Multiple Sclerosis: Patient Education (Nursing)

00:00 So, if I'm working with the patient, I've established a therapeutic relationship with them, I've told them we're gonna help them find a plan to live their life to the fullest, here's some other key points.

00:11 We need them to understand that if they're going at a certain pace of life before, they really need to ramp up the amount of time that they get rest.

00:20 They do need regular exercise even when they don't really feel like it.

00:24 Now, they can work with a personal trainer with a physical therapist, with their physician to work together to formulate an exercise plan that will address when they are having exacerbations and when they're not.

00:36 Because staying active is one of the most important things that they can do for their overall health.

00:40 And it's important that they don't let themselves get overheated.

00:44 Now, I usually live in Oklahoma and it gets really hot.

00:49 So, someone with MS would have to be particularly careful about how much heat they allow themselves to be exposed to.

00:55 So they need to take measures to make sure they stay cooled down.

00:59 Because often their symptoms will get worse when body temperature is elevated.

01:03 Like anything else, a balanced diet is always going to help with that with a healthier life, and you want them to manage and relieve their stress.

01:13 Okay, look down this list.

01:15 The only one that's really unusual for an MS patient is to cool down one.

01:20 so don't have to worry about memorizing a whole list.

01:23 Everyone needs lots of rest, they really do, but everyone needs lots of rest.

01:27 Everyone needs exercise, everyone needs a balanced diet, and everyone needs to manage and relieve their stress.

01:35 So, reinforce with the patient.

01:38 Hey, these are things that would make anyone healthy.

01:40 So, if the patient is married or living with someone, or has a people that are around them, this is a lifestyle that everyone can adopt.

01:48 But one particular special thing is to remind them about body temperature and it's important that they don't sit outside in the blazing Sun for a marathon of tee-ball games, right? They'll have to make some type of adjustment so they don't get overheated.

02:03 Now there's a lot of research going on in myelin repair, so it's pretty cool they're finding out that, you know, these myelin sheaths, they can recruit younger ones, the young box to come and make it, they all get dries from a long way away, the body can work on helping to restore itself, but it's a pretty slow and incomplete process.

02:22 So, that's what scientists are looking into, how can we help the body become more efficient at repairing myelin, or testing existing drugs, and looking at ways protect those special cells that make myelin.