Multiple Sclerosis Essays - Multiple Sclerosis, Autoimmune Diseases

Multiple Sclerosis Essays - Multiple Sclerosis, Autoimmune Diseases Multiple Sclerosis Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that bewilders us all.. There is no known cause. We do know that MS (multiple sclerosis) is a disease where the myelin breaks down and is replaced by scar tissue. The demyelination can slow down or block the flow of signals to and from the central nervous system to the rest of the body, impairing such functions as vision, strength, and coordination.1 While we do know what MS is we still don't know why, where and when people contract the disease. It has been proven that MS generally appears between the ages of twenty to forty and it strikes women at more than twice the ratio it strikes men. Statistics have also shown that the disease strikes the middle and upper class more than the lower class and poor. Worldwide research shows that MS has a broad geographical distribution. It has long established that MS is more prominent in colder regions and rare in tropical areas. Maine being a colder climate has shown some of the highest rates of MS.2 There is evidence of a slight increase in MS among first degree relativesparents, siblings, and children. It is also suspected that the same family members may inherent a genetic susceptibility to MS. While it is possible to inherit a genetic susceptibility to MS, it is not possible to inherit the disease. And even people who have all the necessary genes don't necessarily get MS. The disease, experts believe, must be triggered by environmental factors. So MS is not considered a hereditary disease.3 Until the definite cause of Ms is proved the treatment cannot be truly scientific. But there are treatments that are effective in dealing with symptoms. For instance, there are the common sense treatments that everyone, with or without an illness, should treat themselves with, which are: A healthy diet, exercise, sufficient amount of rest and to live your life as you would normally. There are also lots of drugs that treat many of the different symptoms. Since there are so many symptoms page 2 and treatments, I will only list a few: Treatments that increase the blood flow, that decrease blood clotting, treatments for chemical eccess or deficiency, treatments to prevent infection and treatments for the immune system. Treatment and rehabilitation have also been joined together. Weakness is one of the major symptoms of Ms and can be treated with physical therapy and strengthening exercises. One of the best exercises for reducing weakness in the limbs is hydrotherapy. Hydrotherapy is done in the water. Hydrotherapy exercises use the benefits of buoyancy. Another way to eliminate weakness is to stay off a weak limb. Overall, by recognizing limits and using common sense, weakness can be greatly diminished.4 Spasticity, another MS symptom, is most effectively treated with physical therapy. Cold is an excellent temporary measure for relaxing the spastic limb. Hydrotherapy is, again, the most effective exercise for relief, combining stretching and cool temperatures. There are also many medications for spasticity, such as Baclofen, Dantrollene, and Diazepam. Relaxation techniques such as yoga, transcendental meditation, biofeedback, have been successful with spasticity as well. 5 Some MS patients might have mild to sever balance trouble. In mild cases, the person can learn how to compensate easily by standing and walking with a little wider base and taking short steps rather than long strides. When balance trouble is a little more severe, a four-pronged cane, crutches or a walker may be necessary.6 Someone with MS could have visual problems. The problem varies from decreased acuity, blurred or cloudy vision, and double vision. The treatment depends on the stage of the problem. If it is a new part of an attack, visual loss responds to steroids. If it is a persistent problem, glasses or special lenses might be the best treatment.7 page 3 Bladder problems are unfortunately not uncommon with MS. The most common are frequency and urgency. There are three good medications that relieve symptoms when they are present for more than a week or two: Pro-Banthine, Ditropan and Tofranil. Iif bladder problems do not respond to medication, a complete bladder training problem may be prescribed.7 The treatments and medications used ten years ago are still effective and still being used but there are medical breakthroughs

Preventing and Recovering Lost Work on the Computer

Preventing and Recovering Lost Work on the Computer Its a terrible sinking feeling that every writer knows: searching in vain for a paper that took hours or days to create.  Unfortunately, there probably isnt a student alive who hasnt lost a paper or other work on the computer at some point. There are ways to avoid this terrible plight. The best thing you can do is educate yourself and prepare ahead of time, by setting up your computer to save your work and create a backup copy of everything. If the worst happens, however, there may be some ways to recover your work when using a PC. All Your Work Disappeared! One problem that can startle a writer is seeing everything disappear instantly as you are typing. This can happen if you accidentally select or highlight any portion of your work. When you highlight a passage of any length- from a single word to a hundred pages- and then type any letter or symbol, the program replaces the highlighted text with whatever comes next. So if you highlight your entire paper and accidentally type a â€Å"b† you’ll end up with only the single letter. Scary! Solution: You can fix this by going to Edit and Undo. That process will take you backward through your most recent actions. Be careful! You should do this immediately before an automatic save occurs. If you cant locate the Undo button, try Ctrl-Z, the keyboard shortcut for undo. Your Computer Crashed Or your computer froze, and your paper disappeared! Who hasn’t suffered this agony? We’re typing along the night before the paper is due and our system starts acting up! This can be a real nightmare. The good news is that most programs save your work automatically about every ten minutes. You can also set up your system to save more often. Solution: It’s best to set up for an automatic save every minute or two. We can type a lot of information in a short time, so you should save your work frequently. In Microsoft Word, go to Tools and Options, then select Save. There should be a box marked AutoRecover. Make sure the box is checked, and adjust the minutes. You should also see a selection for Always Create a Backup Copy. It’s a good idea to check that box, as well. You Accidentally Deleted Your Paper! This is another common mistake. Sometimes our fingers act before our brains get warmed up, and we delete things or save over them without thinking. The good news is, those documents and files can sometimes be recovered. Solution: Go to the Recycle Bin to see if you can find your work. Once you locate it, click on it and accept the option to Restore. You may also find deleted work by finding the options to Search Hidden Files and Folders. Files that are deleted don’t really disappear until they are overwritten. Until then, they may be stored on your computer but â€Å"hidden.† To try this recovery process using a Windows system, go to Start and Search. Select Advanced Search and you should see an option for including hidden files in your search. Good luck! You know You saved It, but You can’t find It! Sometimes it can seem like our work has disappeared into thin air, but it hasn’t really. For various reasons, we can sometimes accidentally save our work in a temporary file or another strange place, which makes us feel a little crazy when we try to open it later. These files can be difficult to open again. Solution: If you know you’ve saved your work but you can’t find it in a logical place, try looking in Temporary Files and other odd places. You may need to do an Advanced Search. You Saved Your Work on a Flash Drive and Now You’ve Lost It! Ouch. There’s not much we can do about a lost flash drive or floppy disk. You could try going to the computer where you worked to see if you can find a backup copy through an advanced search. Solution: There is a better way to avoid losing work if you are willing to take preventive measures ahead of time. Each time you write a paper or other work that you can’t afford to lose, take time to send yourself a copy by email attachment. If you get into this habit, you will never lose another paper. You can access it from any computer where you can access your email. Tips to Avoid Losing Your Work Use an online backup like iCloud and save often.If you’re working on a lengthy paper, always send yourself a copy by email attachment every time you update it.Always save a few versions every time you stop working. Save one to an external drive and one to the hard drive.Get In the habit of choosing the Yes option when the computer asks if you want to save changes. There are very few reasons for selecting No, so think carefully about what you’re doing every time you shut down your program.Sometimes we accidentally save two versions of our work, so one will be more updated than another. This can cause serious confusion. Avoid opening an old version that hasn’t been updated by sorting your documents by Date when you open them.