March is Multiple Sclerosis Education Month. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is when an abnormal immune system response conflicts with the central nervous system. It is not usually a topic that is well known. So what better way to educate, than having an entire month dedicated to it? This way people will learn about this disease, and might want to help. A cure for multiple sclerosis is still in progress.
The abnormal immune response attacks the coating around nerve fibers. A few potential causes of this response is a person's demographics (age, gender, and ethnic background), genetics, bacteria, vitamin D levels, and infections. These potential causes seem like a wide variety, and that’s because they are. More research needs to be done in order to find an exact cause. To learn more, check out the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for more information.
More than 2.3 million people worldwide are suffering from MS. Most people are between the ages of 20 and 50 are diagnosed with MS, it can still occur in young children as well as older adults. It is more common for women to get MS than men, about 2 to 3 times more common. In the U.S. The chances are about 1 in 750 of obtaining multiple sclerosis. This may seem like a big number but a person has a 1 in 11 million chance of dieing in a plane crash. But plane crashes are still seen as a rational fear and not MS.
It has been shown that exercise and a healthy diet can help with the effects of MS. Rehabilitation, as well as others focused on by National Multiple Sclerosis Society focuses on ways to live life with MS as well as living life in a healthy way. The best way to live a happy and meaningful life with MS is to focus on living, and that means going to rehabilitation or changing the way you do certain things. This may seem hard to do at first, especially if your set in your ways, but the outcome will be so much greater than you expected.