Peripheral Neuropathy: Causes, Symptoms, And How To Overcome It

JAKARTA - Peripheral neuropathy occurs when a nerve outside the brain and spinal cord (peripheral nerve) is damaged. This condition often causes weakness, numbness, and pain, especially in the hands and legs. Neuropathy can also affect other body functions, such as digestion and urinsics.

Reporting from the Mayo Clinic page, the peripheral nervous system functions to send information from the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system) throughout the body through motor nerves. Peripheral nerve also sends sensory information to the central nervous system through sensory nerves.

Peripheral neuropathy can be caused by injury, infection, metabolic problems, hereditary factors, or exposure to toxic substances. The most common cause is diabetes.

Peripheral neuropathy sufferers often describe pain as stabbing, burning, or tingling. Symptoms can improve if the cause can be treated. Medicines can also help reduce pain due to peripheral neuropathy.

Symptoms

Each nerve in the peripheral nervous system has a certain function, so the symptoms depend on the type of nerve affected. The nerves are divided into three, namely sensory, motor, and autonomous nerves.

Sensory nerve, which leads to sensations such as temperature, pain, vibration, or touch from the skin. Then, motor nerve, which is controlling muscle movement. Finally, autonomous nerves that regulate body functions such as blood pressure, sweat, heart rate, digestion, and bladder function.

Symptoms of peripheral neuropathy can include:

- Dead feeling, tingling, or stabbing in the legs or hands that can spread to the arms and legs.

- Sharp pain, pulsation, or burning.

- High sensitivity to touch.

- Pain when doing activities that should not be painful, such as pain in the legs when standing or when touched by a blanket.

- Coordination disorders and frequent falls.

- Muscle weakness.

- Feels like wearing gloves or socks even though they don't.

- Mobilization difficulties if motor nerves are affected.

If autonomous nerves are exposed, the symptoms experienced are resistance to heat, excessive sweating or not sweating at all, digestive problems, bladder, or bowel movements, and decreased blood pressure that causes dizziness or drift.

Peripheral neuropathy can affect just one nerve (mononeuropathy), two or more nerves in different areas (multiples of mononeuropathy), or many nerves at once (polineuropathy).

Most of the sufferers experience polyneuropathy, and one example of mononeuropathy is carpal aisle syndrome (carpal tunnel syndrome).

Cause

Nervous damage to peripheral neuropathy can be caused by various conditions, including:

- Autoimmune disease

Autoimmune diseases such as sjogren syndrome, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, chronic neuroinflammatory disease (CIDP), vasculitis (blood vessel inflammation), to several types of cancer related to the immune system (parneoplastic syndrome).

- Diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which are the most common causes. More than half of diabetics experience neuropathy.

- Infections, such as lyme disease, snakepox (zoster herpes), hepatitis B and C,economy, diphtheria, and HIV

- Congenital diseases, such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth.

- Tumor, both virulent (cancer) and tame. This can suppress nerves. Bone cord disorders, such as monoclonal chemopathy (introduction protein), myloma multiplets (blood cancers that attack bones), lymphomas, and amyloidosis (abnormal protein buildup in the body)

- Other diseases, such as kidney disease or liver disease, to hypothyroidism (antiroidally less active)

- Addiction to alcohol, which causes a lack of vitamins is important for nerves.

- Exposure to toxic substances, such as industrial chemicals and heavy metals (timbals, mercury).

- Side effects of drugs, especially chemotherapy for cancer. Injuries or stress on nerves, for example due to accidents, falls, or repeated movements such as typing.

- Lack of vitamins, especially vitamins B-1, B-6, B-12, copper, and vitamin E.

Risk Factors

Some conditions that increase the risk of peripheral neuropathy include uncontrolled diabetes, excessive alcohol consumption, lack of vitamins, especially B-12, certain infections (Lyme, herpes zoster, hepatitis B/C, HIV), autoimmune disease (rheumatoid arthritis, lupus).

Then, kidney, liver, or thyroid disorders, exposure to toxic substances, repeated movements in certain work, and family history with neuropathy.

Complications

Peripheral neuropathy can lead to:

- Wounds and leg infections resulting from reduced pain sensations.

- Injuries that are not realized, especially on the part of the body that is numb.

- Risk of falling, due to muscle weakness and balance disorder. Using hands in the bathroom, cane, or walking in a fairly bright place can help reduce the risk of falling.

Prevention

The best way to prevent peripheral neuropathy is to control the medical condition that causes it. Some habits that support nervous health include:

- Eat nutritious food, rich in fruit, vegetables, seeds, and fat-free protein. Ensure enough vitamin B-12 from meat, fish, eggs, low-fat dairy products, or Goods enriched in vitamin B-12. If you are vegetarian or vegan, consider B-12 supplements according to a doctor's recommendation.

- Regular exercise, at least 30'60 minutes for three times a week according to the doctor's advice.

- Avoid harmful factors, such as repeated movements, exposure to toxic chemicals, smoking, and excessive alcohol consumption.