Statistically-speaking, you are much more likely to be diagnosed with ms if one of your parents has it -- something like 8 to 12 times more likely than someone without a close relative with ms.

But there is no telling if you will get it, or with what sort of severity. In my case, my father had it really badly. So far, and only when I was 40, I had an episode of optic neuritis. This is what you mean when you say "blurry" vision -- but it is a very specific condition which involves damage to the optic nerve -- it doesn't just come and go in a few minutes.

The doctors told me that the optic neuritis could be my first symptom of ms, or it could be idiopathic, i.E. Random. So far I have had no other symptoms.

There are things you can do to improve your odds. You must eat a healthy diet. One of the strongest associations with ms is with where you live -- there is epidemiological evidence that lack of sunlight resulting in vitamin d deficiency is linked to incidence of ms. Vitamin d helps to regulate the immune system. Since my eyesight problem, I have been taking 4 times the minimum recommended daily amount of vitamin d. I also take a lot of omega 3 fatty acid supplements, along with flaxseed (linseed). These are nutrients that are important in the health of myelin, the substance that deteriorates and thereby results in ms.

There are diets that are supposed to alleviate symptoms of ms once you have it, but it seems sensible if you are at risk of doing whatever you can to avoid getting it.

You mentioned there is a 1 in 100 chance of getting ms if a parent has it. Instead of looking at the glass as half empty try to focus on there's a 99% chance that you won't get it. The mind is very powerful. And I completely agree with poopoopoo about taking measures to stay healthy. Low saturated fat & vit. D. Make sure your food is being digested properly & be sure & get enough of the omega 3 oils. God gave us these wonderful bodies that will heal themselves if we treat them right. I've had ms for 16 years now & had many years of dietary abuse, but am working very hard to correct it. But, it took me 50 years to get in this shape so I can't expect a miracle overnight. God is good though & I will continue to pray & eat right.

Hi, this is long, but for a reason. I hope you pass it on to those in your situation on youth forums. I've had ms for almost 20 years and am trained in research. The last thing I would contemplate is contracting ms from a parent. It's just not that kind of thing really. What I have read that makes sense is that there can be a "disposition" toward the disease in rare cases. That's all we need to speculate on.

Remember that this is a central nervous system problem. Children of such parents may become unusually sensitive and empathetic. There can be a special intimacy and inner connection which is great however. My daughters started growing up with it from age 5 and 8, if I recall. Now they are 24 and 27. The latter had viral meningitis at 16 and still suffers headaches and fatigue. No connection whatsoever. She, also had weird moments at about 12, with temporary blindness, and what would a father with full blown ms ask her doctor first? And what would the answer be? Fogiddabodit. And that is exactly what I counsel you to do in general. It was hysteria from hidden stress. So, she has indeed had a disposition for some cns problems: like others may be vulnerable to depression.

You cannot help a paren by psychologically identifying wit the ms. Suppose a nurse or physio did that? It is her wrap, the cards dealt her body and not yours. So, in addition to being a caring daughter be independent and very active outside.

Along the line, you may experience some form of cns effect. Everybody does! However, ms is a very specific disease condition and very singular. No 2 cases alike because lesions can randomly appear and disappear (as they are realizing) anywhere. There is no proof of a cause, and a lot of people - like myself - had viral flus prior to the initial attack. Also, a very learned professor of neurology told me that there is no real proof that ms is even what they call an "auto-immune disease". Medicine is often more an art than a science.

Do avoid or treat any form of depression. Some youth think it is actually cool to be sad. Listen to dido's "see you when you're 40". They're nuts to host sadness because the mind is more powerful than the body. It can create conditions for many diseases that normally would never have surfaced. I purposely have kept my girls out of the ms loop, so-to-speak, and turned it into something kidna fun - eccentric. By not calling on them for company or help during rough times, which wasn't easy, they did not get too involved, obligated. I have seen how it has warn down my wife partially because it is like having the flu 24/7. Although that's my trip it has to have an affect on her over so many years, and she's not my child.

Perhaps pretend to be a pro nurse if you are caring for her. You should not be feeling her pain because this engages your cns sympathetically. If you put two toes of separate people in touch for a matter of months they will grow together. Love, affection, detachment. Anyway, I personally prefer professionals around me when things are heavy because they have studied it and are more proficient. My youngest is ultra sympa at heart, but I do not let her get attached. She's a student at the amsterdam school of theatre and trained in acrobatics and dance. Her big thing is that she can pick me up like i'm a pet dog and twirl me about with ease.