In life, many people experience numbness in their limbs, but many people don't take it seriously. The so-called limb numbness refers to the loss of the limbs to external stimuli, such as cold, heat, pain and other sensations. In addition to the well-known signs of numbness in the limbs of stroke, numbness is also an early sign of many diseases. So, what are the causes of limb numbness?
1. Hypokalemia. The most prominent manifestation is numbness and weakness of the limbs, especially the lower limbs. Hypokalemia is closely related to high temperature. Loss of appetite in summer leads to low daily intake of potassium in the human body. If you exercise in a high temperature environment for a long time, you will sweat a lot, so that a large amount of potassium ions will be lost with sweat, causing hypokalemia. blood.
2. Diabetes. The first symptoms of many adults with diabetes are often not polydipsia, polyphagia, and polyuria, but numbness of the hands and feet. This is because some diabetic patients will quietly develop, until the occurrence of multiple peripheral neuritis, symmetrical hand and foot numbness after medical examination, only to find out that they have diabetes.
3. Infection. Limb numbness due to direct invasion of the nervous system by neurotoxins or viruses secreted by bacteria. Such diseases mainly include diphtheria neuritis, leprosy neuritis, etc., which manifest as limb numbness, loss of limb sensation, and other symptoms of the primary disease.
4. Acute polyradiculitis. The patient first presented with fever, similar to symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection, and after 1-2 months, he developed numbness in distal limbs, which was symmetrical. At the same time, there will be limb weakness, severe paralysis, and difficulty breathing.
5. Spine hyperplasia. This kind of numbness is quite common in the elderly. The main reason is that the vertebral bone hyperplasia compresses the nerves in the spinal canal, and some patients are also accompanied by pain in the limbs.
6. Bone marrow disease. In the early stage of some bone marrow diseases, there may be numbness of the limbs from bottom to top, which develops upward with the aggravation of the disease, and then there are symptoms such as limb inactivity.
7. Arteriosclerosis. More common in the elderly suffering from cerebral arteriosclerosis. Due to the ischemia of the brain tissue, especially the cerebral cortex, the sensory and motor centers of the brain are dysfunctional, resulting in numbness of the corresponding parts of the limbs. Most of them are numbness of one side of the upper or lower limbs or half of the body, which usually lasts for a few hours to several days. If not treated in time, it will develop into a stroke and hemiplegia.
8. Autonomic nervous system disorders. This kind of numbness is mostly unstable, migratory, sometimes light and sometimes heavy, and patients are often accompanied by symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, insomnia, dreaminess, memory loss, palpitation, shortness of breath, and general weakness, which usually heal on their own.
9. Lumbar disc herniation. Manifested as lower extremity numbness, accompanied by pain in the back of the thigh. With symptomatic treatment, symptoms can be gradually alleviated. In severe cases, surgery may be performed.
10. Lateral femoral cutaneous neuritis. It is characterized by numbness on the outside of the legs. After acupuncture, physiotherapy and taking vitamin B, there are good results; even if the effect is not obvious, it will not affect the activities of the lower limbs.
11. Peripheral neuropathy. It is mostly caused by vitamin B deficiency, drug or heavy metal poisoning in the body, and it is manifested as numbness at the ends of the extremities. Long-term exposure to cold water in some elderly women can also cause peripheral neurotrophic disorders, swelling and numbness of the small joints of the fingers, which will quickly improve after hot compress treatment.
12. Cervical spondylosis. Divided into nerve root type, spinal type and other types. Such as cervical radiculopathy, there will be numbness of one or both upper limbs, mainly numbness of one, two, three fingers or four or five fingers. This is due to the deformation of the intervertebral disc and the proliferation of bone. After treatment such as neck traction, symptoms can be improved.
13. Toxic neurological numbness. There is a long history of exposure to heavy metals or pesticides such as organic mercury, arsenic, lead or organic phosphorus, as well as chemicals such as furans and isoniazid. In the early stage, numbness in the distal end of the limbs can appear, and it is often accompanied by pain and a feeling of skin ants.
14. Lower extremity arterial occlusive disease. Lower extremity atherosclerosis, vascular lumen stenosis, and blockage cause local insufficiency of blood supply to the lower extremities. The patient experienced numbness and pain in the lower limbs after walking for a while, and the symptoms were relieved after a short rest. Medically this symptom is called "intermittent claudication".
15. Myelopathy. Manifested as numbness on one limb and weakness on the other side, or weakness in the lower body with numbness. It is caused by spinal cord lesions caused by inflammation, tumor or trauma.
16. Nutritional deficiencies and metabolic disorders. Patients may have prolonged gastrointestinal disturbances, dyspepsia, or a history of severe nutritional deficiencies. The above diseases lead to a serious lack of vitamin B family in the patient's body, causing numbness of the limbs.
There are various causes of limb numbness in middle-aged and elderly people, and most of them are more serious, and sometimes it may be a harbinger of critical emergency. Therefore, patients with limb numbness symptoms should not be taken lightly, and must seek medical attention in time to avoid delaying the disease.
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