The young person's guide to MS What is multiple sclerosis?
Multiple sclerosis, or MS for short, is a condition that damages the nerves in the brain and the spinal cord. Nerves carry messages between the brain and various parts of the body, via the spinal cord. For example, if you put your foot in a bath of very hot water, nerves in the skin send a message to the brain that the water is too hot and the brain sends a message back to the muscles in your leg and foot telling them to take your foot out of the water. Messages travel very quickly down the nerves as an electrical current.
What goes wrong in MS?
Our nerves are protected by a covering or sheath called myelin, which acts a bit like the insulating material around electrical wires. As well as protecting the nerves, myelin helps to speed the messages on their way. The body's immune system is designed to protect the body from outside attackers such as germs, but in MS, it attacks the myelin instead. Loss of the insulating effect of myelin means the electrical current escapes from the nerve and the messages may be slowed down or even be completely blocked. This leads to the different symptoms of MS. Perhaps the person with MS may not be able to see clearly or walk as fast as a healthy person. Their symptoms will depend on where in the brain or spinal cord the myelin has been damaged - so no two people with MS will have exactly the same set of symptoms.
Can the damage be repaired?
When the immune system stops attacking the myelin, in some cases the myelin is able to repair itself, either partially or completely. Scar tissue forms over parts of the damaged nerves, allowing them to begin working again. If this happens, the person with MS seems to stay the same - their symptoms don't get any worse. This is known as a period of remission. However, sometimes the scars may cause permanent damage to the nerves, leading to long-term problems.
Where does MS get its name from?
It's because multiple means 'many' and sclerosis means 'scarring', so the name describes the various areas of scarring found on the myelin sheath.
MS is different for everybody. Nobody gets all the symptoms.
Living with MS in your family
Everyone adjusts differently to living with MS. Some changes may be small and easy to deal with, whilst others may be harder and take longer to get used to. Just as MS affects everybody who has it in a different way, the way a person copes when they hear about it varies too. There is no right or wrong way to react.
You might have lots of questions. You might feel you can ask your mum or dad about some things, but not others. Maybe you don't want to ask anything about MS at all, or maybe your parents have already explained it to you and it's just a normal part of your life.
It is also possible that your feelings will change over time. When you were younger, perhaps you only wanted some very basic information about MS, but as you grow older, you might decide that you want to have a more detailed understanding of the condition.
"I don't really ask questions because I like to think of her as my mum, not the something that is wrong with her."
Lorna, 14
"I don't need any questions answered about MS because I talk to my mum about it. It's the best way. I ask her about all the concerns I have."
Rachel, 12
"My dad was diagnosed when I was 6 months old. My parents told me early on, but I only started asking questions when I was about 8."
Daniel, 12
"When I first heard that mum had MS I got really upset, but they explained it to me using a hosepipe - without MS, water flows OK, with MS, there is a kink in the hose. That really helped."
Matt, 11