Symptoms
The first signs of the disease are usually sensory disturbances or insensitivity in the feet or legs, which is often described as tingling, crawling or numbness. There is often a burning sensation in the soles of the feet or pain or muscle cramps in the legs. Muscle weakness and wasting may also occur. The symptoms most often occur in the feet, rarely in the hands, but in some cases may affect other parts of the body. Later, however, pain in the affected parts of the body or severe cold or heat may no longer be felt. In patients with polyneuropathies, especially as a result of diabetes, even injuries that initially appear harmless can develop into ulcers that severely damage the tissues and sometimes the bones.
Symptoms
Causes
Polyneuropathies are diseases of the so-called peripheral nerves, i.e. nerves which extend from the spinal cord to the body (i.e. to the periphery or more distant parts of the body) or vice versa. The nerve damage can have very different causes: common causes are alcohol abuse and diabetes, but less commonly poisoning with chemicals, various medications, vitamin deficiencies, metabolic disorders, such as liver and kidney disease, or infections, for example with viruses, can also result in polyneuropathies. In some cases they are also hereditary.
What we can offer
Treatment/progression
Specific treatment is only possible if the cause of the polyneuropathy has been identified. In this case, an attempt must be made to eliminate or treat the cause or possible triggering disease (e.g., treatment of alcoholism by stopping alcohol consumption, very strict treatment of diabetes, or correction of any vitamin deficiency). If the polyneuropathy is based on a non-treatable disease or if the cause of the polyneuropathy cannot be discovered, then only the symptoms can be treated. Here, pain relief plays a particularly important role. As non-opioid analgesics are often not effective for neuropathic pain, drugs that are also used to treat seizure disorders or depression often have to be prescribed for pain relief. Combinations of different agents can also be prescribed by specialists.
