Peripheral polyneuropathy arises when severe damage to various peripheral nerves leads to information from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body causing symptoms such as weakness, tingling, and persistent pain.
Although this disease most often affects the feet and hands, it can affect the whole body and usually happens as a complication of diabetes, exposure to toxic substances or infections, for example.
In most cases the symptoms improve with the treatment of the disease that is causing the nerve damage, but in other situations, it may be necessary to maintain the constant use of medications to control the symptoms and improve the quality of life.
Main symptoms
Symptoms of peripheral polyneuropathy vary depending on the affected sites; however, the most common symptoms include:
- Persistent stabbing or burning pain;
- Constant tingling that gets more intense;
- Difficulty in moving the arms and legs;
- Frequent falls;
- Hypersensitivity to the hands or feet.
As the disease progresses, other more important nerves may be affected, such as those in the breath or bladder, resulting in other symptoms such as difficulty breathing or holding pee, for example.
These symptoms may appear and develop over several months or years and therefore often go unnoticed until more serious problems develop.
What causes polyneuropathy
Polyneuropathy is usually caused by progressive nerve damage resulting from metabolic diseases such as diabetes, or autoimmune diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis or Sjogren's syndrome. However, infections, exposure to toxic substances, and even strong strokes can also cause nerve problems and result in polyneuropathy.
In rare cases, polyneuropathy may even appear without any apparent cause and is known as idiopathic peripheral polyneuropathy.
How is the treatment done?
When polyneuropathy arises as a complication of another disease, treatment needs to be started with the control of this disease. Thus, in the case of diabetes, for example, it is important to be careful about eating or to start using insulin, since if the cause is caused by an autoimmune disease it may be recommended to start using medicine that will lower the immune system.
If the symptoms show up without an obvious cause or because of another problem that can not be treated, your doctor may prescribe some medicines to relieve the symptoms, such as:
- Anti-inflammatories : such as Ibuprofen or Nimesulide;
- Antidepressants : such as Amitriptyline, Duloxetine or Verflaxacin;
- Anticonvulsants : such as Gabapentin, Pregabalin or Topiramate.
However, in severe cases, it may also be necessary to use opioid-derived medicines, such as tramadol or morphine, which have a more potent action, but which, as they create addiction, are only used in cases where it is not possible to control pain with the other medicines.
In addition, supplemental therapy with acupuncture or phytotherapy, for example, may be recommended to reduce drug doses.
