Can heat cause damage?

[Luongo]

I know many MS patients can be sensitive to heat, and these feelings will then subside when the person goes back to a cooler environment or whatever. Can heat exposure actually cause PERMANENT damage?

I remember someone explaining the heat sensitivity issue to me and it having to do with nerve signals. Can the body suffer from heat so much that permanent damage is done to whatever this process is? Or are the effects always temporary?

[tommylee]

I don't think it causes permanent damage but it can cause effected people to feel much worse and cause severe fatigue.

I always bounce back after cooling down and resting for day or so.

I don't know for certain. That is just the way it seems to work for me.

Dx in 98' have had symptoms since 91' and heat has been a bigger factor every year...but I don't think heat in does any real damage other than making me feel alot worse for a while.

[SNOOPY]

Heat, for many people, can cause a Pseudo-Exacerbation. Once the person cools down and relaxes the symptoms will go back to what is normal for that person.

There are others, like myself, who experience a true exacerbation due to heat. An exacerbation can leave residual symptoms.

[Redwings]

Hi Luongo:
The amount of damage done depends on the type of heat exposure. Heat from things like regular exercising, being outside on a warm day or taking a hot shower causes only temporary problems. The key to it being temporary is that the heat isn't excessive, nerve signal conduction is only slowed and the person gets cooled back down within some reasonable (which is a relative term) amount of time.

Excessive heat for sustained (another relative term) periods of time can cause permanent damage. This kind of heat is usually in the category of falling asleep in a hot tub or sauna, or intentionally or accidentally being out in the hot sun or, say, trapped in a hot car without being able to get into a cooler environment. That kind of prolonged heat exposure slows nerve conduction to the point that:
1) the body's cooling system can't kick in, causing heatstroke and basically cooking vital organs, and
2) other bodily functions -- like breathing a circulation-- can't be carried out, which causes its own kinds of damage. While it's rare, people have died due to these kinds of heat exposure. So don't do it!

The general kinds of day-to-day heating aren't known to cause permanent damage -- just to make a person (more) symptomatic until they cool down.

[jumpinjiminy]

It did for me. This is twice now it's happened, at a minimum. I've had a mini flare up (3 days) from sitting under the dryer to process highlights at the hairdresser's. I had a mini 3-day flare up from exercising too vigorously. I'm wondering how riding or driving in a car this summer is going to go.

[Carrielou13]

What about living in hot Climates?

This is a great question, so thank you for posting it. I have been wondering the same thing. I am the spouse of an active duty military person, currently stationed in Hawaii. Hawaii only has two seasons... Spring and Summer. My symptoms and diagnosis all came about one year after moving here. While I am unable to find any "proof" to back this theory, I feel strongly that the constant exposure to the heat is what threw my body into MS action. My family's got about 2 1/2 years left to serve here, so I am praying that all this heat will not leave permanent scars.