How MS Is Like a Farmer’s Tan

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is often described as an “iceberg disease,” the point being that just as a person looking at an iceberg sees only about 10 percent of it, so a person observing someone with MS sees only about 10 percent of the reality of the disease.

Those living with MS experience the other 90 percent of the effects of the disease and its symptoms invisibly.

But since most of us have never seen an iceberg, I wonder if there’s a more relatable analogy for the invisible aspects of MS, and I think I’ve found one in the farmer’s tan.

A Tanned Neck and Arms Aglow With Health

We’ve probably all had the experience of spending more time in the sun than we expected and coming away a bit pink around the neck and arms. If we drove for a good few miles on a sunny day, we may even have one tanned arm, while the other looks like it’s spent the day in a library.

A moderate glow from a bit of sun can make us look and feel a bit healthier, and the dose of vitamin D may do us more than figurative good.

To the rest of the world, we might not look like we have a chronic illness at all: A bit of suntan on our face, arms, and hands can add to the “but you look so good” factor.

The Pale Skin Under the Clothes Tells a Different Story

But take off your shirt and the real story shows itself in the tan lines of someone working in the fields, not of those lying on a beach. The white (so white it shades to blue) skin under my shirt tells the story of my sun sensitivity, just as it illustrates the invisible symptoms of my MS.

To the rest of the world, we might look as if our life is one of sipping cool beverages, poolside, under the brim of a fashionable hat. We know, however, that our experience is more like clutching a hot mug of something, wearing a thick jumper, and waiting for the furnace to kick on.

Many of Us Prefer to Show Only the Tan

Our outward projection can show a healthier look than our real lives. We may perpetuate the misconception of our relative health by our own actions. In fact, we sometimes do it with intent and we’re (sometimes) pretty good at fooling people … and (sometimes, but only for a short time) fooling ourselves.

How often don’t we put on a face, grit our teeth, and get on with it — showing only our tan — only to come home, take off our disguise, see our pasty selves in the mirror and then apply some sort of salve to our scorched bodies for the effort?

We do it to ourselves, we do it for ourselves sometimes, but there is always a price to pay.

No More Iceberg Analogies for Me

So, at least in the summer, I’m going to stop using the MS iceberg analogy when people tell me that I “seem to be getting on pretty well,” “don’t look half bad at all,” or that they wouldn’t know if they didn’t know.

Instead, I’m going to tell them that my MS is like a farmer's tan. I might look good beyond my collar and sleeves, but they wouldn’t want to know what’s beneath my button-down.

It's a scarred and pasty mess I’m hiding under these socially acceptable garments. And only those closest to us know what’s a mere layer of cloth away from physical manifestation and public perception.

Wishing you and your family the best of health.

Cheers,

Trevis