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Delta Connect Blog

MS Awareness Week to Spotlight Home Care

Posted by Crystal Parks on Mar 5, 2014 9:45:34 AM

   

MS Awareness Week 2014 is March 3 - 9 and people everywhere are creating connections stronger than the ones MS destroys. During this special week, home care providers can take action to help others learn more about MS and promote their services of how they can assist their patients to make a difference in their lives. 

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common neurological disorder in young adults. It is a disease of the central nervous system - the brain, optic nerves and spinal cord. Although the cause of this non-contagious disease is not fully understood, scientists know that it is characterized by damage to the myelin sheath, which is the covering of the nerve cells in the body. This damage, which is brought about by inflammation, causes nerve signals to slow down or stop. This then causes the symptoms of the disorder. Symptoms come and go, and tend to worsen over time as the nerves deteriorate. Symptoms can also vary, because they depend on which nerves are affected and the extent of the damage.

Depending on which nerves are damaged - which part of the brain or spinal cord - symptoms can occur in many parts of the body. However, common symptoms include loss of balance, muscle spasms, numbness or another abnormal sensation in any area, problems moving arms or legs, as well as bowel and bladder issues. Patients may also experience double vision, eye discomfort or loss of vision, as well as hearing loss, memory loss or other cognitive problems. There can also be sexual symptoms, speech problems and fatigue.

As a home care provider, you can promote and inform your community and referrals sources of the services you provide to assist those with MS. You can:

  • Add new content to you website with free banner ads from the Nationa Multiple Scheloris Society
  • Describe how your services offer medication reminders, assistance and administration, daily living such as bathing and dressing, and promotes mobility through physical therapy as well as enhances independence with activities of daily living through occupational therapy
  • Write a patient satisfaction success story from the patient point of view.  A topic from the Word of Mouth from a patient is how your therapists helps maintain effective speech and swallowing through speech language pathology treatments
  • Attends to problems of elimination, such as catheter management, bowel management.

Support the cause to end MS through education and awareness.  What will your agency do this week to support patients with MS?

MS_Awareness_Week

 

Topics: home care nurse

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