Paresthesia: causes, symptoms. Treatment of paresthesia of the lower extremities
Paresthesia is a disorder of skin sensitivity with atypical sensations. Any type of this failure requires attention, be it paresthesia after tooth extraction or the whole body. Such seemingly harmless sensations can signal serious disorders in the body that cause sensitivity disorders.
Causes of paresthesias
We found out what body paresthesia is. Why does it occur? The mechanism is simple: the transmission of nerve impulses fails in the nerve root, its irritation occurs. This is most often observed with pressure on a nerve ending. Factors can be:
- benign and malignant tumors;
- osteochondrosis of the spine;
- a tourniquet applied to a limb to stop bleeding.
Also, paresthesias often occur in the following diseases and conditions:
- injuries of nerve endings;
- effect of high temperatures (for this reason, paresthesia of the lips and tongue may occur);
- inflammatory processes from the side of vessels that supply blood to the nerve roots;
- endocrinological disorders (as an example – diabetes);
- poisoning with biological toxins or industrial poisons;
- lack of vitamins of group B.
The causes of paresthesia of the fingers are generally the same as the causes of a similar disorder on the part of the feet, head, or trunk. The larger the affected nerve root, the wider the area of paresthesia.
Symptoms of facial paresthesia and others
The classic triad of all paresthesias:
- numbness of varying degrees of expression;
- tingling;
- sensation of "creeping ants" on the surface of the skin.
Sometimes itching of varying intensity and pain may occur in the area of skin that is innervated by irritated nerve endings.
Most often, paresthesia is found in the following location:
- feet (especially on the back surface);
- brushes;
- neck (especially its lateral surface);
- head. It should be taken into account that the symptoms of paresthesia of the face are very often combined with the signs of paresthesia of the scalp. On the other hand, unpleasant sensations due to nerve irritation may affect certain locations - the mucous membrane of the mouth and tongue or the mucous membrane of the nose and pharynx, although the neighboring organs and tissues will not experience any sensory changes.
If paresthesia is observed regularly over a period of time, trophic disorders may occur in the area of sensitivity failure (due to impaired tissue nutrition). They signal the increasing irritation of the nerve, and can also act as a "red flag" that warns of the beginning of serious organic disorders on the part of the nerve.
Diagnosis of paresthesias
In most cases, paresthesia of the lips and tongue, hands, feet and other parts of the body is easy to diagnose. The doctor asks the patient about the following nuances:
- character of unusual sensations;
- their periodicity;
- what does the patient associate numbness, tingling and other unusual sensations with;
- whether similar feelings were manifested before;
- does the patient work with harmful substances (heavy metal salts, nitrates and organic solvents are especially important);
- whether alcoholic beverages are consumed.
It is also necessary to find out the presence of medical manipulations in the anamnesis (yes, paresthesia may occur after the removal of a wisdom tooth).
Also, the doctor should check skin sensitivity - not only on those parts of the body that are affected by paresthesia, but also on nearby ones. A skin examination will be informative - during it, the following are noted:
- pale skin;
- hair loss;
- decrease in local temperature, which is diagnosed even by touch.
In a number of cases, complex diseases were diagnosed thanks to paresthesias. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully find out the causes of paresthesia of the fingers, legs and trunk - the same diabetes can be hidden behind minor sensations, which may or may not cause the patient special discomfort. Therefore, a comprehensive examination should be prescribed for any seemingly insignificant sensitivity disorders.
Treatment of paresthesias
How to treat paresthesia? First of all, the effect of any visible irritant should be excluded. It is necessary:
- refuse to drink alcoholic beverages;
- control the level of glucose in the blood;
- in case of intoxication, detoxification measures should be taken;
- carry out drug therapy.
Such appointments are relevant regardless of whether it is the treatment of paresthesia of the lower limbs, head or other parts of the body.
The following are widely used as drug therapy:
- vitamins of group B, which improve tissue trophism in general and nerve endings in particular;
- drugs that improve peripheral blood circulation - antiaggregants (drugs that prevent platelets from sticking together and thus impair local blood circulation), vasoactive drugs.
In no case should you engage in self-medication. If symptoms of paresthesia of the face, neck, trunk or other parts of the body occur, it is necessary to immediately consult a neurologist. He will find out the exact cause of atypical sensations, and if necessary, refer to the consultation of specialized specialists - a dentist, an oncologist, a toxicologist, and so on.
You can read more about paresthesia treatment methods on our website https://dobrobut.com.
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