Dysesthesia is an unpleasant, abnormal sense of touch. Its etymology comes from the Greek word "dys," meaning "bad," and "aesthesis," which means "sensation" (abnormal sensation). It often presents as

pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...

IASP Pain Terminology
. but may also present as an inappropriate, but not discomforting, sensation. It is caused by lesions of the nervous system, peripheral or central, and it involves sensations, whether spontaneous or evoked, such as burning, wetness, itching, electric shock, and pins and needles. Dysesthesia can include sensations in any bodily tissue, including most often the mouth, scalp, skin, or legs. It is sometimes described as feeling like acid under the skin. Burning dysesthesia might accurately reflect an acidotic state in the

synapses In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron or to the target effector cell. Synapses are essential to the transmission of nervous impulses from ...

and perineural space. Some ion channels will open to a low pH, and the acid sensing

ion channel Ion channels are pore-forming membrane proteins that allow ions to pass through the channel pore. Their functions include establishing a resting membrane potential, shaping action potentials and other electrical signals by gating the flow of io ...

has been shown to open at body temperature, in a model of nerve injury pain. Inappropriate, spontaneous firing in pain receptors has also been implicated as a cause of dysesthesia. People with dysesthesia can become incapacitated with pain, despite no apparent damage to the skin or other tissue.

Types

Dysesthesia can generally be described as a class of neurological disorders. It can be further classified depending on where it manifests in the body, and by the type of sensation that it provokes. Cutaneous dysesthesia is characterized by discomfort or pain from touch to the skin by normal stimuli, including clothing. The unpleasantness can range from a mild tingling to blunt, incapacitating pain.

Scalp dysesthesia Scalp dysesthesia is a cutaneous condition characterised by pain and burning sensations without objective physical examination findings. The pain sometimes is described as burning. Often there is an underlying psychosomatic A somatic symptom d ...

is characterized by pain or burning sensations on or under the surface of the cranial skin. Scalp dysesthesia may also present as excessive itching of the scalp. Occlusal dysesthesia, or "phantom bite," is characterized by the feeling that the bite is "out of place" (occlusal dystopia) despite any apparent damage or instability to dental or oromaxillofacial structures or tissue. Phantom bite often presents in patients that have undergone otherwise routine dental procedures. Short of compassionate counseling, evidence for effective treatment regimes is lacking.

Presentation

Chronic Anxiety is often associated with dysesthesia due to extreme stress. Patients with this anxiety may experience numbness or tingling in the face. In one study, those patients that were examined psychologically had symptoms of

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

, depression, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, or

somatic symptom disorder A somatic symptom disorder, formerly known as a somatoform disorder,(2013) dsm5.org. Retrieved April 8, 2014. is any mental disorder that manifests as physical symptoms that suggest illness or injury, but cannot be explained fully by a general ...

Causes

* Dysesthesia is commonly seen in

diabetic Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased app ...

patients, and can be relieved by using creams containing

capsaicin Capsaicin (8-methyl-''N''-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) ( or ) is an active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus ''Capsicum''. It is a chemical irritant for mammals, including humans, and produces a sensation of burning ...

. * Dysesthesia may be seen in patients with

Guillain–Barré syndrome Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rapid-onset muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. Typically, both sides of the body are involved, and the initial symptoms are changes in sensation or pain often ...

. * Dysesthesia is among symptoms of

neuropathy Peripheral neuropathy, often shortened to neuropathy, is a general term describing disease affecting the peripheral nerves, meaning nerves beyond the brain and spinal cord. Damage to peripheral nerves may impair sensation, movement, gland, or o ...

(along with

paresthesias Paresthesia is an abnormal sensation of the skin (tingling, pricking, chilling, burning, numbness) with no apparent physical cause. Paresthesia may be transient or chronic, and may have any of dozens of possible underlying causes. Paresthesias ar ...

gait disturbance Gait deviations are nominally referred to as any variation of standard human gait, typically manifesting as a coping mechanism in response to an anatomical impairment. Lower-limb amputees are unable to maintain the characteristic walking pattern ...

, weakness, and absent DTRs). * Dysesthesia, along with

polyneuropathy Polyneuropathy ( poly- + neuro- + -pathy) is damage or disease affecting peripheral nerves (peripheral neuropathy) in roughly the same areas on both sides of the body, featuring weakness, numbness, and burning pain. It usually begins in the hand ...

can be a symptom of nerve damage caused by

Lyme disease Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a vector-borne disease caused by the ''Borrelia'' bacterium, which is spread by ticks in the genus ''Ixodes''. The most common sign of infection is an expanding red rash, known as erythema migran ...

. The dysesthetic sensations continue after the successful antibiotic treatment of Lyme disease. * Dysesthesia is a common symptom of a

withdrawal Withdrawal means "an act of taking out" and may refer to: * Anchoresis (withdrawal from the world for religious or ethical reasons) * ''Coitus interruptus'' (the withdrawal method) * Drug withdrawal * Social withdrawal * Taking of money from a ban ...

from

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

or other drugs. * Dysesthesia is also a common symptom of

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

. It is an effect of spinal cord injury. * Many patients with occlusal dysesthesia have reported recent oral surgery before the onset of dysesthetic pain. * Late-onset GM2

gangliosidosis Gangliosidosis contains different types of lipid storage disorders caused by the accumulation of lipids known as gangliosides. There are two distinct genetic causes of the disease. Both are autosomal recessive and affect males and females equall ...

may also present as burning dysesthesia. *

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a nerve-damaging side effect of antineoplastic agents in the common cancer treatment, chemotherapy. CIPN afflicts between 30% and 40% of patients undergoing chemotherapy. Antineoplastic agents ...

is a progressive, enduring and often irreversible tingling numbness, intense pain, and hypersensitivity to cold, beginning in the hands and feet and sometimes involving the arms and legs caused by some

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

agents. * Dysesthesia may be caused by a thalamic stroke involving the ventral postero-lateral (VPL) nucleus. It's typically seen in Dejerine-Roussy syndrome with hemi-sensory loss and severe dysesthesia of the affected area. * Fibromyalgia may cause dysesthesia in all areas of the body, but mostly the extremities. * Dysesthesia is usually seen and presented in vCJD disease or also called Frank Pains due to vCJD nerve alteration.

Diagnosis

Differential diagnosis

Although dysesthesia is similar to

phantom limb A phantom limb is the sensation that an amputated or missing limb is still attached. Approximately 80 to 100% of individuals with an amputation experience sensations in their amputated limb. However, only a small percentage will experience painf ...

syndrome, they should not be confused. In phantom limb, the sensation is present in an amputated or absent limb, while dysesthesia refers to discomfort or pain in a tissue that has not been removed or amputated. The dysesthetic tissue may also not be part of a limb, but part of the body, such as the abdomen. The majority of individuals with both phantom limb and dysesthesia experience painful sensations.

Phantom pain Phantom pain is a perception that an individual experiences relating to a limb or an organ that is not physically part of the body, either because it was removed or was never there in the first place. However, phantom limb sensations can also oc ...

refers to dysesthetic feelings in individuals who are paralyzed or who were born without limbs. It is caused by the improper innervation of the missing limbs by the nerves that would normally innervate the limb. Dysesthesia is caused by damage to the nerves themselves, rather than by an innervation of absent tissue. Dysesthesia should not be confused with

anesthesia Anesthesia is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prevention of pain), paralysis (muscle relaxation), ...

hypoesthesia Hypoesthesia or numbness is a common side effect of various medical conditions that manifests as a reduced sense of touch or sensation, or a partial loss of sensitivity to Sensory receptor, sensory stimuli. In everyday speech this is generally r ...

, which refer to a loss of sensation, or

paresthesia Paresthesia is an abnormal sensation of the skin (tingling, pricking, chilling, burning, numbness) with no apparent physical cause. Paresthesia may be transient or chronic, and may have any of dozens of possible underlying causes. Paresthesias ar ...

which refers to a distorted sensation. Dysesthesia is distinct in that it can, but not necessarily, refer to spontaneous sensations in the absence of stimuli. In the case of an evoked dysesthetic sensation, such as by the touch of clothing, the sensation is characterized not simply by an exaggeration of the feeling, but rather by a completely inappropriate sensation such as burning.

Treatment

Daily oral muscle physical therapy, or the administration of

antidepressants Antidepressants are a class of medication used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain conditions, and to help manage addictions. Common side-effects of antidepressants include dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, heada ...

have been reported as effective therapy for occlusal dysesthesia patients. Tooth grinding, and the replacement or removal of all dental work should be avoided in patients with occlusal dysesthesia, despite the frequent requests for further surgery often made by these patients.

Antidepressants Antidepressants are a class of medication used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain conditions, and to help manage addictions. Common side-effects of antidepressants include dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, heada ...

are also often prescribed for

scalp dysesthesia Scalp dysesthesia is a cutaneous condition characterised by pain and burning sensations without objective physical examination findings. The pain sometimes is described as burning. Often there is an underlying psychosomatic A somatic symptom d ...

. Prakash et al. found that many patients with burning mouth syndrome (BMS), one variant of occlusal dysesthesia, also report painful sensations in other parts of the body. Many of the patients with BMS met the classification of restless leg syndrome (RLS). About half of these patients also had a family history of RLS. These results suggest that some BMS symptoms may be caused by the same pathway as RLS in some patients, indicating that dopaminergic drugs regularly used to treat RLS may be effective in treating BMS as well.

Research

There are a number of hypotheses regarding the basis of occlusal dysesthesia. Some researchers believe the disorder is a psychological one, while others believe it to be a

psychosomatic A somatic symptom disorder, formerly known as a somatoform disorder,(2013) Hara, E. S., Matsuka, Y., Minakuchi, H., Clark, G. T., & Kuboki, T. (2012). Occlusal dysesthesia: a qualitative systematic review of the epidemiology, aetiology and management. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, 39(8): 630-638

/ref> Joseph J. Marbach, Joseph Marbach hypothesized that the symptoms were rooted in psychiatric disorders. Marbach suggested that occlusal dysesthesia would occur in patients with underlying psychological problems (such as schizophrenia) after having undergone dental treatment. More recently, two studies have found that occlusal dysesthesia is associated with somatoform disorders in which the patients obsess over the oral sensations. Similarly, Marbach later proposed that occlusal dysesthesia may be caused by the brain “talking to itself,” causing abnormal oral sensations in the absence of external stimuli. According to this model, the symptoms of dysesthesia are catalyzed by dental “amputation,” for example the extraction of a tooth, whereby the brain loses the ability to distinguish between its memory of the bite and the actual, new bite. The patient, unable to recognize his or her own bite, becomes especially attentive to these perceived oral discrepancies. Finally and most recently, Greene and Gelb suggested that instead of having a psychological root, dysesthesia may be caused by a false signal being sent from the peripheral nervous system to the central nervous system. However, the reviewers note that no method exists for determining sensor nerve thresholds, and so sensory perception in the mouth is often measured by interdental thickness discrimination (ITD), or the ability to differentiate between the sizes of objects (thin blocks) placed between teeth. In one study, occlusal dysesthesia patients showed greater ability to differentiate these thicknesses than control, healthy individuals, but these differences were not statistically significant.

Studies

* Bennett et al. produced an artificial peripheral mononeuropathy in rats by surgically constricting the

sciatic nerve The sciatic nerve, also called the ischiadic nerve, is a large nerve in humans and other vertebrate animals which is the largest branch of the sacral plexus and runs alongside the hip joint and down the lower limb. It is the longest and widest si ...

. These rats showed an increased response to noxious radiant heat, were

nocifensive Nociception (also nocioception, from Latin ''nocere'' 'to harm or hurt') is the sensory nervous system's process of encoding noxious stimuli. It deals with a series of events and processes required for an organism to receive a painful stimulus, co ...

when placed on a cold metal floor, protected their hind paws, and had suppressed appetite. Additionally, the paws of many of these rats were inappropriately warm or cool to the touch, and many of the rats overgrew claws on the affected paws as well. These results indicate that the rats exhibited

hyperalgesia Hyperalgesia ( or ; 'hyper' from Greek ὑπέρ (huper, “over”), '-algesia' from Greek algos, ἄλγος (pain)) is an abnormally increased sensitivity to pain, which may be caused by damage to nociceptors or peripheral nerves and can ...

allodynia Allodynia is a condition in which pain is caused by a stimulus that does not normally elicit pain. For example, bad sunburn can cause temporary allodynia, and touching sunburned skin, or running cold or warm water over it, can be very painful. It i ...

, and dysesthesia. * In a study in which researchers cut spinal nerves in rats, researchers found these rats exhibited a longer duration in spontaneous foot lifting, hypersensitivity to mechanical stimuli, allodynia, and hyperalgesia. Additionally, the receptive field neurons in this nerve pathway showed spontaneous firing in low-threshold

nociceptor A nociceptor ("pain receptor" from Latin ''nocere'' 'to harm or hurt') is a sensory neuron that responds to damaging or potentially damaging stimuli by sending "possible threat" signals to the spinal cord and the brain. The brain creates the sens ...

s, suggesting that nerve damage can cause dysesthesia. * In women with chronic pain or itchy scalps without any apparent physical cause, about half had from psychiatric disorders. For the majority of these women, their symptoms of scalp dysesthesia were alleviated or removed by treatment with low doses of

. * Landerholm et al. hypothesized that dynamic mechanical

(DMA) might be the hyperbole of dynamic mechanical dysesthesia (DMD), mediated by peripheral nerves. When the researchers artificially blocked nerves in patients with peripheral neuropathic pain or central post-stroke pain, DMA symptoms in many of the patients transitioned into DMD symptoms. Additionally, the researchers determined that the number of mechanocreceptive fibers associated with the nociceptive system was responsible for the differentiation of DMA to DMD. * Ochoa et al. recorded intraneural signals in subjects with post-ischaemic paraesthesiae. The researchers found the signals to be spontaneous. The frequency of the signals paralleled the intensity and timing of the paresthetic sensations reported by the patients. These results suggest that paresthetic sensations are the result of inappropriate firing frequency and timing by impulses from sensory cells. * Tuskiyama et al. assessed occlusal dysesthesia patients using an interdental thickness discrimination test and a psychological examination. The researchers found that occlusal dysesthesia patients could not discriminate the thickness of material in their bite any better than normal dental patients, but that the occlusal dysesthesia patients were significantly more likely to exhibit psychological disorders.Tsukiyama, Y., Yamada, A., Kuwatsuru, R., & Koyano, K. (2012). Bio-psycho-social assessment of occlusal dysaesthesia patients. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, 39(8).

References

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