Paresthesia is an abnormal sensation such as tingling, tickling, piercing, numbness or burning a person's skin without any obvious physical cause. Manifestations of paresthesias may be temporary or chronic, and may have dozens of possible causes.
The best known type of paresthesias are sensations known as "bb> pin and needles " or limbs " fall asleep ". The less well-known and unpopular but important paresthesias are formication, the sensation of lice creeping under the skin.
Video Paresthesia
Cause
Transients
Paresthesia in the hands, feet, legs, and arms is a common, temporary symptom. The shortest type of electric shock paresthesias can be caused by changes in the ulnar nerve near the elbow. Similar short shocks can be experienced when other nerves undergo a change (the tense nerves can cause a short, stinging paresthesia on the scalp). In the older age group, spinal irregularities may tweak the spinal cord briefly when the head or back is rotated, flexed, or extended to an unusual position (Lhermitte's sign). The most common cause of daily life is the temporary restriction of nerve impulses to the nerve area, usually caused by leaning or resting on the body part such as the foot (often followed by tingling sensations of pins and needles). Other causes include conditions such as hyperventilation syndrome and panic attacks. Cold pain outside the mouth (not cancer in the mouth) can be preceded by tingling because of cold pain caused by the herpes simplex virus. Varicella zoster virus (Shingles) can also mainly cause recurrent and tingling pain in the skin or tissues along the nerve distribution pathway (most commonly in the skin, along the dermatome pattern, but occasionally feel like a headache, chest or abdomen, or pelvic pain ).
Another common example occurs when ongoing pressure has been applied to the nerve, inhibiting or stimulating its function. Eliminating pressure usually results in gradual relief of this paresthesia. Most pressure induced paresthesia results from strange postures, such as sitting cross-legged for long periods of time.
Reactive hyperemia, which occurs when blood flow recovers after a period of ischemia, such as in warming after a cold episode in patients with Raynaud's disease, may be accompanied by paresthesia.
Chronic
Chronic paresthesia (Berger's paresthesia, Sinagesia or Bernhardt's paresthesia) suggests problems with poor neuronal or circulatory function.
In older individuals, paresthesia is often the result of poor circulation in the limbs (as in peripheral vascular disease), most commonly caused by atherosclerosis, the buildup of plaques within the artery walls, for decades, with the ultimate plaque rupture, internal clots in over breakage and healing of the clot then but leaving the narrowing of the arterial opening or closure, either locally or in the smaller downstream branches. Without proper blood supply and nutrition, nerve cells can no longer send enough signals to the brain. Therefore, paresthesias can also be a symptom of vitamin deficiency and malnutrition, as well as metabolic disorders such as diabetes, hypothyroidism, and hypoparathyroidism. It can also be a symptom of mercury poisoning.
Irritation of the nerves can also come from inflammation to the tissues. Joint conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and carpal tunnel syndrome are a common source of paresthesia. The nerves under the head can be compressed where chronic neck and spine problems exist and can be caused by, among other things, muscle cramps that may be caused by clinical anxiety or excessive mental stress, bone disease, poor posture, unsafe weight lifting practices or physical trauma such as whiplash. Paresthesia can also be caused only by putting pressure on the nerves by applying weight (or pressure) to the extremities for long periods of time.
Another cause of paresthesias may be direct damage to the nerve itself, that is, neuropathy, which itself may originate from injury or infection such as frostbite or Lyme disease, or may be an indication of current neurological disorders. Neuropathy is also a side effect of some chemotherapies (see peripheral neuropathy induced by chemotherapy). Benzodiazepine withdrawal may also cause paresthesia due to drug removal leaving the GABA receptor stripped and possibly malformed. Chronic paresthesia can sometimes be a symptom of a serious condition, such as a transient ischemic attack, or an autoimmune disease such as multiple sclerosis or lupus erythematosus. Exposure to fluoroquinolones can also cause paresthesia. Stroke victims and those with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) may experience paresthesia from damage to the central nervous system.
Viral Disease Varicella zoster (shingles) can attack nerves that cause numbness rather than the pain commonly associated with shingles. A diagnostic evaluation by a physician is necessary to rule this out.
Acroparesthesia
Acroparesthesia is a severe pain in the extremities, and may be caused by Fabry's disease, a type of sphingolipidosis.
It can also be a sign of hypocalcaemia.
Dentistry
Paresthesia or "persistent anesthesia" is a permanent or potentially permanent numbing condition after local anesthetic administration and an injected anesthetic has ceased.
Potential causes include induced trauma to the nerve sheath during injection, hemorrhaging of the veil, type of anesthesia used, or administration of anesthesia potentially contaminated by alcohol or sterilization.
More
Other causes may include:
Maps Paresthesia
Diagnostic approach
Nerve conduction studies usually provide useful information to make the diagnosis. CT scans are sometimes used to rule out some of the causes of the central nervous system.
Treatment
Drugs offered may include prednisone immunosuppressant, intravenous gamma globulin (IVIG), anticonvulsants such as gabapentin or Gabitril and antiviral drugs, depending on the underlying cause.
In addition to the treatment of the underlying disorder, palliative care may include the use of topical numbing creams, such as lidocaine or prilocaine. Care should be taken to only apply the required amount, as excess can contribute to the condition. Otherwise, this product offers a very effective, but long-lasting, help from the condition. Paresthesia caused by stroke can receive some temporary benefits from high doses of Baclofen several times a day. Self-treated HIV patients with marijuana reported that it reduced their symptoms.
Paresthesia caused by shingles is treated with the right antiviral medication.
Etymology
The word paresthesia ( ; English English paresthesias , plural paraesthesiae or paraesthesias), is derived from the Greek para ("next to", ie , abnormal) and aisthesia ("sensation").
References
- Clinical and neurological abnormalities in adult celiac disease, G. Cicarelli o G. Della Rocca o M. Amboni o C. Ciacci o G. Mazzacca o A. Filla o P. Barone, Neurol Sci (2003) 24 : 311-317 DOI 10.1007/s10072-003-0181-4
External links
directory
- paresthesia of NINDS
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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