Approximately 400,000 Americans have multiple sclerosis, or MS, and up to 5 percent of them get symptoms as children or teens, according to the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Children's Hospital in 2010. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society adds that it's more difficult to diagnose kids with MS, because symptoms come in a wide range and many are similar to other childhood disorders. However, as education about the central nervous system disorder increases, so does the number of diagnoses in kids under 18.
Most Common Symptoms
Because the central nervous system affects so many parts of the body, symptoms of MS vary greatly. In children, the most common symptoms include double vision, sudden loss of vision, uncontrollable eye movements, difficulties walking, clumsiness, spasticity, weakness, dizziness and vertigo. Kids might also experience some of the other most prevalent signs of MS, such as fatigue, pain, tingling or numbness in various parts of the body, bladder or bowel dysfunction, emotional changes (such as depression) or lack of cognitive function.
Less Common Symptoms
Some of the symptoms that occur in both kids and adults with MS happen far less frequently than the most common ones. These include speech disorders, difficulty swallowing, breathing problems, hearing loss, headaches, itching and tremors.
Childhood-Only Symptoms
A few MS symptoms only show up in kids; these may rarely show up in adults, but that's certainly not typical. These include seizures and changes in mental status, such as lethargy. Kids are often diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS, which involves periodic attacks followed by spans of time when they feel completely well. Also, children can have less aggressive cases of MS than adults, and sometimes symptoms don't show up until years after the disease is contracted. Up until the age of 12, boys are more likely to have MS, but after that, it's more frequently diagnosed in females.
