Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease. It is a disease in which the immune system starts attacking own cells of the body. The immune system attacks various organs and nerve cells which causes a serious this order in the body. It is a very serious and progressive disorder. Multiple sclerosis is caused because of multiple reasons and can be fatal for an individual. Hence, one must know the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. This will ensure the identification of the disease in the early stage. Below are the symptoms and diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
Multiple sclerosis symptoms differ in intensity from individual to individual. It can be mild and some and very serious in others. Multiple sclerosis in its ultimate stage can diminish the brain functioning and can even cause blindness in an individual. This is because coordination of the nerve cells are highly damaged as the immune system attacks them. Treatment can be started at an early stage if the symptoms are matched.
Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis
Vision
Multiple sclerosis causes degeneration of vision in an individual. Symptoms may include haziness, the formation of double images or complete loss of vision. In the early stage, haziness is seen. However, degeneration is a slow process and takes months to show the symptom. If you are facing a vision impairment along with the below-mentioned symptoms then consult a neurologist.
Numbness
Sometimes you might not feel anything. This happens because the Messenger system of the nerve cells are damaged and thus hampers signal transmission to the brain. At instances, your body may not react to any stimuli. This is one of the most common symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Hence, always have a tight look at these symptoms.
Fatigue & Weakness
Around 90% of people face the symptom in the early stage of multiple sclerosis. Just happens mostly in the leg where the muscles get fatigued faster. Because of this, nerve cells of the spinal cord deteriorates and result in weakness in the entire body. There might also be some initial pains in the spinal region. The pain may, however, vary in intensity.
Balance Problem
The nervous system plays a very important role in the coordination of the entire human body. It causes a balance on both the left and right side of the body. As the nerves get deteriorated, the balance between the left and right side gets disturbed. You may feel like the left leg is going too fast compared to the right one and vice versa.
Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis
There are no as such known diagnosis for multiple sclerosis. After reading the symptoms, the doctor advice multiple tests to examine the entire body functioning. Diagnosis of multiple sclerosis may include the following tests.
- An eye test is usually carried out to find if any damage is done to the optical nerves.
- A blood test is done to make sure that the symptoms are not misinterpreted.
- Lumbar puncture is a very well known diagnosis for multiple sclerosis. A sample from the spinal cord is taken to find out the antibiotics of this disease.
- Similarly, MRI is done to find out the oceans of the brain affected by multiple sclerosis. MRI is a very sharp tool which gives the detailed image of the brain which helps to locate the exact problem.
You should directly go to a neurologist if you have any of the above-mentioned symptoms. Neurologists are the doctors of nerves. They recommend a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis as mentioned above. This diagnosis helps the doctor to understand the severity of symptoms. Multiple sclerosis is not very easy to be identified. We say this because the symptoms often disappear after an attack. However, there is always an expectation of a serious relapse, often life-threatening.