What is paresthesia ?
Paresthesia is a disorder of feeling sensation. People with paresthesia experience this as an unpleasant prickling, tingling or burning sensation. Sometimes there are also other sensory perceptions such as heat, cold or itching. To the skin or the body part where paresthesia usually experienced is nothing to see, and there is no external stimulus to identify who is responsible for this feeling. Remarkably, a light touch of a paresthetische skin is often perceived as very painful (hyperaesthesia, hyperpathia or allodynia).
Sometimes paresthesia reversible but not always, or only partially.
Paresthesia occurs most often in the hands and feet, but can occur at any place where there are sensory nerves. One reason that the hands and feet are often affected is that the nerves that lead thereto, are relatively long. The longer a nerve, the greater the probability that there is a problem somewhere in the range.
Paresthesia causes
Paresthesia caused by a malfunction of one or more sensory nerves neuropathy. The underlying cause of the disruption can be very diverse.
-Poisoning (also by medication, as a side effect) can also be a cause. Diabetes mellitus is a known cause, and thereby paresthesia is sometimes the first symptom. Even with liver diseases such as cirrhosis can prevent this. Here the same cause plays a role, because, respectively. sugar or wastes that are not cleared by the liver, ensuring a poisoning.
-Nutritional disorders such as lack of vitamin B1, vitamin B5 (rare) or vitamin B12.
-There may also be a mechanical cause, so that a nerve can not function properly. A nerve that is compression (eg. With carpal tunnel syndrome or trigeminal neuralgia} or damaged by an injury or surgery. The tingling sensation that occurs in (imminent) freezing of the skin is also a paresthesia. Prolonged pressure on a nerve can also paresthesia give 'paralysis d'amoureux': two lovers who fall asleep in each other's arms and wake up after a while with tingling arms because the beloved there has lain at a time.
-It is also possible that the problem is not directly on the nerve, but by poor circulation, which is not good anymore nerves function: an embolism atherosklerose.
-Infectious causes, such as the herpes virus can damage nerves and cause paresthesia. A familiar example is the tingling sensation in the cold sore.
-Neurological causes, including multiple sclerosis, sequela after strokes, epilepsy or migraine.
Autoimmune diseases such as lupus erythematosus.
-Due to prolonged fast and deep breathing, as seen in anxiety, stress or panic, but as seen also in pain, eg myocardial infarction.
Note: This list is certainly not complete. There are hundreds of other causes of paresthesia described.
Paresthesia treatment
As can be seen from the list of possible causes, there is no single way to treat neuropathy. Treatment is located in the detection and treatment of the cause if possible. Often shows a very persistent paresthesia complaint that is difficult to fight, even if the cause is removed. Traditional painkillers hereby usually do not help.