Also called tingling, paresthesia, loss of sensation, it can be triggered by several factors, including: staying in the same position for a long time; injury to a nerve, for example a neck injury can trigger numbness in the arm or hand; pressure on spinal nerves from a herniated disc; pressure on peripheral nerves due to tumors or infections; herpes; vitamin B12 deficiency; ingestion of psychotropic drugs; state of anxiety; lack of blood flow in the sleeping part of the body; diabetes; migraines; multiple sclerosis; panic attacks, hypothyroidism; bites caused by animals, ACV, among others.
Numbness usually occurs in the extremities, arms, and legs, and less frequently in the trunk or face. It can occur in both arms or both legs, or in only one arm or leg, or on one side. It can also affect individual fingers or toes. Body aches, balance problems, speech or vision problems may occur at the same time. If the numbness goes away on its own, a typical tingling sensation may follow.
Numbness can be caused by problems without seriousness, but it can also hide others of greater risk. Therefore, if it occurs suddenly and continues, a doctor should be consulted in any case to clarify the causes and, if appropriate, initiate appropriate treatment.
Many circumstances can cause numbness in various ways. For example, they can:
Reduces or blocks the blood supply to the nerves, as in vasculitis, or to the brain as a result of a stroke.
- Injury any part of the sensory pathway, as can occur after trauma or inherited diseases that affect the nerves (neuropathies), such as Friedreich's ataxia.
- Compress some part of the sensory pathway.
- Infection of a nerve, as in leprosy, HIV infection, or Lyme disease.
- It causes the nerves in one part of the path to become inflamed and lose their outer layer (called demyelination), as in multiple sclerosis or Guillain-Barré syndrome.
- It causes metabolic abnormalities, such as diabetes, vitamin B12 deficiency, arsenic poisoning, or chemotherapy treatment.
In order to treat, cure, or reduce numbness, it is first necessary to consult the doctor so that the patient can, through analysis or medical examinations, detect the initial cause of the numbness. For example, if the numbness is due to an injury to the neck, the doctor may direct the patient to perform certain exercises or therapies in the area to reduce discomfort.
