There's no cure for multiple sclerosis (MS), but medicines and lifestyle changes can help you manage the disease. Work closely with your doctor to find the treatment that's best for you and causes the fewest side effects.

Disease-Modifying Drugs

If you have a type of multiple sclerosis called relapsing-remitting MS and your condition is acting up, your doctor may first treat you with a disease-modifying drug. These medicines slow down the advance of your disease and prevent flare-ups.

The drugs work by curbing the immune system -- your body's main defense against germs -- so that it doesn't attack the protective coating called myelin that surrounds the nerves.

Some drugs come as injections under your skin or into a muscle. The shot might make your skin sore, red, itchy, or dimply. They include:

Beta interferons: These are some of the most common drugs used to treat MS. They ease the severity and frequency of flares. They can also cause flu-like symptoms, like aches, fatigue, fever, and chills, but these should fade within a few months. They may make you slightly more likely to get an infection. That’s because they lower the number of white blood cells, which help your immune system fight illnesses. They include:

Glatiramer (Copaxone, Glatopa): This medication stops your immune system from attacking the myelin that surrounds and protects your nerves.

You can take other medications as a pill:

Cladribine (Mavenclad) is a pill taken once a day for five days for one month and once a day again for the second month. You may need another course in a year. It is not for treating relapsing forms of MS, including relapsing-remitting disease and active secondary progressive disease. It can affect your immune system and make you susceptible to other infections, so you will need to be monitored. You could also have hair loss and experience some rashes.

Dimethyl fumarate (Tecfidera) is a tablet you take twice a day. It can lower your immune cells, so the doctor will do regular blood tests to keep an eye on them. The drug's most common side effects are flushing, stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. An active ingredient similar to the one in Tecfidera is linked to four cases of PML.