There is no single and simple test to see if you have MS. MS can be hard to diagnose and the process may take some time, particularly for people with primary progressive MS. Doctors must make a 'clinical diagnosis@ which is based on your medical history and examination, and is supported by a number of tests, often including a scan.

To diagnose MS, it must be demonstrated that attacks involve two or more areas of the central nervous system, on two or more occasions. (One occasion may be optic neuritis affecting your eyes, and on another occasion, it may be numbness in a limb, for example.) The doctor must also rule out the chance you might have some other condition with similar symptoms.4

Below is a brief explanation of the main tests, why they're done and what they aim to show:

This is a physical examination to check how your movements, reflexes and sensory abilities, such as eyesight, are affected. The neurologist will be able to tell if your condition shows signs typical of MS or other conditions.

The MRI scanner uses strong magnetic fields to create an image of the brain and spinal cord. the MRI image may show areas of tissue that are inflamed or damaged in the central nervous system.

Lumbar punctures are not carried out as often as they used to be. Nowadays, you're likely to have one only if a diagnosis of MS has not been confirmed with the other tests. A lumbar puncture, also known as a spinal tap, is performed so the doctor can take a sample of the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. People with MS are often seen to have antibodies (called oligoclonal bands) in this fluid, showing teh immune system has been at work in the central nervous system.

These tests measure how quickly electrical signals travel between the brain, the eye, the ear and the skin. Small electrodes linked to an EEG machine are taped to the scalp. In MS, the electrical impulses within the nerve cells will be slower.