Usually, treatment of neuropathy is focused on preventing nerve and myelin damage by controlling the underlying cause. Symptomatic treatment is usually necessary to relieve discomfort or pain. Neuropathy can affect different nerves throughout the body, usually with a specific pattern of involvement. It’s also possible to develop other movement disorders and atrophy, where part of the body wastes away. If the condition is allowed to progress in severity, the damage could become permanent.

Dr. Raja values the patient-physician relationship and makes every effort to build trust and confidence as he goes to great lengths to make sure the experience is as pleasant as possible for his patients. His attention to detail ensures the valued healthcare delivered in his practice. People with peripheral neuropathy usually describe the pain as stabbing, burning or tingling.

Risk factors

Axonal degeneration has been documented in rats receiving ethanol while maintaining normal thiamine status [5]. Human studies have also suggested a direct toxic effect, since a dose-dependent relationship has been observed between severity of neuropathy and total life time dose of ethanol [6, 13]. The exact mechanism behind alcoholic neuropathy is not well understood, but several explanations have been alcohol neuropathy proposed. Therefore, alcoholic neuropathy may occur by a combination of the direct toxic effects of ethanol or its metabolites and nutritional deficiencies, including thiamine deficiency. The precise mechanisms responsible for toxicity on the peripheral nervous system, however, have not yet been clarified. The amount of ethanol which causes clinically evident peripheral neuropathy is also still unknown.

• To better understand the neurological effects of alcohol, it helps to explore some of the more well-known pathologies, disorders, and diseases.
• Generally symmetrical, peripheral nerve damage may be focal, multifocal, or diffuse.
• In general, most of the aforementioned diseases are the result of chronic excessive alcohol use.
• Therefore, topical application with capsaicin may provide symptomatic relief from neuropathic pain in patients suffering from alcoholic neuropathy.
• If you receive a diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy, you should see your healthcare provider as recommended or if you notice changes in your symptoms.

The primary treatment for alcoholic neuropathy is seeking help for alcohol use disorder. Talk with your doctor about treatment and support options available to you. The damage from https://ecosoberhouse.com/ alcohol neuropathy can affect the nerves that control movement, senses, and organ function. This can result in a variety of symptoms that affect different areas of the body.

Neurotoxic effects of ethanol

In 2013 Ryan transferred to the Surgery Department, initially assisting with patient transport, and then advancing to the role of Sterilization Tech. As the Clinical Nurse Manager for Hemet Valley Recovery Center & Sage Retreat, Crystal’s nursing career began as an LVN graduating from Concorde Career College in 2010. Crystal went on to earn her Registered Nursing degree from Mt. San Jacinto College. Crystal also has a background in Medical Surgical Nursing with a specialty in orthopedic surgery from Riverside University Health System, a level 1 trauma hospital.

Ideally, get evaluated for the life-threatening condition—alcohol addiction—first. If that diagnosis is confirmed, you’ll need supervised detox in a hospital, plus long-term counseling to reinvent your life and avoid relapse. Neuropathy, even if it badly impairs your quality of life, is more symptom than illness, and the time to treat it is after the larger problem is under control. The best way to prevent peripheral neuropathy is to manage medical conditions that put you at risk.

Management of alcohol-induced peripheral neuropathy : Nursing made Incredibly Easy

Axons are encased by myelin—the fatty connective tissue that accelerates the rate of electrical impulses through neurons. Neuron injury may occur when the axon is directly damaged, there are conduction disturbances through the nerve, or there’s demyelination of nerve cells. The neurotoxic effects of alcohol or one of its metabolites and vitamin deficiencies cause axonal injury by decreasing nerve fiber density, leading to painful PN and motor and autonomic dysfunction. As yet there is no effective therapeutic intervention available for relieving the neuropathic pain due to chronic alcohol consumption.