Peripheral neuropathy

A condition where the nerve fibres are damaged due to injury or a disease and affects the nervous system is known as neuropathy. It affects the peripheral nervous system and so it is also known as peripheral neuropathy. The peripheral nervous system comprises of the network of nerves that carry impulses to and from the rest of the body and are responsible for transmitting signals to different parts of the body. They control the body senses and movements. The symptoms of neuropathy depend on the nerves that are damaged. Neuropathy can be acute, chronic, short term, long term and can be the result of one or many nerves being damaged.

Symptoms

The symptoms for neuropathy depend on the nerves being affected. The common symptoms for neuropathy are as follows

> Muscle weakness and paralysis, muscle twitches and muscle wasting-Damage to motor nerves is responsible for this condition

> Burning, stabbing or shooting pain-This is caused by damage to sensory nerves

> Numbness and temporary paralysis, loss of ability to detect pain and changes in temperature-This is also caused by damage to certain sensory nerves.

>Inability to control your blood pressure, inability to sweat normally and to control organs –This is caused when the automatic nerves are damaged.

Causes of peripheral neuropathy

An injury, disease, an immune disorder or an infection can cause peripheral neuropathy

>Injury
Road accidents, broken bones, injuries from sports or falls may result in peripheral neuropathy.

>Disease
High blood sugar levels may damage the nerves. So peripheral neuropathy is often caused by Diabetes mellitus. Other diseases like kidney disease, vitamin deficiency, alcoholism, blood disease and malignant disease.

> Immune disorder
In this condition the body’s immune system attacks the peripheral nerves and damages them.

> Infection
A bacterial or viral infection may cause peripheral neuropathy.

Treatment of peripheral neuropathy

The treatment for peripheral neuropathy aims to treat the cause for it, relieve any kind of pain using painkillers and other drugs available for this purpose. The symptoms for peripheral neuropathy can be controlled by making some changes in lifestyle and with mechanical aid. Foot drop due to muscle weakness can be reduced using foot braces. Any problem with digestion can be improved by making changes in the diet. Exercise can help to improve the muscle strength. It is necessary to control the blood sugar level if one is suffering from diabetic neuropathy. This will avoid any further nerve damage. If an autoimmune disease causes peripheral neuropathy, the treatment with the help of drugs that suppress the immune system might be done. If a slipped disc or a tumour is compressing the nerve, a surgery might be recommended. A surgery such as removal of tumour will relieve the pressure on the nerve. If a person is suffering from sensory neuropathy causing numbness in feet or fingers, care should be taken to avoid injury. It is necessary to avoid walking bare foot and sources of heat injury in case you are suffering from numbness in the feet.