Symptoms Of The Famous ALS Disease

Do you know the symptoms of the ALS disease? But you must have had heard about the ALS ice bucket challenge. This challenge that went viral became the talk of the town instantly. However, people know painfully little about the disease itself.

The ALS ice bucket challenge is a charity drive to collect money for research about the ALS disease. But most people do not know the basic symptoms of this neurological disorder.

ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a disease that affects the motor neurons of the brain. This is basically a neurodegenerative disease which means that there is no cure for it and it keeps getting worse over the years. The main symptoms of the ALS disease are muscle weakness, muscular spasms and loss of control over all voluntary actions of the body.

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Most people affected by ALS live up to 2 to 5 years after they are diagnosed. In rare cases, the patient might outlive a decade. The most potent cause of ALS is genes. In most cases, the disease runs in the family and gets transmitted from one generation to the next.

Here are some of the main symptoms of the ALS disease that has made the ice bucket challenge so famous.

Muscular Spasm

There are chances of feeling spasms in your muscles that prevent movement or make movement very painful.

Trouble Breathing

As the progression of the ALS disease happens, you will have trouble in breathing. Most patients die of respiratory failure.

Impaired Speech

In the later stages of this disease, most patients are not able to speak at all. The trouble begins with a thickness of the tongue that proceeds to become a permanent speech impairment.

Weakness

As your muscles start to degenerate, you feel extreme weakness. This fatigue is accompanied by the inability to perform physical activities.

Difficulty Swallowing

In the last stages of the disorder, you might have problems in swallowing food or even gulping for air. It happens because the muscles of your diaphragm start degenerating.

Twitching

Your muscles may start twitching without your knowledge. As it is an involuntary action, you will not be able to stop it.

Difficulty Walking

When the disease starts taking its toll on your leg muscles, you will have problems in walking even short distances. And eventually you will become immobile.

Trouble In Lifting Weights

As ALS progression happens to your hands, you will have difficult in lifting weight and finally, this will lead to complete or partial paralysis.