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Last Updated: Jan 10, 2023
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Nerve Damage - Never Ignore The Signs!

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Dr. Deva Kumar BorgohainNeurosurgeon • 25 Years Exp.MBBS, MS - General Surgery, MCh - Neurosurgery
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A healthy nervous system is essential for an individual's body to function normally. Comprising of nerves and cells, the system is responsible for carrying messages from and to the brain and spinal cord from other parts of the body. Thus, damage to a nerve may impair the functioning of your body with less-identifiable symptoms to life-threatening conditions. Understanding the types of nerves and the symptoms due to nerve damage helps you to seek medical help when necessary.

Understanding your nervous system

Three types of nerves connect our body parts

  1. Sensory Nerves: These are finest nerves spreading all over the body which transfers every sensation back to the brain and the spinal cord which makes us feel. Our brain processes this information, and then we feel the sensation.
  2. Autonomic Nerves: These nerves control the blood pressure, temperature or digestion and other involuntary as well as the activities which are partially controlled by us.
  3. Motor Nerves: These nerves control the movements done by us that are the voluntary movements, and the brain processes those actions by taking information from these nerves.

What happens when nerve damage occur?
When the autonomic nerves are injured or damaged the symptoms includes the inability to feel or sense the pain in the chest in case of heart attack or angina or any other issues. A condition named as hyperhidrosis in which you sweat or perspire a lot can occur, and in some people, the opposite (anhidrosis) that is very less sweating might be observed. You might feel lightheaded with dry sensation in mouth and eyes. There might be a problem with the digestion and constipation on a regular basis. You might even experience a malfunction of the bladder along with problem during the sexual act.

Any damage to the sensory nerves can cause pain in different parts of the body along with the problem of sensitivity. You might feel highly sensitive to individual elements or motion whereas other people might observe a drop in their senses. There might be numbness, burning sensation or prickling at certain parts of your body. Peripheral neuropathy is a classic example that occurs due to damage to sensory nerves.
In case of damage to motor nerves or the neurons, one may experience weakness along with muscle atrophy. You might face twitching which is also referred as fasciculation. The dangerous part of harm to the motor neurons is the thing that it can cause paralysis in the person.

Other Prevalent Symptoms
A common symptom of any nerve damage is experiencing a problem in moving certain parts of the body, walking, or running. You might feel stiffness in the legs while changing position if you sit or stand in one position for a long time. Few patients may feel dizzy or clumsy which could be due to the drop in the sensation in your body.

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