What Is Multiple Sclerosis?

Let's talk about multiple sclerosis, a disease that simply doesn’t get enough media attention. I think it’s important to raise awareness about this issue, so I’m going to tell you some of the important things to know about this disease. Although multiple sclerosis (MS) is a devastating illness, people can still thrive and live their life with it.

What is Multiple Sclerosis (MS)?

MS is a disease in which the immune system abnormally responds to the central nervous system by eating away at it and damaging it irreversibly. When a person has MS, their immune system causes inflammation inside their brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves that damages the myelin, or substance around the nerve fibers and the fibers themselves. Once MS completely destroys these fibers and cells that make myelin, messages within the central nervous system stop completely.

What Causes MS?

One thing you need to know about MS is that scientists and doctors still don’t know what causes it. As of now, researchers believe that it involves specific genes, abnormalities in a person’s immune system, or environmental factors that could trigger the disease. Although it’s not clear how a person can develop MS, there are different types of the disease that they can experience.

Pin it for Later

What is it like to have MS?

The effects of these damages vary from person to person and over the course of the spread of the disease. Symptoms might include numbness or weakness in some of a person’s limbs that only happen on one side of their body at a time. A person might also feel something like an electric shock when they make specific neck movements like bending their neck forward. They might also feel tremors that cause a lack of coordination. People have also experienced vision loss, slurred speech, tingling or pain in different parts of their body, and problems with the necessary functions of their body. Although it’s difficult to experience this disease, people can still continue to live their lives with it.

Living with MS

According to recent studies funded by the National MS Society, there are nearly 1 million people living with MS in the United States. By keeping a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and managing stress levels, a person can flourish regardless of their condition. When a person eats well and keeps an activity regimen suited for their capabilities, they can better treat their MS.

It’s also important that they engage in ongoing rehab therapies to promote their functional mobility, safety, independence at home and at work, and stay connected with their community. It’s crucial that they don’t smoke, which studies show is one of the greatest personal choices that increases a person’s risk of disease progression.

While MS may seem completely debilitating, taking care of yourself and your body allows anyone with MS to keep working towards their dreams, doing their favorite activities, and maintaining relationships. Even just discussing a person’s MS diagnosis can help couples and families understand how to better take care of each other. Women with MS can still raise children and anyone can still go to work if they choose to do so. What’s most important is discussing your treatment plan with your doctor and what’s right for your life.

How to get Involved with Revive Jewelry

When a person develops MS, they can feel completely alone and trapped inside this disease. That’s why I created the Support Multiple Sclerosis Collection, whose proceeds contribute directly to funding research about MS. Consider a purchase and show the people around you that you support them and the journeys they’re taking in life while spreading awareness.

Shop the Support Multiple Sclerosis Collection