Multiple Sclerosis: Impact of Temperature on Multiple Sclerosis

Heat or high humidity can make many people with MS experience a temporary worsening of their symptoms. Doctors believe that this occurs because heat causes nerves (whose myelin covering has been destroyed from MS) to conduct electrical signals even less efficiently.

For reasons that are not well understood, extremely cold temperatures and changes in temperature can also cause MS symptoms, usually spasticity, to flare.

How Can I Keep Myself Comfortable?

• Avoid extreme temperatures. Extreme temperatures may worsen your MS symptoms.
• Use air conditioning. If hot and humid conditions worsen your MS, try to stay in cool and dry areas as much as possible. A home air conditioner may be tax-deductible for some people with MS; talk to your doctor.

It is important to remember that while climate may worsen the symptoms of MS, climate changes do not produce more actual nerve damage. The adverse effects of temperature and humidity are generally temporary.

Reviewed by the doctors at the Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis Research at The Cleveland Clinic.