Allodynia is a condition where pain occurs in response to non-painful stimuli, often associated with neurological and chronic pain conditions. It can be difficult to treat, and patients may face challenges in finding a doctor who recognizes their condition. Treatment focuses on managing pain with analgesic drugs and identifying and managing the underlying cause.
Allodynia is pain that occurs in response to a stimulus that is usually not painful. In a simple example of allodynia, a patient might complain of pain after being gently brushed with one hand or a few fingers. This heightened sensitivity to touch is often associated with neurological conditions and chronic pain conditions, including neuropathies, fibromyalgia, and migraines. For patients, it can be extremely frustrating.
Tactile allodynia occurs in response to tactile stimuli, which can include things like the weight of a shirt, a breeze, a handshake, and so on. These stimuli are generally not considered painful and cause no injury to the body, but the body screams “pain” as it interprets these stimuli. Thermal allodynia is extreme sensitivity to changes in temperature. Also in this case the variations in temperature are not sufficient to cause damage to the body, but are interpreted as painful.
This condition is thought to be caused by garbled messages between cells that interpret sensation. Painful sensations are usually interpreted by nociceptors, and for some reason these cells get involved when normally information about these sensations would be sent from different cells. Nociceptors tell the brain that something harmful is being experienced, and the brain interprets this as pain. When something harmful actually occurs, this response is desired, as it acts as a signal to deal with the harmful stimulus. In the case of allodynia, however, pain signals serve no function.
This condition can be difficult to treat. Patients with pain conditions sometimes have a hard time finding a doctor who recognizes their condition and who can take the time to run tests to learn more about what may be causing the increased sensitivity to touch. Unfortunately, patients with pain conditions are sometimes accused of being drug addicted and can face denial of insurance benefits and other problems as they attempt to manage their conditions.
Because the cause of allodynia often can’t be cured, treatment focuses on managing it. Analgesic drugs are used for pain relief, with dosages being adjusted periodically as the patient develops a tolerance to these drugs. Once a cause is identified, medications can also be given to manage it. Curiously, there are a number of neurological conditions that can be recognized and diagnosed, with drugs available to treat these conditions, but doctors don’t actually understand how these drugs work in the body. This illustrates how much the scientific and medical community needs to learn about the human body.
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