Email a Friend
Print ArticleMultiple Sclerosis Health Center
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.
WebMD Medical Reference provided in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic
Multiple Sclerosis Guide
ENABLEX is a prescription medicine used in adults to treat the following symptoms due to a condition called overactive bladder:
- · having a strong need to go to the bathroom right away (also called "urgency")
- · leaks or wetting accidents (also called "urinary incontinence")
- · having to go to the bathroom too often (also called "urinary frequency")
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
You should not take once-daily ENABLEX if you have certain types of stomach problems, glaucoma, or have trouble emptying your bladder. Side effects of ENBLEX include blurred vision, and more commonly dry mouth, constipation, indigestion, and abdominal pain. Use caution when doing certain activities until you know how ENBALEX affects you.
Yoga’s healing powers are now helping MS patients lead happier, healthier lives.
