.