Homeopathic treatment
Before delving into homeopathic treatment let us first discuss the conventional or allopathic treatment available.
Conventional / allopathic treatment follows an approach of symptom relief or to
say palliative treatment for multiple sclerosis which usually ends up with dangerous
side effects added to the original distressing disease.
The various signs and symptoms of multiple sclerosis or MS make it difficult for
a patient to live independently and live a normal, peaceful life. The allopathic
/ conventional treatment only does a palliative job and ultimately adds to the
suffering of the patient.
In contrast homeopathy follows an approach of immune correction (balancing auto
immunity) which is responsible for the presence of disease in the body thus helping
the patient to deal with the problem from its root.
In the allopathic treatment there are different medicines for the different symptoms
of multiple stenosis or MS.
- Muscle weakness, numbness, and stiffness (spasticity) may be treated using medicines
such as tizanidin and baclofen, diazepam, and anticonvulsants, such as carbamazepine.
Side effects of baclofen and tizanidine include drowsiness, dizziness, and fatigue.
These drugs should not be discontinued abruptly. Carbamazepine may cause severe
side effects including aplastic anemia, low white blood cell count (leukopenia),
cancer that develops in cells found in blood and lymph (lymphoma), heart failure,
and seizures.
- Fatigue may be treated using amantadine hydrochloride (Symmetrel) or modafinil (Provigil)
when frequent napping, adequate sleep at night, and daily exercise do not help.
Side effects include nausea, dizziness, and headache.
- Balance and equilibrium abnormalities (like difficulty walking, uncoordinated movements,
tremor) may be treated using medications such as benzodiazepines (Valium), clonazepam
(Klonopin), propranolol (Inderal), and mysoline (Primidone). Side effects include
drowsiness, confusion, and depression.
- Bladder dysfunction (like incontinence, nocturia) may be treated using medications
such as oxybutynin (Ditropan), tolterodine (Detrol), and hyosciarnine (Levsin).
Bladder emptying regimen, intermittent catheterization, and surgery may also be
used. Side effects of these medications include headache, dry mouth, constipation,
and dizziness.
- Immune therapy includes the use of Interferon beta-1a (Avonex, Rebif), Interferon
beta-1b (Betaseron), Glatiramer acetate (Copaxone). Side effects include flu like
symptoms (like malaise, muscle aches, fever) and inflammation (like pain, redness,
infection) at the injection site.
- Corticosteroids shorten the attack and reduce inflammation with dangerous side effects.
In contrast homeopathy uses small magical doses of the medicines for the treatment
of all the problems patient is suffering with. The quality of life affected by this
disorder can effectively be taken care by homeopathic treatment.
The medicines are selected after a full individualizing examination and case analysis,
which includes the medical history of the patient, physical and mental constitution
and so on. While choosing the homeopathic remedies the cause of various symptoms
of multiple sclerosis or MS are also evaluated such as hereditary factors, smoking,
mental stress, infections and so on. This is overlooked by the allopathic practitioners.
Medicines also help in slowing down the progress of the disease and the development
of complications. The treatment can help in inducing the periods which are symptom
free and can also assist in improving the immunity so that the patient does not
face frequent relapses. Homeopathic treatment also treats mental and physical stress,
and alters the hereditary predisposition to the disease.
In the advanced stages homeopathy treatment can be combined with the conventional
or allopathic treatment to relieve the patient. Remedies comprehensively help improve
the quality of life.
There are 58 homeopathy remedies which give great relief in multiple sclerosis or
MS. However, the correct choice and the resulting relief is a matter of experience
and right judgment on the part of the doctor. The treatment is decided after thorough
case taking of the patient. Thus medicies are tailor made unlike allopathy in which
all patients receive the same drugs although trade name may be different.
For online treatment, you may follow the following steps at Consult now.
*DISCLAIMER: There is no guarantee of specific results and the results can vary. None of the remedies mentioned including services, mentioned at HomeopathicTreatment4U.com, should be used without clearance from your physician or healthcare provider. We do not claim to cure any disease which is considered 'incurable' on the basis of scientific facts by modern medicine. We assure you of the best possible efforts for those who apply for online treatment. However, please note that we do not claim to cure each and every case, nor do we guarantee any magical cure. The website’s content is not a substitute for direct, personal, professional medical care and diagnosis.
What is multiple sclerosis or MS
Multiple sclerosis or MS is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system
attacks myelin, a key substance that serves as a nerve insulator. It helps in the
transmission of nerve signals causing numbness, weakness, loss of muscle coordination,
and problems with vision, speech, and bladder control.
'Autoimmune' means that the body's immune system becomes confused about some part
of the body it is designed to protect. It is also known as disseminated sclerosis
or encephalomyelitis disseminate. It attacks that part of the body as if it were
a foreign invader.
It affects a person's ability to move, to feel, and to control his or her body functions.
The progress, severity and specific symptoms in MS are unpredictable.
It is two to three times more common in the female population than with males and
usually has an onset from the teen years up to age fifty.
According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, approximately 400,000 Americans
acknowledge having multiple sclerosis or MS, and every week about 200 people are
diagnosed. Worldwide, MS may affect 2.5 million individuals.
Most people experience their first symptoms between the ages of twenty and forty.
Symptoms rarely begin before the age of fifteen or after sixty. Women are twice
as likely to get multiple sclerosis or MS as men, especially in their early years.
MS is more common among some ethnic groups than others. For example, the disease
is more common in North America and northern Europe than in other parts of the world.
MS is very rare among Asians, Indians of North and South America, and Eskimos.
What happens in multiple sclerosis or MS
The central nervous system is made up of the brain and spinal cord. They process
information from our environment and control voluntary muscle movements to allow
the body to do certain things.
Multiple sclerosis or MS results in destruction of the myelin surrounding the nerves
of the CNS or central nervous system. The destruction is thought to be caused by
the body's immune system attacking the myelin sheath.
This autoimmune destruction of the myelin sheath leads to areas of demyelination
(also known as plaques) in the brain and spinal cord.
These plaques disrupt the transmission of information in the CNS and lead to the
symptoms.
Multiple sclerosis or MS lesions most commonly involve white matter areas close
to the ventricles of the cerebellum, brain stem, basal ganglia and spinal cord;
and the optic nerve. The function of white matter cells is to carry signals between
grey matter areas, where the processing is done, and the rest of the body. The peripheral
nervous system is rarely involved.
Causes
Genetics
Multiple sclerosis or MS is not considered a hereditary disease. However, a number
of genetic variations have been shown to increase the risk of developing the disease.
The risk of acquiring MS is higher in relatives of a person with the disease than
in the general population, especially in the case of siblings, parents, and children.
Environmental factors
Different environmental factors, both of infectious and non infectious origin have
been proposed as risk factors for multiple sclerosis or MS.
MS is more common in people who live farther from the equator, although many exceptions
does exist. Decreased sunlight exposure has been linked with a higher risk. Decreased
vitamin D production and intake has been the main biological mechanism used to explain
the higher risk among those less exposed to sun.
Severe stress may also be a risk factor although evidence is weak. Smoking has also
been shown to be an independent risk factor for developing MS. Association with
occupational exposures and toxins mainly solvents has been evaluated, but no clear
conclusions have been reached. Several other possible risk factors, such as diet
and hormone intake, have been investigated.
Infections
Multiple sclerosis or MS has been seen in people infected with or history of infection
with viruses such as human herpes virus, Epstein-Barr virus.
Oligoclonal bands have been detected which results from increased level of IgG which
is a byproduct of demyelination. This shows the probable link between infections
and MS. Other diseases that have also been related are measles, mumps and rubella.
Signs & symptoms
Signs and symptoms of multiple sclerosis or MS vary widely, depending on the location
of affected nerve fibers:
Muscle or motor symptoms, such as weakness, leg dragging and involuntary leg movements,
especially bothersome at night, stiffness, a tendency to drop things, a feeling
of heaviness, clumsiness, or a lack of coordination (ataxia), slurred speech and
other speech related problems, wasting of muscle due to lack of use (disuse atrophy),
jerking and twitching muscles.
Sensory symptoms, such as tingling, a pins-and-needles sensation, numbness, a band
like tightness around the trunk or legs, or electrical sensations moving down the
back and legs, loss of awareness of location of body parts, facial pain.
Visual symptoms include blurred vision, eye pain, loss of colour vision, blindness.
There may be diplopia (double vision), nystagmus (jerky eye movements), ocular dysmetria
(constant under or overshooting eye movements), internuclear ophthalmoplegia (lack
of coordination between the two eyes, nystagmus, diplopia), movement and sound phosphenes
(flashing lights when moving eyes or in response to a sudden noise), afferent pupillary
defect (abnormal pupil responses).
Bladder symptoms, such as an inability to hold urine (urinary incontinence) or to
completely empty the bladder, or a loss of bladder sensation - an inability to sense
that the bladder becoming full until there is a sudden, urgent need to urinate.
These symptoms lead to other complications, such as infections of the bladder, kidney,
or blood.
Coordination and balance symptoms include ataxia (loss of coordination), intention
tremor (shaking when performing fine movements), dysmetria (constant under or overshooting
limb movements), vestibular ataxia (abnormal balance function in the inner ear),
vertigo (nausea / vomiting / sensitivity to travel sickness from vestibular ataxia),
speech ataxia (Problems coordinating speech, stuttering), dystonia (slow limb position
feedback), dysdiadochokinesia (loss of ability to produce rapidly alternating movements,
for example to move to a rhythm).
Mental / cognitive symptoms include depression, cognitive dysfunction (short-term
and long-term memory problems), forgetfulness, slow word recall, dementia, mood
swings, euphoria, bipolar syndrome, anxiety, aphasia, dysphasia (impairments to
speech comprehension and production).
Other symptoms include fatigue, increase in severity of symptoms with heat, gastro
esophageal reflux (acid reflux), impaired sense of taste and smell, epileptic seizures,
swallowing problems, respiratory problems, sleeping disorders, inappropriately cold
body parts.
Most people, particularly in the beginning stages of the disease, experience relapses
of symptoms, which are followed by periods of complete or partial remission. Signs
and symptoms are triggered or worsened by an increase in body temperature.
Complications
- Coma
- Delirium
- Emotional disturbances
- Nystagmus
- Optic nerve atrophy
- Paraplegia
- Sexual impotence in men
- UTIs
- Complications from chronic disability (like pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, infected
decubiti)
How to diagnose
Diagnosis of MS is based on a detailed history, physical and neurological examination,
blood tests, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI scan), spinal tap, and neurological
tests.
Blood tests: Blood tests may be used to help rule out other conditions that cause
similar symptoms.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI scan) : This imaging test can be used to detect
lesions in the white matter of the brain.
Spinal tap: A spinal tap, also known as a lumbar puncture, is performed to detect
oligoclonal bands in cerebrospinal fluid. Oligoclonal bands result from elevated
levels of the antibody immunoglobulin G (IgG) and myelin basic protein, which is
a byproduct of demyelination, and are present in more than 85% of MS cases. In this
procedure, a needle is inserted between two lower spine (lumbar) vertebrae and cerebrospinal
fluid is collected and analyzed.
Home remedies
- Quit smoking.
- Exercise is very important for multiple sclerosis or MS patients but should be avoided
during attacks.
- Yoga exercises are very good for MS patients.
- Avoid taking milk and dairy products, caffeine, ketchup, vinegar, wine and so on
as they might prove problematic.
- Do meditation to stay stress free.