Did COVID-19 flip you into an MS flare-up?

 Had COVID-19 yet? Did it lead to an exacerbation (relapse or flare-up) of multiple sclerosis?

You’re not alone in that. Tons of MS warriors can share similar stories of symptoms arising, reappearing, or intensifying after they battled the pandemic virus.

 

It’s the nature of the MS beast.

 The Cleveland Clinic lists MS as an autoimmune disease. That puts MS in a group with such conditions as these (listed on Web MD):

• Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
• Graves disease
• Guillain-Barre syndrome
• Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
• Multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Myasthenia gravis
• Psoriasis
• Rheumatoid arthritis  
• Systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus)
• Type 1 diabetes mellitus
• Vasculitis

 Other lists also include Addison disease, celiac disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, and more. The Autoimmune Association cites more than 100 autoimmune diseases, while pointing out that it’s not uncommon for individuals to battle clusters of these.

 

Holy moley.

 The National MS Society calls multiple sclerosis “immune-mediated.” That’s how autoimmune diseases generally work their wickedness.

 In short, when the body’s immune system goes into action, it begins fighting infection. But in a person with an autoimmune disease, the immune system doesn’t seem to know when to stop. Essentially, it begins attacking healthy cells, tissues, or body structures. For the MSer, this means the immune system goes after myelin, the protective covering on nerve fibers.

 

And that can cause all kinds of havoc.

 Personally, I had a very mild case of COVID. I’m pretty sure it was the Omicron variant, breaking through the vaccinations I had received. I coughed pretty hard (like a cold’s chest cough) for one night. I had extra hearty headaches for a couple of days. Then it was over.

 

Except it wasn’t.

That’s when MS sent me whirling with its nasty old vertigo for a couple of days, coupled with fairly significant fatigue. My vision blurred in the same eye that first pointed doctors to identify MS via optic neuritis more than a decade ago.

 Ugh.  It was an MS flare-up. Doctors tend to tag such episodes, if they arise at least a month after the last time and persist for at least 24 hours.

 

And then, the whole ordeal truly was over.

 I’m grateful that this whole episode was uncharacteristically brief and that it is in my rear-view mirror. We’ve all heard of so many cases that did not go this way.

 If you have MS and have already come through COVID, how did it go for you?

 Because battle the MS MonSter and illness at the same time is no picnic.

 

Related items:

• Ain’t nothin’ pseudo about a pseudo-exacerbation.
• MS is like a carnival thrill ride without the thrill.
• MS is like the cancellation disease.
• MS symptoms fire when we’re sick.
• Optic neuritis: A look at sudden blindness

 Image/s: Public domain image.

 

Feel free to follow on Twitter. Please visit my Amazon author page as well.

You are invited to join the Kicking MS to the Curb page on Facebook and the Making the Most of MS board on Pinterest.

Changing meds: Safety tips for tossing leftover drugs

Pharmaceutical companies constantly research and modify medications. New drugs enter the medical marketplace frequently. Patients living with multiple sclerosis or other conditions often find that their physicians write new prescriptions to change treatment plans. Plenty of us may be instructed to take certain drugs on a trial or short-term basis, leading to an accumulation of partially used prescriptions in our medicine cabinets.

What should be done with the old meds?

Please refuse to discard unused medications in the trash. This presents an obvious risk in the home and farther down the trash disposal chain.

Don’t rinse them down the sink or flush them down the toilet, either. Consider the ecological implications of adding medicines to the water supply.

Here are a few basic common-sense guidelines for getting rid of leftover medications.

1.  Remove and destroy the labels from all prescription drug bottles or canisters. Stick the labels on a sheet of junk mail, and run it through a shredder. Or cut them up with scissors. It’s a good idea to take off drug labels routinely before throwing out empty drug containers, too. This step is important for multiple reasons.

• Anyone who finds your still-labeled prescription container will immediately know what medication you take, what pharmacy you use, what doctor treats you, and more. Whose business is that?
• Why risk having anyone pick up your prescription bottle and try to refill the medication inappropriately?
• What if someone is caught with your leftover medication, still bearing your personal information? Sure, you would likely end up proving your innocence. But what a hassle that process could be.

2. Take the now-unmarked leftover medication to an approved drug disposal location. Most counties have official drug drop-off sites. These may include local pharmacies, police departments, public safety departments, or other facilities. If in doubt, ask a pharmacist for referrals. The aim is to prevent any possibility of leftover drugs (particularly controlled substances) from winding up in places where they do not belong.

3. Follow published guidelines for sharps. Needles and other injection equipment require special care for disposal. Rules tend vary by state. Some require users to place used sharps in special FDA-approved containers. Others permit disposal in sealed, clearly marked hard plastic containers (such as laundry detergent bottles). Several communities have hazardous waste collection sites, which will accept such drop-offs.

Safe disposal of leftover medications is responsible, eco-friendly, and smart.

Related Item/s:

Got leftover drugs? September 26 is Rx Drug Take-Back Day

Image/s:

 Adapted from public domain artwork

Feel free to follow on Google Plus and Twitter.  You are invited to join the Kicking MS to the Curb page on Facebook and the Making the Most of MS board on Pinterest as well.

Are flu shots safe for people with multiple sclerosis?

Should MSers have flu shots?

Flu shots have become a perennial preventative public tradition across the United States, particularly with the approach of autumn and the upcoming winter peak flu season. Physicians often advise elderly patients, pregnant women, long-term care residents, health care workers, and those with chronic medical conditions to obtain flu shots to prevent possible influenzaoccurrences.

Is the flu shot for everyone?

Individuals with fevers, egg allergies, and past flu shot reactions are generally advised not to receive flu shots.

Administered by injection, flu shots introduce dead forms of flu viruses, boosting recipients’ own immune systems to gear up to fight potential infection. Most individuals reach optimum flu immunity within two weeks after receiving a flu shot.

MSers should skip the nasal mist flu shot.

The nasal mist flu shot generally contains live flu virus and is not advisable to multiple sclerosis patients.

Recently, neurological researchers have questioned the wisdom of flu shots for patients with multiple sclerosis (M.S.) and other neurological diseases. The main question is mercury.

Do flu shots contain mercury?

Each year, patients line up in clinics, doctors’ offices, hospitals and pharmacies to receive flu shots. Folks even show up for free flu shots (or low-cost flu shots) in grocery stores, local health department offices and pharmacies.

Shop Amazon - Gift Ideas in Health & Personal Care

Basically, most public flu shots have contained small amounts of several current influenza viruses, in pre-killed form, along with a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal. Thimerosal, which is about 50% ethylmercury, has been used in producing flu shots since the 1930s. Since 1999, the U.S. government has asked for the removal of thimerosal from flu shots, but the vast majority of influenza inoculations still contain the mercury-based preservative.

Some flu shots may contain only trace amounts of thimerosal, but it may be difficult for patients to determine this on site, while waiting for a free flu shot or a public flu shot.

Although many medical experts claim that the thimerosal quantities are too low to pose health risks, others contend that they can indeed be dangerous to susceptible individuals, such as those with MS.

Why is mercury potentially harmful to multiple sclerosis patients?

Medical researchers have hypothesized that mercury poisoning may be linked to MS. Whether mercury poisoning actually causes multiple sclerosis is unproven. Mercury poisoning has also been linked to Alzheimer’s disease, bulimia, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, and other conditions.

Certainly, the symptoms of mercury poisoning may mimic the symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

Mercury is one of the few potentially dangerous compounds that can actually cross the blood-to-brain barrier and cause central nervous system harm, particularly to patients with multiple sclerosis or other neurological diseases. The human body cannot efficiently flush away mercury, as it can many other potential toxins.

Shop Amazon - Top Rated in Health & Personal Care

Should multiple sclerosis patients have flu shots?

Doctors vary on the question of flu shots for MS patients. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disorder. For this reason, MSers may be advised to take precautions (both hygienic and pharmaceutical) against influenza and other infections.

The reason for this is simple. Once a MS patient’s infection-fighting capabilities are awakened (as to fight a case of the flu), the antibodies may go into essential overdrive and begin to attack the myelin in the central nervous system.

Essentially, the body’s own disease-fighting mechanism can lead to a multiple sclerosis exacerbation, relapse or episode.

Many MSers regularly participate in immunomodulation therapies (taking medications such as Avonex, Betaseron, Copaxone, or Tysabri). These drugs actually modulate the body’s own immune system. As a result, MS patients may find themselves particularly susceptible to influenza and other infections.

On the other hand, MS patients are advised to abstain from flu shots during multiple sclerosis exacerbations or episodes. Also, the nasal mist flu shot (containing live flu viruses) is not recommended for multiple sclerosis (M.S.) patients.

MSers need to check with their own personal neurologists or MS specialists before lining up for free flu shots or obtaining flu shots anywhere else.

Image/s:

Adapted from Nurse Giving a Shot - ClipArtHeaven

Feel free to follow on Google Plus and Twitter. 

Please be sharp about syringes and sharps

Multiple sclerosis warriors know plenty about injections. Most of us are skilled and experienced in administering shots, especially to ourselves.

Personally, I have performed injections (under veterinary supervision) on cats, dogs, and horses.

Those instances actually set me up to learn to give myself MS shots without much training. The nurse-tech showed up at my home, several years ago, and tried to show me how to inject a squishy rubber ball (just like the ones commonly used for diabetes self-care instruction). She suggested I practice on an orange. I told her I was ready to go right for the first shot.

So we did.

That wasn’t the tricky part. I had to learn what to do with all those used syringes and needles. We all do.

The sticky widget for in-home injections frequently seems to be needle disposal. You can’t exactly toss those things into the trash or recycle bin.

Sharps include medical lancets, needles, and syringes. State laws differ, but the disposal of these items generally must follow strict procedures. Generally, sharps must go into approved rigid plastic containers, which are usually red and marked with hazard labels.

Once filled, sharps containers must be submitted to participating registered disposal sites, such as approved pharmacies, hospitals, medical clinics, or certain hazardous materials collection spots. Some of these operations charge fees for accepting sharps containers. Others do so for free.

The idea is to keep used sharps out of circulation, so to speak.

No one wants to be poked.

Medical sharps are considered hazardous, and not just for the pokes. The main concern is biosecurity. Several infectious diseases may be spread through blood contamination, so used sharps are to be handled with great care.

This may sound somewhat obvious, and most MSers are particularly careful about such things. But some people simply don’t get the point about sharps without a bit of needling.

Image/s:

Please be sharp about needles and sharps

 – created by this user on CoolText

Feel free to follow on Google Plus and Twitter. You are also invited to join this writer's fan page Facebook.