Peripheral nerves are collecting and sending signals from every part of the body to the brain, making them crucial for keeping the whole body system going. When peripheral nervous system is damaged, all kind of problems are on their way.
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From inability to feel the environment properly, to inability of the body to react to possibly damaging events, there is a whole spectrum of problems a patient may experience.
Peripheral neuropathy, a condition when peripheral nervous system doesn't function well, may be result of infections, injuries, or some other health conditions with diabetes as the most common one.
When nerves in patient peripheral system are affected they can't handle temperature, pain, vibration or touch well. The patient may fell numbness and tingling in feet or hands, sharp pain, sxtreme sensitivity to touch, lack of coordination or even muscle weakness or paralysis if motor nerves are affected.
Before we take a look at further causes and therapy, we must say a very important thing: If you feel unusual tingling, weakness or pain in your hands or feet go and see the doctor immediately.
There is a number of things that can cause different neuropathies and let us cover the most common ones.
Trauma or pressure on the nerve can damage peripheral nerves. Trauma can range from very serious events like a car accident, to something we do ever day like typing on a computer. Poor dietary choices can lead to vitamin deficiencies and that's not good because B and E vitamins are crucial to nerve health.
Speaking of diseases, diabetes, tumors, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome, and Guillain-Barre syndrome can all damage nerves. Here we must also mention kidney and liver disease, connective tissue disorders and hypothyroidism.
Toxic substances like heavy metals or chemicals, certain medications, and infections can also do the damage to patient's nerves.
If peripheral nerves are damaged, and they can't transmit signals properly, the patient simply can't feel the environment. Thus, the patient can't say is it warm or cold, and what in fact is happening to his limbs. If, for example, a finger is broken and there are no nerves to transmit that event to the brain, the patient may not know that something is broken. That in turn may lead to more serious complications that are more difficult to treat.
The doctor will do a physical exam while trying to diagnose peripheral neuropathy, and then may ask for a medical history, more neurological tests, CT or MRI scans, or a nerve function test.
Speaking of treatments, there are two ways, depending on the underlying cause. If there is an underlying disease, such a diabetes, the treatment will focus on it. If there is no underlying condition, the doctor may just follow the situation to see will it improve. Of course, when it's about poor diet or toxins, the patient will get recommendations how to change the diet and avoid bad substances.
During the treatment, pain medications are used to relieve peripheral neuropathy pain. Anti-seizure medications and antidepressants may also relieve pain so they are used too, while all other medicines depend on the underlying condition.
There are also electrical nerve stimulation when electric current is delivered through the skin, intravenous immune globulin that help in case of some inflammatory, and plasma exchange during which antibodies and other proteins are removed from the blood and cleaned blood is return to patient's body. In immune globulin therapy, you receive high levels of proteins that work as antibodies (immunoglobulins).
Physical therapy is needed if the patient has muscle weakness, and surgery when there is another condition that makes pressure on nerves, such as pressure from tumors. In any case, if you notice that you can't feel as you used to and that your finger don't respond to temperature changes or touch, don't wait a minute, go and see the doctor. ■