From a more medical point of view it is probably the increase in GAMMA INTERFERON that occurs when we are "sick " that that causes MS flairs.

GAMMA INTERFERON causes many BAD things to become elavated that are key to the MS destructive processes.

In 1984, researchers first administered Gamma Interferon to humans who had MS in the hope that it would help them. Unfortunately, the patients' symptoms became even worse. This made researchers wonder if Gamma Interferon itself might be directly involved in MS. Sure enough, when researchers monitored Gamma Interferon levels in MS patients, they found that the levels shot up just before and during MS attacks.

This discovery:
Showed that Gamma Interferon can play a key role in MS relapses.

I have some rules that I follow about this;


2. The number two rule is "be a bad host to diseases of all kinds". Since MS
is an autoimmune disease getting sick (either bacterial or virus) will
result in a heightened immune system response that could cause a MS
exacerbation. This is why you should get the flu shot unless you are
currently having an active relapse. The flu shot will cause two to three
days of heightened immune levels but if you get the real flu you could have
two or three weeks of VERY HIGH immune levels which really increases the
chances for a major MS relapse.

3. Third rule is do not overstimulate your immune system to produce more
Gamma Interferon. Generally you should avoid anything that increases Gamma
Interferon, Il-12, or TNFa and some other nasty T-cell things. Conversely you should take those supplements that reduce these things and do no harm.

jackD