Paresthesia means you are experiencing an abnormal skin sensation, such as numbness, tingling and burning. Ever experience an “asleep” limb followed by a “pins and needles” feeling as it awakens? That’s paresthesia.
Numbness, tingling and burning sensations can occur anywhere, but are most often felt in your fingers, hands, feet, arms or legs. And paresthesia numbness sensation loss is similar to paralysis, but for the inability to move when paralyzed.
Paresthesia health concern typically arises from some sort of nerve damage or disease. Yet, your numbness, tingling and burning can be caused by some other health issue.
There are many causes for a pins and needles feeling. Some health conditions and situations that can be a cause for paresthesia are:
- rabies
- leprosy
- sciatica
- frostbite
- seizures
- diabetes
- whiplash
- vasculitis
- porphyria
- migraines
- alcoholism
- stroke, TIA
- neuropathy
- nerve injury
- brain tumor
- menopause
- bad posture
- dehydration
- amyloidosis
- malnutrition
- fibromyalgia
- kidney failure
- pinched nerve
- varicose veins
- hypoglycemia
- Lyme disease
- celiac disease
- kidney disease
- spinal stenosis
- brain aneurysm
- hypothyroidism
- niacin overdose
- hyperventilation
- Fabry’s disease
- arterial embolism
- spinal cord tumor
- thromboembolism
- Buerger’s disease
- pernicious anemia
- transverse myelitis
- radiation poisoning
- rheumatoid arthritis
- tissue inflammation
- hypoparathyroidism
- pheochromocytoma
- hyperaldosteronism
- cervical spondylosis
- Paget’s bone disease
- bone disease, fracture
- motor neurone disease
- restless legs syndrome
- Guillain Barre syndrome
- Raynaud’s phenomenon
- decompression sickness
- seated, standing too long
- Wegener’s granulomatosis
- herpes infection ~ shingles
- angina ~ tingling in left arm
- paralytic shellfish poisoning
- vitamin B5 & B12 deficiency
- anxiety attack, panic disorder
- sustained pressure on a nerve
- diabetic peripheral neuropathy
- SSRIs withdrawal ~ paroxetine
- heart attack ~ left side paresthesias
- autoimmune disorders ~ multiple sclerosis, lupus
- repetitive stress injuries ~ carpal tunnel syndrome
- nerve disorder, entrapment, compression syndrome
- heavy metal poisoning ~ lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium
- circulatory disorders ~ PVD, atherosclerosis, vascular claudication
- abnormal levels of calcium (hypocalcemia), potassium (hyperkalemia), sodium
- peripheral nerve pressure caused by enlarged blood vessels, tumors, scar tissue, infection
Some medication side effects, like heparin and coumadin, can cause numbing paresthesia.
A neurologist treats nerve causing numbness, tingling and burning paresthesia health problem. Treatment for your pins and needles feeling may only require a drug, like:
- anticonvulsants
- antiviral medication
- immunosuppressant ~ prednisone
- intravenous gamma globulin (IVIG)
Treatment of an underlying disorder may be all that’s needed to relieve that tingling feeling. Lidocaine and prilocaine are topical numbing creams that offer only temporary relief of pins and needles sensation.
