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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    What are the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy?

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    Dr Nikolas Dietis

    HealthShare Member

    The human nervous system has more than 1,000 billion neurons, interconnected with each other, reaching every inch of our body. Therefore, the symptoms that manifest from peripheral neuropathy can have a wide range, mostly dependent on which nerves are affected and which organs these nerves reach. Due to the fact that neurons are the means for propagating painful messages from the periphery to the brain, a very common symptom in peripheral neuropathy is pain (called neuropathic pain). This type of pain is difficult to control and manage (especially overnight), whereas its duration pattern can be intermittent, adding a particular emotional burden to the patient. Muscle weakness and associated symptoms (cramps, twitching, loss of muscle, muscle pain) are also very often in peripheral neuropathy. If the nerves that are affected are sensory, then numbness and loss of touch is common especially in hands and feet (this feels like when you touch something wearing gloves; you feel some pressure but it is hard to distinguish objects by touch). Other symptoms associated with particular organs can arise, if the damaged nerves reach these organs (i.e. impaired breathing, irregular hear-beats, loss of bladder control, dizziness, irregular blood-pressure flanctuations, gastrointestinal symptoms etc).

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