Writern By Home Doctor Brisbane team
Today is World MS Day!
World MS Day is the Multiple Sclerosis movement’s annual campaign to raise awareness of the disease, and to support and connect the 2.3 million people living with MS worldwide.
It’s a day to celebrate global solidarity and hope for the future.
Events and campaigns take place throughout the month of May. It brings the global MS community together to share stories, raise awareness and campaign with and for everyone affected by Multiple Sclerosis.
This year, World MS Day is officially marked on Wednesday 30th May and the campaign is called #bringinguscloser with a theme of Research.
The #bringinguscloser campaign is about connecting people affected by MS with those involved in MS research, including scientists, students, nurses, fundraisers, volunteers, and more. It’s a chance to come together to celebrate what has been achieved in MS research and share hopes for the future.
What is MS?
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common neurological disorders and causes of disability in young adults.
There are 2.3 million people with MS worldwide. It is likely that hundreds of thousands more remain undiagnosed and many lives are affected indirectly, through caring for someone with MS.
Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 25 and 31, with around twice as many women diagnosed than men.
The cause of MS is not yet known and there is no cure, though there are treatments available that can help some forms of MS and improve symptoms.
There’s no set pattern to the severity of someone’s MS, the course it takes and the symptoms they experience. Every person is different. Symptoms can include blurred vision, weak limbs, tingling sensations, unsteadiness, memory problems and fatigue.
For some people, MS is characterised by periods of relapse and remission (meaning it gets better for a while but then can attack from time to time), while for others it has a progressive pattern (meaning that it gets steadily worse with time). Some people may feel and seem healthy for many years following diagnosis, while others may be severely debilitated very quickly.
MS makes life unpredictable for sufferers and their loved ones.
How can you get involved with MS Day?
- Host a world MS day fundraiser in your community
Help raise awareness about MS. Hold your own event whether it’s a small coffee meet up or a BBQ. You can also submit your event to be included in the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation’s list of World MS Day events showing your impact across the world!
- Take a photo of a landmark that is lit up in red
Why not take a photo of one of the landmarks that will be lit up in red and share it on social media?
- Get involved on social media
