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Discussion

Multiple Sclerosis Question

Hello. I am currently in my CNA course and we have to do a 10 -15 minute presentation on caring for persons with common health problems. The subject I chose is multiple sclerosis. One of the things I have to talk about is nursing assistant considerations when caring for persons afflicted with the disease. Any information on this would be GREATLY appreciated! :wink2:

Thanks!

Featured Replies

hi there...i have a few residents with m.s and i think the most important thing to remember is their mind is unaffected !and that being a progressive disease you need to know what kind they have right?! is it also their only diagnosis?where i am they also have considerable mental impairement such as dementiasalso chronic heart failure,pvd the list is endless

etc etc,my suggestion would be to go online to the local m.s organization so

you can learn about all the s+s's like double vision,positioning,swallow precautions,whether they have catheter,colostomy and how much mobility./color]oh hey good luck on your presentation! i had to do mine on schizophenia.hope this helps.where in u.s do you live?i am on vancouver island ,canada take care

  • Experts

if i were doing the talk, i would organize it this way:

give information about what multiple sclerosis is and the common symptoms of the people who have it. i would also mention the difference between the early stages of the disease and how it progresses as the patient's symptoms get worse.

next, i would focus on what i, as a nursing assistant, would be likely to be doing to help this type of patient and address these areas:

  • eating and drinking
  • toileting
  • personal hygiene (bathing, mouth care, shaving, nail care, skin care)
  • walking/mobility
  • safety measures
  • diversional activities
  • communication and breathing problems as their disease gets worse
  • death

however! it's your report, isn't it? so, don't let me rain on your parade. here are some links that i think you will find very, very helpful in putting your presentation together. good luck! i'd like to get some feedback from you as to how your presentation turned out.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/multiplesclerosis/htm/index.htm - this is a very nice tutorial from the medline plus website that you can either watch as a slide show (i believe) or just pull up a text version that you can print out. it is written for the general public. the way it is organized is a possible way you might want to organize your presentation as well.

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/brochures-managing%20ms.asp - this article talks about ms and rehabilitation. towards the end of the article is a nice chart that lists helpful techniques for the various adls encountered by ms patients. this is definitely an article you want to look at in preparing for your presentation!

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/brochures-on%20diagnosis.asp - a short little article about the diagnosis of ms (multiple sclerosis), it's signs and symptoms.

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/brochures-at%20home%20with.asp - at home with ms: adapting your environment

http://www.alsa.org/files/cms/resources/fyi_dressing.pdf - dressing with ease, style and comfort. some really good information about clothing for people with limited mobility!

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/multiplesclerosis.html - you will find more links of interest on this page from medline plus (i'm having problems with my isp at the moment so downloading to check each of these out is taking forever!) there are some interesting links listed under "related issues" about midway down the page on gait and walking and a guide for caregivers that i was unable to pull up and access to see if they would be helpful for you. i recommend that you check them out.

Wow amylc..Daytonite gave you some good advice. I should take these down as notes for when I start cna classes because that would give me well over 10 minutes of presenting

  • Author

Thank both of you for your response. This information is a huge help. I am right outside of Milwaukee, WI and am dreading doing the presentation. Everyone paired up with another person, so at least you wouldn't be up there all by yourself. The person I paired up with dropped the class so now I have to do it alone. Oh well..... I guess everyone is in the same boat.

Thanks again for your help.

>>>>>color="Purple"]...i think the most IMPORTANT thing to remember is their mind is unaffected !

i've had M.S. for 16 years and this statement is NOT always true, especially in times of an acute attack!.....i can tell you that during an acute attack my thinking gets totally fuzzy (i can't make decisions) and i have to search for the words i want to say (i call it "brain fog")....anyway, short term memory problems, other forms of cognitive dysfunction are common w/ m.s.!

also, another poster mentioned death.....M.S. isn't usually fatal for 25-35 yrs. (sometimes longer), it would usually be any "complications" (bedridden, pneumonia, ect.) that would cause early death, but not the disease itself.....

also, there are different types of m.s.- relapsing-remitting (which i have), secondary-progressive, progressive-relapsing, primary-progressive, & the level of function is different for each type, due to increased cns damage....

well, i liked some of the other ideas you got, but don't forget about R.O.M. for contractures and spasms. also, placing their feet in dosiflexon (w/ a pillow) to prevent drop foot contractures...

  • Author
>>>>>color="Purple"]...i think the most IMPORTANT thing to remember is their mind is unaffected !

i've had M.S. for 16 years and this statement is NOT always true, especially in times of an acute attack!.....i can tell you that during an acute attack my thinking gets totally fuzzy (i can't make decisions) and i have to search for the words i want to say (i call it "brain fog")....anyway, short term memory problems, other forms of cognitive dysfunction are common w/ m.s.!

also, another poster mentioned death.....M.S. isn't usually fatal for 25-35 yrs. (sometimes longer), it would usually be any "complications" (bedridden, pneumonia, ect.) that would cause early death, but not the disease itself.....

also, there are different types of m.s.- relapsing-remitting (which i have), secondary-progressive, progressive-relapsing, primary-progressive, & the level of function is different for each type, due to increased cns damage....

well, i liked some of the other ideas you got, but don't forget about R.O.M. for contractures and spasms. also, placing their feet in dosiflexon (w/ a pillow) to prevent drop foot contractures...

Thank you for your input.

You can certainly add that the temperature of the water can greatly affect MS, because it has been documented that water that is too warm (as well as warm weather) exascerbates the symptoms; therefore the CNA would have to be aware of climate changes in the client's room as well as the temperature of the water while performing ADLs. You can mention that the patient may be depressed and the CNA may be able to report this to the floor nurse. As another poster mentioned, range of motion is important as well. And, as another mentioned, the importance of a toileting program to prevent skin breakdown, positioning in semi-fowler to enhance breathing is a plus to add to your report as well. Good luck. They seem to be requiring more to enter CNA programs these days, and that is great! The more you understand about the disease process, the better you can help the patients and the nurse.

  • Author
You can certainly add that the temperature of the water can greatly affect MS, because it has been documented that water that is too warm (as well as warm weather) exascerbates the symptoms; therefore the CNA would have to be aware of climate changes in the client's room as well as the temperature of the water while performing ADLs. You can mention that the patient may be depressed and the CNA may be able to report this to the floor nurse. As another poster mentioned, range of motion is important as well. And, as another mentioned, the importance of a toileting program to prevent skin breakdown, positioning in semi-fowler to enhance breathing is a plus to add to your report as well. Good luck. They seem to be requiring more to enter CNA programs these days, and that is great! The more you understand about the disease process, the better you can help the patients and the nurse.

Thanks for your help!

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