How to help someone with MS?

Just being there is a great start
  1. Let them know how much your relationship means and that you're still up for having fun together.
  2. Instead of going out, arrange to have a meal at home or to watch TV or a film.
  3. Keep the contact going through Skype, Face Time and social media.

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What should you not say to someone with MS?

What NOT to say to someone with MS
  • You don't look sick.
  • You shouldn't drink diet coke.
  • OMG this diet cures MS.
  • OMG this vitamin will leave you symptom-free.
  • Aren't you gluten-free? … ...
  • Aren't you too healthy-looking to have MS.
  • Try this herb; it helped my cousin's uncles' sister's friend who has MS.

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What do you say to someone with MS?

What to say to someone who has MS
  1. I am here for you.
  2. I care about you.
  3. I'd really like to help as best as I can. ...
  4. You can always lean on me.
  5. It's okay to show your emotions to me. ...
  6. I want to give you a great, big hug because I care.
  7. Let's talk about how you really feel.

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How can I help someone with MS pain?

You might take a pain reliever like acetaminophen or use a skin gel with a pain reliever like lidocaine. Your doctor could prescribe medications for seizures or depression. They affect how your central nervous system reacts to pain. You can also try warm compresses or pressure gloves.

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How do you make MS feel better?

Here are some tips that can make it easier for patients and caregivers alike to deal with MS.
  1. Eat for optimal health. Everyone can benefit from a good diet, but especially people with chronic diseases such as MS. ...
  2. Commit to regular exercise. ...
  3. Address sleep issues. ...
  4. Customize your environment. ...
  5. Reach out and get involved.

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MS and Carepartnership - Tips and Inspiration

34 related questions found

What causes MS symptoms to worsen?

High temperatures may trigger a relapse. If you're one of those people affected by warm surroundings, you should skip saunas, hot tubs, and hot showers and baths. Most of the time hot weather causes fatigue. Also, do what you can to avoid being outdoors on hot days.

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What are the four stages of MS?

What are the four stages of MS?
  • Clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) This is the first episode of symptoms caused by inflammation and damage to the myelin covering on nerves in the brain or spinal cord. ...
  • Relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) ...
  • Secondary-progressive MS (SPMS) ...
  • Primary-progressive MS (PPMS)

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What should you not do if you have MS?

Over time, you and your doctor may be able to identify triggers that make your symptoms worse.
...
Here are some of the most common triggers you may experience with MS and tips to avoid them.
  1. Stress. ...
  2. Heat. ...
  3. Childbirth. ...
  4. Getting sick. ...
  5. Certain vaccines. ...
  6. Vitamin D deficiency. ...
  7. Lack of sleep. ...
  8. Diet.

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How painful can MS get?

Nerve pain

MS can damage the nerves that affect your muscles. This can cause acute or paroxysmal pain in the form of spasms. Your arms and legs might shoot out uncontrollably and might have pain like cramping or pulling. Nerve pain can also be chronic in the form of painful or unusual sensations on your skin.

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What is life like for someone with MS?

MS affects each person differently.

This may block or slow down the communication between your brain and spine with the rest of the body. You can have numbness and tingling, balance problems, dizziness, vision issues, fatigue, or other things including problems with sex or your bladder and bowel.

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What is the last stage of MS?

Some symptoms you may experience in final-stage MS include: trouble with balance, coordination, and posture. limited mobility or paralysis. blood clots and pressure sores due to lack of mobility.

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What does MS do to a person?

In multiple sclerosis, the protective coating on the nerve fibers (myelin) is damaged and may eventually be destroyed. Depending on where the nerve damage occurs, MS can affect vision, sensation, coordination, movement, and bladder or bowel control.

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Can MS cause anger issues?

MS can cause significant anxiety, distress, anger, and frustration from the moment of its very first symptoms. The uncertainty and unpredictability associated with MS is one of its most distressing aspects. In fact, anxiety is at least as common in MS as depression.

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Can MS change a person's personality?

While many with MS will experience depression or anxiety at some point, more rarely, some people experience changes to their emotions or behaviour that don't seem to make sense, or that they aren't able to control.

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Can you live normal life with MS?

MS isn't a fatal condition in most cases, and most people with MS have a close-to-normal life expectancy. But since the disease varies so much from person to person, it can be difficult for doctors to predict whether their condition will worsen or improve.

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How do you communicate with someone with MS?

Ask how your friend is doing, then be ready to listen. Listening without judgment or interruption is one of the most helpful things you can do for any friend, including one with MS. Ask how you can help — but be honest about what you can provide, and say no if you really can't give what your friend needs.

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Does MS cause weight gain?

It's also common for people with MS to gain weight due to their symptoms. It's important to try and reach a moderate weight and maintain it. Being overweight or underweight can worsen MS symptoms.

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Is multiple sclerosis Hereditary or Genetic?

Causes of multiple sclerosis

your genes – MS isn't directly inherited, but people who are related to someone with the condition are more likely to develop it; the chance of a sibling or child of someone with MS also developing it is estimated to be around 2 to 3 in 100.

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Does MS come on suddenly?

Most symptoms develop abruptly, within hours or days. These attacks or relapses of MS typically reach their peak within a few days at most and then resolve slowly over the next several days or weeks so that a typical relapse will be symptomatic for about eight weeks from onset to recovery. Resolution is often complete.

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What aggravates multiple sclerosis?

Multiple sclerosis (MS) triggers that worsen symptoms or cause a relapse can include stress, heart disease and smoking. While some are easier to avoid than others, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and overall health and wellness can have outsized benefits for MS patients.

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Is MS always terminal?

MS itself is rarely fatal, but complications may arise from severe MS, such as chest or bladder infections, or swallowing difficulties. The average life expectancy for people with MS is around 5 to 10 years lower than average, and this gap appears to be getting smaller all the time.

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What does stress do to someone with MS?

Long-term stress can cause physical problems including impaired memory, headaches and high blood pressure. Stress is a normal part of life for everyone, but in addition to facing normal everyday stresses, people with MS have to deal with the unpredictability and pressures the condition itself causes.

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How long does it take for MS to disable you?

About 15% of patients will never necessitate assistance with ambulation, while 5-10% will do so within 5 years, and another 10% will do so in 15 years. Average patient will take about 28 years from the point of diagnosis to necessitate assistance while walking, and will be about 60 years of age.

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What is the average age of death for someone with MS?

The study found that people with MS lived to be 75.9 years old, on average, compared to 83.4 years old for those without. That 7.5-year difference is similar to what other researchers have found recently.

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What are the last stages of MS before death?

These common symptoms may develop or worsen during the final stages of MS:
  • Vision problems, including blurriness or blindness.
  • Muscle weakness.
  • Difficulty with coordination and balance.
  • Problems with walking and standing.
  • Feelings of numbness, prickling, or pain.
  • Partial or complete paralysis.
  • Difficulty speaking.

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