Multiple Sclerosis and our Complex Nervous System

The human nervous system amazes me. I am not a scientist or a doctor. I don't know much about how our nervous system works but the first time I heard that there is a highway of electrical circuits in our body, I was just amazed.
Now what happens when the electronic circuitry goes haywire? Imagine air traffic control in complete disarray, airplanes come crashing, overshooting the runway, and thousands of lives are lost.
When electronic connections trip, problems are sure to arise. The same is true in our nervous system.

Multiple sclerosis leads to glitches
Multiple sclerosis is a malfunction in our body's electrical circuitry, the nervous system, which results to bodily blips and glitches. Your brain sends messages to all the parts of your body through the nervous system. What if there was a problem along the way and the messages don't get sent, or get scrambled on their way? Can you imagine how your life would be if your brain cannot tell your body what to do? Can you imagine a kind of life where you can't make your own hand stop from moving? Or, can't stop your face from making embarrassing twitches?
People suffering from multiple sclerosis don't need to imagine. They live that kind of life.

A messed up system
Multiple sclerosis messes up your entire network. Life becomes very difficult. People suffering from this condition move much more slowly than normal because their muscles and limbs stiffen. They regularly experience painful spasms that mean walking becomes a chore. Their muscles involuntarily contract, jerk, or twitch. They are clumsy, uncoordinated, can't see clearly, can't hear well, urinate more frequently and with urgency, can't remember things, are often dizzy, emotionally unstable, have difficulty in chewing or swallow, experience acid reflux, and can't perform simple tasks that we take for granted like speaking.

Some experience so much pain that they snap mentally. The most common pains are headaches, limb pain, back pain, and painful spasms. There are also sensations of burning, extreme itching, and electrical shocks.

By simply bending the neck forward, people with multiple sclerosis feel the short circuits in the nervous system as they cry from electrical shocks running down the back and towards the limbs.

It is a difficult life.

Medicines
Sadly, to date, no cure has been found and we don't know if one will ever be found. Perhaps the human nervous system is too complex to repair when damaged. Modern medications can only control and help you maintain a more normal quality of life. Some doctors prescribe steroids to try and decrease the severity of attacks.

Therapy
Therapies can also help patients return to normal function after an attack. Therapy can help prevent new attacks and further disability. Helpful forms of therapy are physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and support groups.

Alternative treatment
Some turn to alternative treatments such as dietary regimes, exercise, and herbal medicines. A proper diet and regular exercise can help. Regular exercise does not only make a patient feel physically revived but also get a sense of purpose. Plan an exercise program especially during the early stages of multiple sclerosis. Get into a healthy lifestyle, with good nutrition and enough rest and relaxation.

Disability aids
Also, disability aids such as wheelchairs, bed lifts, shower chairs, motorized scooters, walkers, car adaptations, and wall bars are very helpful and practical, helping people with multiple sclerosis move around safely and easily and achieve a feeling of independence and purpose.
While there's no way of fixing the malfunctioning complex network that is the human nervous system, think of disability aids as a way to work around the broken system, like a crutch for a broken leg.