First, sinusitis is present in many MS patients, and the rate of MS exacerbations during the sinusitis attacks was found to be doubled. Furthermore, using magnetic resonance imaging of the nasal sinuses, 53% of MS patients had evidence of sinusitis.
Sinusitis causes vary from viral infections and allergies to environmental triggers like smoke or hair spray. Other predisposing factors are deviated septum, nasal polyps, cystic fibrosis, dental infections, reflux disease, autoimmune disease, and facial trauma.
Infections in your respiratory tract — most commonly colds — can inflame and thicken your sinus membranes and block mucus drainage. These infections can be caused by viruses or bacteria. Allergies such as hay fever. Inflammation that occurs with allergies can block your sinuses.
People with MS may also get sicker than others when they become ill. This can mean that they produce more mucus, struggle more with postnasal drip, and cough more than other people with the same infection.
Numbness of the face, body, or extremities (arms and legs) is often the first symptom experienced by those eventually diagnosed as having MS.
Head pressure is both an invisible and subjective MS symptom. The sensation of pressure can feel different to different people. This can make pressure hard to define and measure: The feeling can range from barely noticeable to unbearably painful, and everything in between.
Although sinus issues and congestion are not typically symptoms of MS, people who have multiple sclerosis may get runny noses and sinus infections more often than those in the general population. Fortunately, this is rarely a serious problem, but it can worsen quality of life if the infections become serious.
A wide range of conditions can be mistaken for MS, including: migraine, cerebral small vessel disease, fibromyalgia, functional neurological disorders, and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, along with uncommon inflammatory, infectious and metabolic conditions (1, 3).
Sinusitis is usually caused by a virus and often lasts even after other upper respiratory symptoms are gone. In some cases, bacteria — or, rarely, fungus — may cause a sinus infection. Other conditions such as allergies, nasal polyps, and tooth infections can also contribute to sinus pain and symptoms.
Persistent sinusitis symptoms for longer than 10 days, especially with “double worsening.” This means symptoms start to improve and then get worse a few days later. A fever, especially a high one over 102 ℉. Asymmetric pain (one side much worse than the other) in one or more sinus areas.
In addition severe cases of CRS may be a manifestation of more serious conditions such as autoimmune disease (Sarcoid, Wegener's Granulomatosis, Churg-Strauss Syndrome), ciliary dyskinesia or cystic fibrosis.
Chronic sinusitis is when that inflammation continues for more than three months and can be caused by a variety of conditions or is associated with allergies, asthma or nasal polyps.
People should consider the diagnosis of MS if they have one or more of these symptoms: vision loss in one or both eyes. acute paralysis in the legs or along one side of the body. acute numbness and tingling in a limb.
In order to make a diagnosis of MS, the physician must: Find evidence of damage in at least two separate areas of the central nervous system (CNS), which includes the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves AND. Find evidence that the damage occurred at different points in time AND. Rule out all other possible diagnoses.
Hearing problems are an uncommon but possible complication of MS, occurring in roughly 6% of people with MS. They may result from damage to the hearing nerve pathways present in the brain and brainstem. Hearing difficulties may occur as part of an exacerbation of the condition.
Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) - a stabbing pain in the face or jaw area that can occur as an initial symptom of MS or as a relapse. While it can be confused with dental pain, this pain is neuropathic in origin (caused by damage to the trigeminal nerve).
Common symptoms include fatigue, bladder and bowel problems, sexual problems, pain, cognitive and mood changes such as depression, muscular changes and visual changes. See your doctor for investigation and diagnosis of symptoms, since some symptoms can be caused by other illnesses.
Cluster headaches have been linked to MS lesions in the brainstem, especially in the part where the trigeminal nerve originates. 7 This is the nerve involved with trigeminal neuralgia—one of the most painful MS symptoms.
The types of headaches in the study varied, but about half of the participants with MS in the study stated they had throbbing or pulsating headaches. About 30 percent of the study participants reported sharp headache pain, and 28 percent said they had dull or tension headaches.
MS-related brain fog affects many people living with MS. In fact, it's estimated that more than half of people living with MS will develop cognitive issues. People may experience such things as forgetfulness, trouble concentrating, and confusion.