When you experience neuropathic pain, you will experience it around the spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and brain. It usually occurs due to diabetes, but other factors, such as alcoholism and shingles, can cause it. Its symptoms include spontaneous pain, dysesthesia, and trouble sleeping. If you suspect you have the condition, you should reach out to a neuropathic pain Austin specialist near you.
To understand this condition better, we have to talk about its classifications. There are five types of neuropathic pain, and here are their details below.
Phantom Limb Pain
This condition occurs soon after an amputation. The pain is so real that you will feel it is happening in the missing body part. It causes a twisting or clamping sensation. One reason that occurs is due to the rewiring of your brain and spinal cord due to signal loss from the absent limb.
You can manage this condition by taking painkillers such as aspirin and anticonvulsants. If these drugs do not help, you can consider nerve stimulation and mirror box therapy.
Entrapment Neuropathy
In this condition, your nerves get compressed between a ligament and a bone. Soon, the compression damages the myelin sheath, weakening the nerves’ ability to transmit signals. You will experience tingling, numbness, or weakness in your fingers. This condition is usually caused by injuries such as fractures or sprains.
Doctors treat the condition by using braces. They prevent further damage by minimizing the movement of the entrapped nerves. You can also do your part by using an ergonomic keyboard at work.
Post-Herpetic Neuralgia (PHN)
PHN affects the area of the skin where shingles have occurred. This pain takes place once the shingles disappear and can last for at least three months. People with this condition cannot even wear clothes on the affected area due to the high pain intensity.
The best time to see a doctor is when you soon develop shingles. They will prescribe antivirals to clear them. If your PHN is severe, doctors may prescribe opioid painkillers, anticonvulsants, and antidepressants.
Peripheral Neuropathy
This condition damages the nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord. It causes symptoms such as muscle weakness, gradual numbness of the limbs, sensitivity to touch, and lack of coordination. The illness is triggered by bone marrow diseases, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases.
The pain medications for this condition include duloxetine, amitriptyline, and pregabalin. To avoid getting this condition, exercise regularly and eat diets rich in fruits, vegetables, and lean protein.
Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN)
TN causes painful sensations akin to electric shocks on one part of your face. People with this condition experience pain attacks from everyday activities like brushing their teeth, talking, eating, and wearing makeup. It can occur due to a dental procedure or a car accident.
Doctors will first try medications like gabapentin and baclofen to treat it. If medicines do not work, they will consider surgery.
Nerve damage seems insignificant, but we have seen how troublesome it can get. Could you imagine being unable to talk properly because of a particular neuropathic pain? If you want to avoid such inconveniences, you should go to the doctor. It is typical for some people to wait for their symptoms to worsen before visiting the hospital. That means they will end up spending a lot of money on surgery. If you ever experience that mild tingling sensation in your body, do not ignore it.
