Congenital analgesia is a rare disease that causes the individual not to experience any pain, this disease can also be called insensitivity to congenital pain and causes its carriers not to notice temperature differences, can burn easily and, although they are sensitive to touch, they may not feel physical pain and are prone to serious injury, including crushing limbs.
Pain is a sign of the body that serves as protection, indicates signs of danger when joints are used extremely, and also helps identify diseases, such as ear infection, gastritis or more severe ones, such as heart attack. As the person feels no pain, the disease progresses and worsens, being discovered at an advanced stage.
- The causes of congenital analgesia have not yet been completely elucidated.
- But motor and sensory neurons are known not to develop normally in these individuals.
- It is a genetic disease that can affect people in the same family.
The main sign of congenital analgesia is the fact that the individual has not experienced any physical pain since birth and for life.
As a result, the baby can self-harm by constantly scratching and cutting. A scientific paper has reported the case of a child who broke his teeth and bit his hands to the point of tearing his fingertips at the age of 9 months.
It is common to have several cases of fever a year due to undiagnosed infections and multiple injuries, including fractures, distortions and bone deformities, there is usually associated irritability and hyperactivity.
In some types of congenital analgesia, there is impaired sweating, watery eyes and mental retardation.
Diagnosis of congenital analgesia is based on clinical observation of the baby or child, as is often discovered in childhood; To confirm the disease, the peripheral skin and nerve biopsy and the nice stimulation test and DNA analysis can be used. -X-rays, CT scans and MRIs should be performed throughout the body to assess possible lesions and initiate necessary treatments as soon as possible.
Treatment of congenital analgesia is not specific, as it is incurable, so immobilization and surgery may be necessary to treat orthopedic lesions and prevent the loss of a limb.
The individual must be accompanied by a multidisciplinary team made up of a doctor, a nurse, a dentist and a psychologist, among others, to prevent further injuries and improve their quality of life. Consultations and medical examinations are recommended and at least one should be performed time. one year to determine if there are diseases to treat.