What is neuropathy?

In spite of the fact that a lot of people in the world are subjected to the disease the greater part of them does not know what neuropathy is. Actually the terminology which is connected with this condition may be very confusing for a common person who has never faced with medical terms and does not have special education. At the same time it is rather useful to know what neuropathy is. This knowledge may help you to find the best way of treatment which will be comfortable and useful exactly for you, also it may help in finding things that may help to reduce symptoms of the disease.

Neuropathy definition: neuropathy is a disease which is associated with the inflammation of the nerves caused by damage to the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord. If you ask the doctor “what is neuropathy” he will answer you that this is a condition under which inflammation of the nerves presents. In it turn such inflammation may appear due to several factors. They include metabolic problems, some diseases and traumatic injuries to the nerves. It is important to add that some medications which person use for treating other health problems may cause the appearing of the neuropathy due to their side effects. 

What is peripheral neuropathy? This question is also worth of answering. In fact, very often people use terms “neuropathy” and “peripheral neuropathy” as synonyms. Look at the following definition and you will understand. Peripheral neuropathy is a condition under which nerves of the peripheral nervous system are damaged. This disease may be caused by trauma, injuries, and some diseases. Side-effects of systemic illness may also be considered as possible causes of peripheral neuropathy. This definition is common for lots of dictionaries.

In order to get more information within learning “what is neuropathy” it is worth to know that there exist different types of it. General classification of this disease divides it into three types: mononeuropathy (when a single nerve is affected), multiply monomeuropathy (several nerves are individually affected) and polyneuropathy (generalized involvement of peripheral nerves).

The other classification of neuropathy may take the criterion of the type of onset as the base. In this case types of this disease may be the next: acute (hours or days), subacute (several weeks or a couple of months) and chronic (from several months to years).  The other type of classification of this disease may be called functional one. According to the functional classification it is possible to distinguish the next types of neuropathy: motor, sensory, autonomic and mixed.

In spite of the fact that the modern medicine makes a great step in progress comparing with the previous century, unfortunately in 30% of the disease neuropathy causes are unknown. Such cases are usually called idiopathic. One of the most widely spread reasons which may cause this condition is diabetes. About half of people who suffer from diabetes develop some type of neuropathy. Some other neuropathy causes include trauma of nerves, pressure on them, lack of vitamins (especially B vitamins), some other nutritional problems like poor dietary habits, excessive usage of alcohol, several autoimmune diseases such as arthritis (its rheumatoid type) or lupus, tumors, inherited disorders, some infections and other health problems like kidney and/or liver diseases, Lyme disease, AIDS, HIV.