Author: Online Care Editorial Department
Hands and feet weak and abnormal sensory What is multiple sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune neurological disease. Due to an undetermined cause, immune cells in the body produce abnormal inflammatory antibodies, attacking the myelin that covers nerve fibers. central nerve will experience repeated and continuous inflammation demyelinated neuropathy, destroying the transmission of neural information, causing nerve conduction to "short-circuit" and losing normal function. Due to the uneven distribution of demyelination in the nervous system of patients with multiple sclerosis, complex and diverse autonomic, motor, sensory and cognitive symptoms will appear clinically.
Multiple sclerosis lesions can occur in cerebral hemisphere , optic nerve, brain stem, cerebellum and spinal cord, causing various severity of functional abnormalities, and the effects of movement, sensation and vision are very common. Common neurological symptoms in clinical practice include dizziness, weakness in hands and feet, abnormal sensory symptoms, impaired vision, imbalance in balance, crooked face and mouth, difficulty swallowing, unclear mouth, and even incontinence. A few diseases suffer from epilepsy and intelligence disorders, and may be paralyzed in severe cases.
Patients with multiple sclerosis usually have no signs and are difficult to predict. Moreover, the symptoms may sometimes be relieved or disappear, making many patients who have first-time illness mistakenly think that it is a minor stroke or too tired, and it is difficult to determine the diagnosis as soon as possible, resulting in repeated attacks and worsening of symptoms in the future.
Dr. Zhang Zhenshu, Department of Neurology, Changhua Christian Hospital, pointed out that the current study has not found the exact cause of multiple sclerosis. If someone in the family suffers from multiple sclerosis, it will increase their risk of illness. In addition, personal constitution and environmental factors, such as race, smoking, climate, or low vitamin D concentration in the body, are considered as one of the possible influencing factors.
The number of patients with multiple sclerosis in Taiwan is about 1,900, with a prevalence rate of about 2.1 per 100,000. It is most common in people aged 20 to 40, especially those aged 30 to 33, and the number of female patients is more than that of males.
Seasonal changes, food, clothing, housing and transportation, Yule, Add more attention,
Doctor Zhang Zhenshu reminds that when seasonal changes and temperature difference are large, patients with multiple sclerosis are prone to upper respiratory tract infection. If there are symptoms, they must seek medical treatment in time to reduce complications. Prevention is better than treatment. Keep your mood relaxed and cheerful, reduce stress, have sufficient rest, balanced diet, and moderate exercise. A healthy lifestyle such as healthy lifestyle will help improve your body's resistance and enhance the immune system to fight diseases, so as not to let the cold virus take advantage of it.
In addition, during the season change, dry and cold weather causes the skin to be easily dry. In addition, overheating of hot water in the winter bath can easily take away the natural sebum film of the skin, and lack a barrier to resist external irritants. The skin is prone to itching and even inflammation, and itching and difficult to fall asleep, resulting in insufficient sleep and worsening of the condition. Therefore, Dr. Zhang recommends that patients with multiple sclerosis should start with changing their daily life habits. The focus is as follows:
1) Replenish more water.
2) Pay attention to skin moisturizing work.
3) Reduce the number of times you take a hot bath and do not overheat when taking a bath. Use moisturizing lotion immediately after bathing to maintain skin humidity.
4) Pay attention to your daily diet and do not consume excessive irritating foods to avoid spicy, salty, heavy tastes, and discomfort in the skin.
In addition, the season change is when the human body is quite fragile, and it is also a time when gastrointestinal diseases are prone to occur. It is easy to experience gastrointestinal discomfort, which may lead to more serious gastrointestinal diseases. Patients with multiple sclerosis are advised to pay attention to the following key points:
1) Pay attention to dietary hygiene.
2) Develop regular three-food eating habits.
3) A good work and rest for adequate sleep.
4) Health and regular exercise can protect the stomach and intestines and reduce gastrointestinal diseases.
5) Keep a peaceful heart, be happy and emotionally stable.
Taiwanese often arrange trips, viewing flowers, and soaking in hot springs. Traveling can help patients with multiple sclerosis relax their body and mind and reduce stress. However, when traveling, you should reduce exposure and avoid the itinerary when going out. Increased body temperature may affect nerve conduction, often leading to worsening of symptoms and may even paralyze.
Personal sclerosis patients change seasons of health care methods
Whenever the weather turns cold, people hope to use tonic to remove cold and disperse evil, enhance positive energy, and enhance the body's ability to resist diseases. However, in terms of tonic and delicacies, patients with multiple sclerosis should not be careless. If you eat randomly and take supplements at will, it will not only not help you health, but may also harm your body. The Chinese herbal medicines selected for stoppage time include astragalus, Codonopsis pilosula , ginseng, yam, Angelica , American ginseng, licorice , etc. These drugs have components that stimulate the immune system and may increase or decrease the effectiveness of immunomodulatory and immunosuppressive drugs, which will interfere with the efficacy of immune regulation and immunosuppressive drugs, causing the risk of worsening symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis. It is recommended that you ask your doctor for your opinion before eating.
Dr. Zhang Zhenshu recommends that patients do physical activities every day with a healthy and balanced diet to maintain an ideal weight (BMI 18.5~24.9). Patients can help relieve muscle stiffness through stretching exercises on the thighs, buttocks, back and other parts. It is best to perform stretching exercises under the guidance of a physical therapist to avoid sports injuries. Water exercise can help improve the body's sense of balance, and can also avoid overheating of body temperature due to exercise. Paying attention to ambient temperature at all times is the basic principle of exercise. No matter which exercise, it must be kept cool, you can use air conditioners, sprayers, and drink cold drinks.
If patients with multiple sclerosis want to get vaccinated, there are several things to pay attention to. Dr. Zhang Zhenshu reminds:
1) If the symptoms recently recur, treatment should be postponed until the recurrence is completely over, usually four to six weeks later.
2) If patients taking high-dose steroids, immunosuppressive drugs, or unstable patients are given live bacteria vaccines, not only the effect is extremely poor, but may also cause live bacteria to spread, so injection is prohibited.
3) The patient is prohibited from contacting his secretions within two weeks after his family receives live bacteria vaccines (such as polio, measles, mumps, German measles, chickenpox).
4) Influenza vaccine is safe in patients with multiple sclerosis and can reduce the risk of influenza.
The epidemic is at its peak, increase your vigilance!
In the face of COVID-19, patients with multiple sclerosis, like anyone else, may be at risk of being infected. The symptoms of COVID-19 are cough, fever, and shortness of breath. These symptoms are very similar to colds and flu and are not easily distinguishable. Dr. Zhang Zhenshu further explained that if patients with multiple sclerosis are infected with viral infection, it will affect the course of the disease. As COVID-19 is raging, patients should pay attention to not only reducing their access to public places, but also avoid close contact with people who are not well-off and contact with wild animals and birds. They should also wear masks to protect themselves if necessary. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water. If your hands are not clean, do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth. A regular life and a balanced diet, don’t be too tired, and maintain normal immunity. Regular exercise and emotional stability, and being optimistic can help improve immunity and fight disease invasion.
Early diagnosis, continuous treatment, avoid disability
Multiple sclerosis is a rare disease. The symptoms of each attack will vary depending on the area of inflammation, and each recurrence is harmful to the central nervous system. Although the disease can almost be cured after initial treatment, if the drug is not continuously controlled, multiple lesions will accumulate after repeated attacks, and the condition will become worse and worse, and even permanent disability will occur. Early treatment and regular drug control to reduce the chance of recurrence is the key to avoiding disability and returning to normal life.
Dr. Zhang Zhenshu recommends starting early with "Disease modifying therapy, DMTh" drug treatment. Currently, DMT treatment includes two major categories: injection and oral medication, both of which help prevent disease recurrence.The newly approved first-line oral drugs by the Health Insurance Bureau have multiple effects such as immunomodulation, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and nerve protection, which can reduce the chance of recurrence by 30 to 50%. Convenience and better compliance are also considered as the first-line medication. Taking oral medication regularly every day can avoid the inconvenience of self-injection and reduce allergies and skin necrosis caused by injections in the past. Currently, there are quite a variety of treatment options, and patients are advised not to give up treatment easily.
Given that it is the peak of the COVID-19 epidemic, some patients with multiple sclerosis are worried that they will lose their resistance and become infected with viral infection after using DMT drugs, so they want to interrupt treatment. However, studies have confirmed that front-line oral administration will not have a significant impact on patients' immunity. I hope patients will not be too worried and can continue to receive treatment. In recent years, there are more and more treatment options, so patients are advised to cooperate with their doctors.
In the future, DMT drug treatment will become more and more friendly to patients, whether in terms of side effects or the number of times it is used: from injections to oral administration, from twice a day to once a day. In the selection of these drugs, clinicians must make comprehensive considerations based on the patient's clinical situation, drug efficacy and related side effects, patient compliance, and Taiwan's health insurance payment standards, and consider the use and timing of the drug conversion to make the best choice for the patient. It is hoped that "NEDA - no evidence of disease activity" can be achieved, that is, no recurrence, no worsening, no new lesions on MRI images.
