This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

I wonder how much research has been done on the trigger for an ms attack? I was sitting on a bus the other day which had a very nasty exhaust leak. It was so bad that it actually made me feel ill. I am still feeling the effects now, three days later. I am having trouble with my concentration and coordination. My sinuses seem to have been coated in some way because I can smell it even now. Could it be that hydrocarbons could have some bearing on ms.
The lower instances in third world countries would seem to back this theory. What do you think?

Hi Oscar,

This is a good question. I've long been a believer that herpes plays a role in triggering MS - and I do not think it at all coincidental that whatever seems to stimulate herpes attacks, also seems to trigger MS attacks, i.e stress, either of a physical or mental nature.

Neurologists have no theories as to why stress should trigger MS, likewise dermatologists are baffled as to why stress triggers herpes attacks. Herpes lies dormant in the nerves - so for me there's obviously a connection.

You'd think that after all these years of research they would have made some observations about this but medicine is compartmentalised these days and specialists work in different departments.

Stress has often been cited as a common trigger of MS attacks but doctors and patients alike, on the whole, are dismissive of the role the mind plays in triggering illness. MS is primarily a disease of the nerves in the white matter of the central nervous system. The white matter conveys messages from one part of the brain to another - rather like a telephone exchange. My belief is that during stressful times these nerves get used more than they were designed for. This is because our primitive brains were not designed for prolonged, "modern" stress, which possibly involves a lot more analysis and reflection than our anscestors were capable of. All modern brains (except those in more primitive societies) get "overloaded" - like a telephone exchange going into meltdown - and in certain individuals this eventually disturbs the herpes that lies dormant in the nerves. The herpes does not actually attack myelin - but just in case, the immune system automatically comes into play, and instead of attacking the herpes it mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. Just a theory - but then it explains why herpes and MS have such a close association.


gainsbourg