7 Early Signs of MS in Women, and What You Can Do To Reduce Your Risk
When Cathy Chester began to notice numbness in her legs, she simply shrugged it off and tried to ignore it. Although a common multiple sclerosis, or MS, symptoms in women include , she simply attributed the lack of sensation to the uncomfortable high heels she would wear to work.
It was only after her shoe slipped off while she was walking to work one day — and she didn’t realize until she was about 10 feet away from her discarded heel — did she decide to seek help.
“I didn’t feel it come off at all,” says Cathy, a multiple sclerosis advocate, who was diagnosed at age 28 in 1986. “I knew that something was wrong. My leg was numb, my feet were numb, even my hands were numb and hard to use.”
Multiple sclerosis is a disease that affects the body’s central nervous system (CNS), which includes the brain and the spinal cord. MS confuses the body’s immune system, causing it to attack the CNS, and create damaging lesions on the brain and spinal cord that prevent the nerve cells from communicating with the body as they should. This can lead to long-lasting damage that can affect vision, balance, muscle control, and other basic body functions.
According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, women are up to three times more likely than men to get MS. This is why it’s especially important for women between the ages of 20 and 50 — the most common period of time a woman is diagnosed — to be able to identify the warning signs.
MS Symptoms in Women Present Themselves in a Number of Ways
Fatigue
About 80% of patients with MS experience extreme fatigue, says Dr. Barry Singer, director of the MS Center for Innovations in Care at the Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis. In fact, many report feeling fatigue even before any other symptoms begin to emerge, he adds.
Numbness and tingling
Numbness and tingling are usually the first symptoms that bring women in to see a specialist, just as in Cathy’s case. Numbness can present itself in the legs, arms, face, or torso; some people say it feels like pins and needles or like a burning sensation. Sometimes patients only feel numbness in one limb or on one side of the face, while others feel in it both. Eventually, this numbness can cause issues with walking and keeping balance.
Muscle stiffness and muscle spasms
People with MS experience stiffness and involuntary spasms in their extremities, especially the legs. Feeling tightness around the joints, lower back pain, difficulty straightening out bent knees, and knees that stiffen while bent are all common signs.
Blurred vision, loss of vision and double vision
It’s common for people with MS to experience vision problems because the disease can either cause inflammation in the optic nerve or cause nerve damage in the pathways that control eye movement.
Vertigo and loss of balance
One study found that about 20% of people with MS experience vertigo episodes. Dizziness and vertigo-induced spinning sensations often contribute to balance issues in people with MS.
Bladder and bowel problems
According to Dr. Singer, these symptoms include the frequent urge or need to urinate; trouble starting to urinate; bladder infections; and constipation.
Worsening memory and difficulty concentrating
In addition to physical symptoms, there are also a handful of cognitive MS symptoms. Some people experience a faulty memory, which makes the ability to learn and remember information difficult. Some people report having difficulty thinking of the right word while speaking.
How to Reduce the Risk of MS
The good news is that there are things you can do to fend off the onset of MS. These preventative measures are especially important for women with one or two parents with MS, who are 5% more likely to develop MS than those who aren’t genetically predisposed to the disease.
Quit smoking cigarettes
Smoking is terrible for your health in many ways, but it's especially harmful if you’re at risk for MS — and if you’ve smoked before 17, while your brain was still developing, you have an increased risk in getting the disease, according to Dr. Singer.
Make sure you’re getting enough Vitamin D
Having an adequate level of vitamin D is instrumental in preventing spots of inflammation and lesions on the brain. People with MS experience lesions when the body attacks the protective layer around the nerves around the brain and the spinal cord. In addition to taking supplements, you can also increase your vitamin intake by eating foods rich in vitamin D, like fatty fish, fortified cereals, mushrooms, eggs and some milk.
Don’t skip your workout
Getting regular exercise can decrease your chances of getting MS because exercise stimulates not just your body, but your brain, too.
Get a good night’s sleep
Lack of sleep can lead to trouble with balance as well as cognitive issues, such as worsening of memory and difficulty concentrating. Getting at least seven hours of restful sleep a night is good for your brain.
Exercise your brain muscle
Do things that stimulate your brain, whether it’s reading often, playing word and number games, or learning a new hobby that has a few complicated steps, like knitting. “Curiosity is what keeps my brain active,” Cathy says. “When I take walks through nature, I like to try to name the trees and birds to keep my brain working.”
('You Might Also Like',)
