Numbness is a condition in which certain body parts are unable to feel the stimuli they receive. A numb person cannot feel tactile, vibration, cold or hot stimuli on the skin. People who are numb may also be unaware of the position of the part of the body that is experiencing numbness, so that balance and coordination between body parts is disturbed.
Numbness is a symptom of a nervous breakdown. This condition may be accompanied by a burning, tingling, or needle-stick feeling. Numbness can occur in any part of the body, either symmetrically (occurring on both sides of the body) or only on one side of the body.
Under normal conditions, stimulation of the skin will be channeled to the brain and spinal cord. However, in people who experience numbness, this flow is disturbed.
- Numbness occurs suddenly and spreads quickly.
- Numbness in the entire leg or the entire arm.
- Numbness in the face or genitals.
- Weakness of the muscles of the body that experiences numbness.
- Difficulty controlling urination or bowel movements (incontinence).
- Hard to breathe.
Causes of Numbness
Numbness can be caused by many things, but most often from sitting or standing for too long. The numbness caused by either of these is harmless and may go away after a while.
In addition, numbness can also be caused by diseases that suppress nerve tissue. These diseases include:
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Hernia nucleus pulposus
- spinal tumor
- spinal cord injury
Apart from being caused by pressure on the nerves, numbness can also occur due to several conditions, including:
- Reducehis blood flow to body parts certain, for example in vasculitis or stroke.
- Nerve infection. This condition is often found in people with leprosy or Lyme disease.
- Abnormalities genetics, for example in Friedrich's ataxia.
- Abnormalities of body metabolism, such as due to diabetes, vitamin B12 deficiency, or
- Inflammation on the neural network, as in syndrome Guillain-Barre or multiple sclerosis.
- Other diseases that attack the nerves, such as amyloidosis, paraneoplastic syndrome, Sjogren's syndrome, syphilis, or Charcot-marie-tooth disease.
Numbness Diagnosis
To find out the cause of numbness, the doctor will perform an examination, especially examination of nerve function through:
- Temperature stimulation check.
- Touch stimulation test.
- Examination of the reflexes of the numb body part.
- Examination of muscle function in the numb body part.
In addition to nerve function tests, the doctor will ask the patient to undergo additional examinations, such as:
- Blood test.
- Lumbar puncture for cerebrospinal fluid and spinal cord analysis.
- Electromyography to assess electrical activity in muscles.
- Scans, such as X-rays, ultrasound, CT Scan, or MRI.
Numb Treatment
Treatment for numbness focuses on the cause, so the treatment method will vary from patient to patient. For example, taking diabetes medication to control blood sugar if numbness is caused by diabetes. In addition to healing, efforts to treat numbness are also made to prevent further nerve damage.
Numb Complications
People with numbness will experience a decrease in the ability to feel stimuli, especially temperature, touch, and pain stimuli. Therefore, sufferers are more prone to injury, such as burns or cuts. Worse yet, sometimes people with numbness are not aware that they have an injury. Therefore, patients must regularly check their body parts so that all forms of injury can be identified and treated immediately.