What is Neuropathy

Neuropathy is a disease that targets the nerves. It can be very painful to develop neuropathy. The causes are different for different people. Some people develop neuropathy because of their diabetes. A number of people develop neuropathy from too much intake of alcohol for a long period of time. Another cause of neuropathy is chemotherapy treatments of patients with cancer.

The main reason why many diabetes patients’ feet get amputated is because of neuropathy. It is a complication of the diabetes when the patient develops open sores that do not heal. Patients who take care of their feet well don’t develop neuropathy.

A large number of alcoholics suffer from neuropathy. After more than 10 years of drinking excessive amount of alcohol, the level of nutrients in their body become too low that the health of the nerves start to become affected.

Another cause of neuropathy is the injection of very powerful drugs during chemotherapy sessions of cancer patients. The drugs used for chemotherapy has chemicals that take a toll in the functioning of the nerves.

The other causes of neuropathy are complications from immune disorders, hereditary, and other kinds of diseases. Before the neuropathy can be treated or managed, the cause of neuropathy should first be discovered. If the causes of the neuropathy are managed well, then it will be easier to manage the neuropathy.

A neuropathic pain is different from the ordinary pain that people feel when they have cuts, bruises or when a part of their body is hit by a hard object or when their muscles ache with over-exertion. With neuropathic pain, there are no tissues or muscles that are involved. The pain is caused by the problems in the nerves because of the neuropathy or the nerve damage.

There are many causes of neuropathic pain as many as the kinds of neuropathies. There are those that are caused by diabetes. Some are caused by cancer and immune disorders such as HIV and lupus. There are also pain that are caused by alcoholism. The first thing that is needed in order to manage neuropathic pain is for the doctor to diagnose the cause of the pain.

Neuropathic pain is described as feeling like one part of the body is being mildly electrocuted. With many, the feet or the hands feel like they are put in fire or burning water. The sensation of being priced by many needles is also a pain that can be attributed to neuropathic pain.

There are different ways to treat different neuropathic pains. Normally, the doctor prescribes pain killers such as paracetamol, anti-inflammatory drugs. They can help ease the pain but for most cases, they don’t work. They work best with pains associated with tissue or muscles. The more effective drugs that the doctor usually prescribes are anti-depressants and anti-epileptic drugs.

A neuropathic pain is chronic which means that it is persistent. It doesn’t go away easily. This is why doctors advise patients dealing with it to be more persistent than the pain. They need to continually take the drugs or any other treatment as prescribed. Although there is yet no cure for neuropathic pain, it can be managed effectively and patients and continue living normal lives in spite of it.

The most common complication of cancer is neuropathy or damage of nerves. Studies show that platinum-based drugs that are used in chemotherapy to kill cancer cells can cause pain, burning sensation and numbness in the patient’s hands and feet. The cancer patient’s condition can also cause neuropathy such as the patient’s tumor and excessive vomiting.

A cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy can experience one of these two kinds of neuropathy: acute neuropathy or chronic neuropathy. Acute neuropathy happens only for a short time. Pain if felt for days after the chemotherapy treatment. But after a few days, the neuropathy goes away. Chronic neuropathy happens for a longer period of time and sometimes it doesn’t go away.

When a patient has a tumor and the tumor gets in contact with nerves, a neuropathy can also develop. The best solution is to take the tumor out by operation.

Another reason why patients with cancer develop neuropathy is because of their vomiting after a chemotherapy procedure. The vomiting of the patient causes them to lose a lot of vitamins that maintain healthy functioning of the nerves. Vitamin deficiency can develop into neuropathy.

It is important that a cancer patient learn about neuropathy before undergoing a chemotherapy treatment. For most parts, the doctor can take care of the management the neuropathy of cancer patients.

Since neuropathy can be caused by a number of factors, the treatment of neuropathy will depend on the cause. Some of the causes of neuropathy are diabetes, vitamin deficiency, immune diseases and shingles.

For those who have neuropathy because of vitamin deficiencies caused by alcoholic abused, you are advised to take multivitamins and to reduce or stop alcohol intake.

For those who have diabetes, neuropathy should be controlled and prevented by taking care not to have wounds or blisters on your feet.

For those who developed neuropathy because of immune diseases, the doctors will treat the immune disease. Once the disease is treated, the neuropathy will also be treated.

There are also pain relieves and drugs that are prescribed by doctors to patients who are suffering form neuropathy. The most common drugs are ibuprofen and aspirin for pain management. The doctor can also prescribe anti-seizure drugs to help reduce the pain of neuropathy. Capsaicin cream can also be applied to the feet for temporary relief of pain. Capsaicin is the ingredient that can be found in chili peppers. Other treatments are physical therapy and injections.

If you have neuropathy, do not treat it on your own. Go to a doctor so that your case can be examined and so that the doctor and prescribe the correct treatment for your case.