Multiple Sclerosis Relapse - What is a Relapse and Can I Prevent Them?

For those who have multiple sclerosis, a relapse or exacerbation can be one of the most frustrating parts of the disease. You may be going along your merry way and then a relapse can occur seemingly out of the blue. For the patient who is the very earliest stages of MS a relapse may only occur every few months or even years and pass without hardly being noticed, however as the disease progress the relapses will occur more frequently.

What is a Multiple Sclerosis Relapse?

The clinical description of a multiple sclerosis relapse is a "clinically significant event, in other words an event that has obvious symptoms that can be seen or felt. These relapses are caused thy lesions that occur as a direct result of MS on either the patient's brain or their spinal cord. It can either be an entirely new symptom or a worsening of one that you have already experienced. These relapses are also known as exacerbations, flare ups or attacks.

The causes of a relapse are generally inflammations that occur as result of your immune system attacking the myelin layer that protects the nerves in your spinal cord and brain. When the attack by the body's immune cells it forms a lesion, which is an area of intense inflammation in the area that is under attack. This causes damage to the area and can slow down or halt the transmission of signals from one nerve to another. These lost signals are the root cause of the exacerbations.

Can I Prevent a Multiple Sclerosis Relapse?

While a multiple sclerosis relapse is all part of the disease, there are techniques you can use to reduce the number of relapses you are likely to have and the frequency with which they occur. Many physicians will tell you that the only way to prevent a relapse is with a steady regimen of medications used in disease modifying therapy. There are therapies that have been proven to work and reduce or eliminate the number of relapse you may have significantly over several years.

Recent research is finding that by modifying your lifestyle and changing the way you eat, it is possible to reduce or eliminate the rate of multiple sclerosis relapse occurrences you are likely to experience. By eating a diet that is rich in the foods known to reduce inflammation such as kale, lettuce and many fruits you can make a major change in how your MS affects your body. Many people now say that by making the necessary dietary changes they have been relapse free for many years.