Heat and Ms

Everyday living
1

Hi there,

I was just wondering how you are all coping in this heat.

My hubby is really a lot weaker when it is so humid. We have fans in most rooms but in the morning the carers are having problems with his mobility as he cannot sit up very well.

Thanks

Caz

2

Hi Caz. Just to say that if you do a search on here you’ll find loads of stuff (I know as I’ve gone through it exhaustively!)

It made me feel a bit better to know that it was a shared problem. I’ve found this summer rather tricky with the heat . Even today where it’s cloudy and around 20 degrees I’m finding it difficult. It’s the humidity I think.

x

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3

hi caz

it’s horrible because i used to love sitting in the sun, with a giant G & T

now it feels like my legs are dissolving from the feet up.

i dream about making snow angels the way that most people dream of sunbathing in 32 degrees heat!

hmm snow angels

carole x

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4

I heard, from someone involved with MS research, that one old method of diagnosing MS was to put a person in a hot bath for a little while. If their symptoms were a lot worse when you got them out again, you could be pretty sure they had MS. It’s something to do with the nerves impulses being weaker when your body is hot. I think the humidity makes the effect of the heat worse because it is harder for your body to cool itself when it’s humid (but I could be wrong about that).

Anyway, my advice to your husband would be to try to keep as cool as possible. Here are a few of the suggestions for this that have come up on here in the past (you might find more by putting the right thing in the search box):

  1. keep a thermos flask of ice and water nearby and drink from it regularly;

  2. freeze a plastic bottle of water and hold it against your neck or wrists;

  3. run cool water over your wrists;

  4. sit (or lie) in front of a fan - even more effective if you sprinkle water on your clothes;

  5. buy and use a cooling neck wrap.

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5

Regarding the heat with MS does it make any of you really sleepy/lethargic or is that a normal effect for everyone?

6

Stolen from Wiki:

Uhthoff’s phenomenon (also known as Uhthoff’s syndrome, Uhthoff’s sign, and Uhthoff’s symptom) is the worsening of neurologic symptoms in multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological, demyelinating conditions when the body gets overheated from hot weather, exercise, fever, or saunas and hot tubs. It is possibly due to the effect of increased temperature on nerve conduction.[1] With an increased body temperature, nerve impulses are either blocked or slowed down in a damaged nerve but once the body temperature is normalized, signs and symptoms may disappear or improve.[2]

Not all MS’ers have Uthoff’s and likewise, not all MS’ers suffer from fatigue.

My Mum twigged just how much the heat effects me when we went over for dinner on Sunday, and that was whilst I was still on the doorstep.

Before I was diagnosed, I couldn’t stand properly after having a bath - I now know, way before MRI’s were invented, that was the MS test, could a patient get out of a hot bath!

Sonia x

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7

True, not all MSers struggle with heat - but the majority do.

8

my problems used to be made so much worse if i ever had a hot bath! js thinking about it makes me feel crap! & if showers are to hot, for to long on the back of ma neck,NO GOOD,

but warm//very warm weather ok, but not to much,& not direct on ma head, i hate the cold, concrete legs,brain fog, just a rubber pluto, & it hates me!! big time, when i talked with other peaple at my M/S group, they all said it was the other way around for them! i felt a little lost!!!

I spoke with my nurse yrs ago & she said thats normal, i’m wasn’t a fraud or freak, my thoughts, not their words

good fun init!! (not)

av a gud day julien…