Ashley Henneman

The Ice Bucket Challenge is done by people all over the world trying to raise awareness for ALS; some even donate money towards the cause. The Ice Bucket Challenge consists of people all ages dumping a bucket of ice water on themselves while another person videotapes. The person getting ice water poured on them says who nominated them to participate and who they would like to nominate. If you would like to participate in the Ice Bucket Challenge, here is more about ALS:

ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. ALS is a disease that attacks the brain and the nerves that send signals to the spinal cord. The scary part is that those nerves from the spinal cord send signals to the muscles all throughout one’s body. This disease can also be called Lou Gehrig’s disease, after a baseball player who was diagnosed with ALS in 1939. If you have ALS, your nerve cells have a harder time doing their job or “go bad”, and they eventually end up dying. They become incapable of sending signals to your voluntary muscles and it causes those unused muscles to become weak and die, much like the nerve cells. This obviously affects the chest muscles and it becomes extremely hard, or even impossible to breathe. ALS is a deadly disease, in which doctors will give someone about 3-5 years to live. Some people aren’t able to hold on for the full three years and die sooner, while others will exceed the 5 year mark; it just depends on the person. Some say the disease affects the senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch, but that accusation is false (Doctor MDx.).

The Symptoms and Diagnosis of ALS

In the beginning of ALS, symptoms may not be obvious and they are often overlooked. Early symptoms can very between weakness in the hands and arms, legs and feet, or the muscles for speaking and swallowing. Clumsiness, slurred speech, muscle cramps and twitching, or outbursts of laughing or crying that you can’t control are also symptoms. One may notice they are having a hard time doing every day activities, such as brushing their teeth or getting dressed. In most cases people think it’s something other than ALS, for example, someone who has difficulty breathing might think its asthma. Even though early symptoms aren’t something people usually fuss over, in all cases muscle weakness progresses to paralysis. In the end, a ventilator must be used to live.

ALS is hard to diagnose because the early stages make it seem as though it could be a couple other diseases that target the nervous system, but blood tests may be done to rule them out. Swallowing tests, breathing tests, a muscle biopsy and an MRI of the brain are an option to help rule out the other diseases. Also, special tests are done by electrodes measuring a person’s muscle response and how quickly their nerves are able to send signals to the muscle. Even though all these tests can be done, we still don’t know if ALs affects thinking, memory or judgment. The average age to be diagnosed is 55 (Doctor MDx.).

A person is able to inherit ALS. In fact, in up to 95% of ALS victims, 10% of them more than likely inherited it. A disturbing fact shows that veterans, especially those who have been in the Golf War, have twice the incidence of the disease. ALS targets all races and ethnicities. There are still no other proven risk factors, although environmental factors that may affect an individual’s risk for getting this disease are under investigation. Some of the environmental factors of interest include smoking, exposure to lead in the workplace, and military service (Doctor MDx.).

How to prevent it?

A person can not prevent ALS, but eating healthy and maintaining good physical health will reduce the risk factor. It’s a good idea to check your family tree to see if anyone has had ALS, or any other life threatening disease. If so, you may want to contact your genetic counselor.

Consider doing the Ice Bucket Challenge or donating money because, as you now know, it is a painful disease and it’s not easy to watch someone you love go through it. Up to 5/100,000 people are affected by ALS worldwide. ALS is not reversible, so doctors focus more on slowing it down for the families who want to spend more time with their loved one. A little fact is that someone with ALS can still donate their organs once they pass if they choose to do so. Even if you choose not to participate in the Ice Bucket Challenge you can still donate money, but please think about and help these families in need.

“ALS / Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis / Lou Gehrig’s Disease” Doctor MDx. 1 Oct. 2014.

 <http://doctormdx.com/als-amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis-lou-gehrigs-disease/>