Neuropathy is a disease that refers to conditions that involve damage to your nerves.
Neuropathy can affect only one nerve, which is called mononeuropathy, or two or more nerves in different areas, multiple mononeuropathies, or it can affect most of your nerves, polyneuropathy.
Neuropathy isn’t very well known, and it has several causes and triggers that we should all be looking out for.
In the article below, we will go more in-depth about what neuropathy is, what triggers it, and how you can get treatment for neuropathy.
Your peripheral nervous systems connect the nerves from your brain and your spinal cord (your central nervous system) to the rest of your body.
This means your peripheral nervous system connects your central nervous system to your hands, arms, feet, legs, internal organs, mouth, face, etc.
These nerves deliver signals about physical sensations back to your brain.
Peripheral neuropathy occurs when these nerves malfunction because they’ve been damaged or completely destroyed.
This disrupts the nerve’s normal function, causing them to send pain signals when there’s nothing causing pain or preventing them from sending a pain signal even if it should.
This often causes a great deal of discomfort, but fortunately, there are many helpful treatments.
The most important thing to determine is whether peripheral neuropathy is the result of a serious underlying condition.
Types of Neuropathy
Your nervous system is an extremely complicated communications system where several different types of nerves interact.
Over 100 types of neuropathy have been identified, and each has its own triggers and symptoms.
Neuropathy can affect your sensory nerves that control sensation. Damage to these nerves can cause tingling, pain, numbness, or weakness in the feet and hands.
It can also affect your motor nerves that control power and movement. Damage here can cause weakness in your feet and hands.
And your autonomic nerves can also be affected. Your autonomic nerves control your body systems like your digestive or cardiovascular system.
If these are damaged, it can affect your heart rate, blood pressure, and other functions.
A few more common examples of neuropathy include postherpetic neuralgia, which often follows shingles. Sensory neuropathy can last for many months after the rash disappears.
Ulnar nerve palsy can follow an elbow injury, and carpal tunnel syndrome is a compression of your wrist’s nerves.
Peroneal nerve palsy is caused by the compression of a nerve in your leg that runs by the neck of the fibular, or the calf bone, between the knee and ankle.
And Bell’s palsy is a single nerve neuropathy that affects your face.
Symptoms of Neuropathy
Every nerve in your peripheral system has a specific function, so the symptoms you may experience depend on the affected nerves.
Signs and symptoms of peripheral neuropathy that you should look out for include:
- An onset of numbness that happens gradually
- Prickling or tingling in your on the skin of your feet or hands that can spread upward into your legs and arms
- Any sharp, jabbing, throbbing, or burning pains
- Intense sensitivity to touch
- Pain during common activities like pain in your feet while walking or when they’re under a blanket
- A loss of coordination and falling
- Weak muscles
- Feeling like you’re wearing a glove on a hand or a sock on your foot when you aren’t
- Potential paralysis if your motor nerves are affected
If you have neuropathy in your autonomic nerves, you might experience:
- Intolerance to heat
- Excessive sweating
- Not being able to sweat
- Digestive problems
- Problems with your bowel or bladder
- Blood pressure changes that cause dizziness or lightheadedness
Most people with peripheral neuropathy have polyneuropathy.
What Triggers Neuropathy?
Neuropathy can be caused by genetics, or it can be acquired through another disorder or condition.
Some cases of neuropathy are idiopathic or don’t have a known cause.
So, what triggers neuropathy? The following are causes or triggers of acquired neuropathy:
- Diabetes
- Physical injury
- Vascular and blood problems like smoking and the narrowing of the arteries from hypertension or atherosclerosis
- Autoimmune diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
- Hormonal imbalances
- Liver and kidney disorders
- Nutritional or vitamin imbalances, particularly vitamin B12 deficiency or an excess of vitamin B6
- Alcoholism
- Toxin Exposure
- Cancers and benign tumors
- Chemotherapy and radiation therapy used to treat cancer
- Infections including the West Nile virus, cytomegalovirus, HIV, herpes, and Lyme disease
Natural Treatments For Neuropathy
You can take many medications for your neuropathy, but fortunately, there are also a few home treatments that may ease your neuropathy symptoms.
You can try to wear fabrics that do not irritate your skin, such as cotton.
You should also cover any sensitive areas with a wound dressing or cling film.
Warm or cold packs can also provide relief unless the heat or cold worsens your issues.
Stress relief and other complementary therapies like meditation, relaxation techniques, massage, and acupuncture can also prove to be helpful.
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, or TENS, helps many patients.
A TENS device interrupts nerve messages by delivering a small electric current, but research has not confirmed its effectiveness.
You can take supplements, like vitamin B12, but you should discuss taking these supplements with your doctor.
Outlook
If you develop any of these conditions, your outlook will depend on the underlying cause of your condition and which nerves have been affected.
Some cases can improve with time if it’s caught soon enough and the underlying condition is treated.
Other cases will cause permanent damage or damage that will get worse over time.
Ethos Health Group
If home remedies don’t work, and you’re worried about your outlook, you should see a specialist for treatment.
Ethos Health Group has a proven treatment process that determines how much nerve damage is present and if your condition can still be treated.
To do this, we will perform a series of non-invasive tests that will tell us the extent of your condition and what options exist for your treatment.
These tests will show us if your neuropathy has reached the “point of no return” or if you can still benefit from our treatment program.
The treatment programs at Ethos Health Group consist of cutting-edge, non-invasive therapies designed to stimulate new blood vessels’ growth to reverse nerve damage in the feet or hands.
If you have more questions about what triggers neuropathy or if you’re ready to find relief, you should contact Ethos Health Group as soon as possible.
Click the button below to schedule your free consultation.
