Hypoesthesia or numbness is a common side effect of various medical conditions that manifests as a reduced sense of
touch
In physiology, the somatosensory system is the network of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of touch (haptic perception), as well as temperature (thermoception), body position (proprioception), and pain. It is ...
or sensation, or a partial loss of sensitivity to
sensory stimuli. In everyday speech this is generally referred to as numbness.
Hypoesthesia primarily results from damage to nerves, and from blockages in blood vessels, resulting in
ischemic damage to tissues supplied by the blocked blood vessels. This damage is detectable through the use of various
imaging studies. Damage in this way is caused by a variety of different illnesses and diseases. A few examples of the most common illnesses and diseases that can cause hypoesthesia as a side effect are as follows:
*
Decompression sickness
Decompression sickness (abbreviated DCS; also called divers' disease, the bends, aerobullosis, and caisson disease) is a medical condition caused by dissolved gases emerging from solution as bubbles inside the body tissues during decompressio ...
* Trigeminal schwannoma
* Rhombencephalitis
* Intradural extramedullary tuberculoma of the spinal cord
* Cutaneous sensory disorder
* Beriberi
Diseases
Decompression sickness
Decompression sickness
Decompression sickness (abbreviated DCS; also called divers' disease, the bends, aerobullosis, and caisson disease) is a medical condition caused by dissolved gases emerging from solution as bubbles inside the body tissues during decompressio ...
occurs during rapid ascent, spanning 20 or more feet (typically from underwater). Decompression sickness may express itself in a variety of ways, including hypoesthesia. Hypoesthesia results because of air bubbles that form in blood, which prevents oxygenation of downstream tissue.
In cases of decompression sickness, treatment to relieve hypoesthesia symptoms is quick and efficient.
Hyperbaric oxygen
Hyperbaric medicine is medical treatment in which an ambient pressure greater than sea level atmospheric pressure is a necessary component. The treatment comprises hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), the medical use of oxygen at an ambient pressure ...
is used to maintain long term stability, which includes breathing of oxygen at a level of 100%.
Trigeminal schwannoma
![Nerve root schwannoma - intermed mag](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Nerve_root_schwannoma_-_intermed_mag.jpg)
Trigeminal
schwannoma
A schwannoma (or neurilemmoma) is a usually benign nerve sheath tumor composed of Schwann cells, which normally produce the insulating myelin sheath covering peripheral nerves.
Schwannomas are homogeneous tumors, consisting only of Schwann cells. ...
is a condition in which a tumor forms on the
trigeminal nerve
In neuroanatomy, the trigeminal nerve ( lit. ''triplet'' nerve), also known as the fifth cranial nerve, cranial nerve V, or simply CN V, is a cranial nerve responsible for sensation in the face and motor functions such as biting and chewin ...
(also known as cranial nerve five).
This prevents sensation in the area associated with the nerve. In the case of the trigeminal nerve, this is the face, meaning hypoesthesia of the face is experienced. Excision is the only effective treatment of trigeminal schwannoma, though this may not treat the associated hypoesthesia if damage has already occurred. Following surgery, many patients still experienced hypoesthesia and some even experienced increased effects.
Rhombencephalitis
Rhombencephalitis involves bacterial invasion of the brainstem and trigeminal nerve, and has a wide variety of symptoms that may vary between patients.
Similarly to the trigeminal schwanonoma mentioned above, this can result in facial hypoesthesia. Rhombencephalitis may also result in hypoesthesia of the V1 through V3
dermatomes.
The main treatment option for this infection is
antibiotics
An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention o ...
,
such as
ampicillin
Ampicillin is an antibiotic used to prevent and treat a number of bacterial infections, such as respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, meningitis, salmonellosis, and endocarditis. It may also be used to prevent group B strepto ...
, to remove the bacteria.
Intradural extramedullary tuberculoma of the spinal cord (IETSC)
IETSC is a cancer of the spinal cord that involves hypoesthesia of all parts of the body associated with the affected
spinal nerve
A spinal nerve is a mixed nerve, which carries motor, sensory, and autonomic signals between the spinal cord and the body. In the human body there are 31 pairs of spinal nerves, one on each side of the vertebral column. These are grouped into th ...
s. The inability to convey information from the body to the
central nervous system
The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all par ...
will cause a total lack of feeling in the associated regions.
Cutaneous sensory disorder
Hypoesthesia is one of the negative sensory symptoms associated with cutaneous sensory disorder (CSD). In this condition, patients have abnormal disagreeable skin sensations that can be due to increased nervous system activity (stinging, itching or burning) or decreased nervous system activity (numbness or hypoesthesia).
Beriberi
Hypoesthesia originating in (and extending centrally from) the feet, fingers, navel, and/or lips is one of the common symptoms of
beriberi
Thiamine deficiency is a medical condition of low levels of thiamine (Vitamin B1). A severe and chronic form is known as beriberi. The two main types in adults are wet beriberi and dry beriberi. Wet beriberi affects the cardiovascular system, r ...
,
which is a set of symptoms caused by
thiamine
Thiamine, also known as thiamin and vitamin B1, is a vitamin, an essential micronutrient, that cannot be made in the body. It is found in food and commercially synthesized to be a dietary supplement or medication. Phosphorylated forms of thi ...
deficiency.
Diagnosis
A patient experiencing symptoms of hypoesthesia is often asked a series of questions to pinpoint the location and severity of the sensory disruption. A
physical examination
In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally consists of a series of questions about the patien ...
may follow where a doctor may tap lightly on the skin to determine how much feeling is present. Depending upon the location of the symptoms occurring, a doctor may recommend some tests to determine the overlying cause of the hypoesthesia. These tests include imaging computerized axial tomography (
CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (
MRI
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...
) scans, nerve conduction studies to measure electrical impulses passing through the nerves in search of damage to the nerves, and various reflex tests.
An example of a reflex test would be the
patellar reflex test.
Treatment
Treatment of hypoethesia are aimed at targeting the more broad disease or illnesses that has caused the side effect of sensation loss.
See also
*
Anaphia
Anaphia, also known as tactile anesthesia, is a medical symptom in which there is a total or partial absence of the sense of touch.
Anaphia is a common symptom of spinal cord injury and neuropathy.
See also
* Dysesthesia
* Hyperesthesia
* Hypoes ...
*
Dysesthesia
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[Hyperesthesia
Hyperesthesia is a condition that involves an abnormal increase in sensitivity to stimuli of the sense. Stimuli of the senses can include sound that one hears, foods that one tastes, textures that one feels, and so forth. Increased touch sensitivi ...]
*
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 ...
*
Raynaud syndrome
Raynaud syndrome, also known as Raynaud's phenomenon, eponymously named after the physician Auguste Gabriel Maurice Raynaud, who first described it in his doctoral thesis in 1862, is a medical condition in which the spasm of small arteries cau ...
References
{{Skin and subcutaneous tissue symptoms and signs
Symptoms and signs: Nervous system