Dysesthesia is a neurological condition that causes all touch to feel unpleasant due to lesions in the nervous system. Burning, frozen, or stabbing sensations, as well as feeling like something is under the skin, can occur. Treatment depends on finding the cause, and pain management medications may be given.
Dysesthesia is a neurological condition characterized by a distortion of the sense of touch, causing all touch to feel unpleasant. The root words for this condition are derived from the Greek words for “bad” and “feeling,” reflecting the fact that for a patient with dysesthesia, sensations feel not just abnormal, but unpleasant. Sometimes it manifests itself with paraesthesia, transient tingling and numbness that can feel abnormal and strange, but not always unpleasant.
Patients develop the condition because there are lesions somewhere in the nervous system. Peripheral nerves, sensory nerves, or sensory pathways may be involved. If a patient feels an uncomfortable sensation in their hand, for example, it could be a problem with the nerves in the hand, the nerves that connect the hand to the brain, or the part of the brain that processes sensations from the hand. In all cases, the patient experiences unpleasant sensations when exposed to touch, even if these sensations do not actually occur.
Burning dysesthesia, in which the patient feels as if the affected area is on fire, is a form of this condition. Patients may also feel frozen or stabbed. They can also describe sensory experiences that, while not painful, are unpleasant. Some patients, for example, say they feel like there is something under their skin. An examination of the area will show no signs of exposure to noxious stimuli.
Even a light touch can be painful for someone with dysesthesia. The weight of clothes or blankets can be extremely uncomfortable, and the patient also feels pain when people or objects brush against the body. A friendly pet’s paw, for example, can cause excruciating pain because nerve injuries confuse the signal that says “cat pats my leg” and translate it into a feeling of pain or discomfort.
Dysesthesia can be seen in people with diabetes, neuropathy, and multiple sclerosis, among other conditions. Treatment for this neurological problem depends on finding the cause. It may be possible to pinpoint the location where sensory signals are encoded. In such cases, patients may be offered options such as electrical stimulation of a nerve to stop the signals or a neurotomy, in which the involved nerve is simply severed. Pain management medications may also be given to ease the sensation of pain and keep the patient more comfortable.
For patients, this condition can be extremely frustrating. It is sometimes difficult to find a doctor who meets pain management needs because doctors may reject the idea that the patient is in pain altogether. Additionally, treatment often requires the patient to adjust medications and treatment options to find a method that works.
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