Peripheral polyneuropathy occurs when severe damage occurs in several peripheral nerves, which carry 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 commonly affects the feet and hands, it can affect the whole body and usually occurs as a complication of diabetes, exposure to toxic substances or infections, for example.
- In most cases.
- Symptoms improve with the treatment of the disease that causes nerve damage.
- But in other situations it may be necessary to maintain the constant use of medications to control symptoms and improve quality of life.
Symptoms of peripheral polyneuropathy vary depending on the sites affected, however, the most common include:
As the disease progresses, other larger nerves may be affected, such as breathing or bladder nerves, resulting in other symptoms such as shortness of breath or retaining urine, for example.
These symptoms can appear and develop for several months or years and therefore often go unnoticed, until more serious problems arise.
Polyneuropathy is often 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 violent shocks can also cause nerve problems and polyneuropathy.
In rarer cases, polyneuropathy can even appear without apparent cause and, there, it is known as idiopathic peripheral polyneuropathy.
When polyneuropathy appears as a complication of another disease treatment should be initiated with the control of this disease, so in the case of diabetes, for example, it is important to be careful with the diet or start using insulin, because if the cause is caused by an autoimmune disease, it may be recommended to start using medicines that reduce the immune system.
If symptoms appear une apparent or because of another problem that can’t be treated, your doctor may prescribe remedies to relieve symptoms, such as:
However, in more severe cases, it may also be necessary to use opioid-derived drugs, such as tramadol or morphine, that have a more powerful action, but which, being addictive, are only used in cases where it is not. possible to manage pain with the other remedies.
In addition, complementary therapy, such as acupuncture or herbal medications, may also be recommended to reduce doses of medications.