Q. Does Humidity Make Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms Worse?
Sunday July 4, 2010
So, here I am, having a great time on vacation in the desert. Yes, desert - gets pretty hot in the daytime, but, as they say, it is "a dry hot." I feel great - fewer symptoms all around - fatigue is almost gone, cognitive dysfunction is at a minimum (I can actually have a conversation that makes sense to me AND the other person), all yucky parasthesia in my feet gone or reduced to a little tingle. All this time I am wondering if this improvement is due to the fact that I am on vacation and determined to have a good time, having cleared my brain of all worries.
Then, it rains. And rains. And keeps on raining. It is the "monsoon season" here, apparently. This was accompanied by lots of lightning, which always brings on pretty insane tingling in my feet. When the lightning stops, I feel better and can sleep.
Then comes the next day, and along with it the intense desert sun, shining on all of those puddles and bringing humidity for the first time since I have been here. With the humidity came all of my old familiar MS symptoms, and a big ol' dose of crankiness, to boot. It did not get nearly as hot (by the thermometer) as it had gotten here in days past, but it felt gross (as did I).
As I type this, the puddles are dried up and the humidity is back to normal at 17%. I feel great again. As I contemplate my humidity = MS symptoms, I am trying to enjoy the last days of my vacation without focusing on the fact that the normal humidity back home around this time of year is 75 to 90%.
What do you think? It is pretty impossible to find anything about humidity and MS symptoms in the literature, as the scientists want to focus on things that they can objectively measure, like relapses, rather than things that we "feel" but can't be quantified well. I have to say, as an epidemiologist, as well as a person with MS, I feel like we (that is, you all and myself) are making huge discoveries with some of these "non-scientific" questions.
Sunday July 4, 2010
So, here I am, having a great time on vacation in the desert. Yes, desert - gets pretty hot in the daytime, but, as they say, it is "a dry hot." I feel great - fewer symptoms all around - fatigue is almost gone, cognitive dysfunction is at a minimum (I can actually have a conversation that makes sense to me AND the other person), all yucky parasthesia in my feet gone or reduced to a little tingle. All this time I am wondering if this improvement is due to the fact that I am on vacation and determined to have a good time, having cleared my brain of all worries.
Then, it rains. And rains. And keeps on raining. It is the "monsoon season" here, apparently. This was accompanied by lots of lightning, which always brings on pretty insane tingling in my feet. When the lightning stops, I feel better and can sleep.
Then comes the next day, and along with it the intense desert sun, shining on all of those puddles and bringing humidity for the first time since I have been here. With the humidity came all of my old familiar MS symptoms, and a big ol' dose of crankiness, to boot. It did not get nearly as hot (by the thermometer) as it had gotten here in days past, but it felt gross (as did I).
As I type this, the puddles are dried up and the humidity is back to normal at 17%. I feel great again. As I contemplate my humidity = MS symptoms, I am trying to enjoy the last days of my vacation without focusing on the fact that the normal humidity back home around this time of year is 75 to 90%.
What do you think? It is pretty impossible to find anything about humidity and MS symptoms in the literature, as the scientists want to focus on things that they can objectively measure, like relapses, rather than things that we "feel" but can't be quantified well. I have to say, as an epidemiologist, as well as a person with MS, I feel like we (that is, you all and myself) are making huge discoveries with some of these "non-scientific" questions.
No comments:
Post a Comment