15 Symptoms People With Peripheral Neuropathy Can Experience

Peripheral neuropathy is a kind of nerve damage that usually affects the feet and legs of a person, but it can also occasionally affect the hands and the arms.

It is a type of neuropathy that is very common, unlike some of the rarer forms. Interestingly, as many as half of all people with diabetes will develop peripheral neuropathy in their lifetime. The causes of this condition are clear and include high levels of glucose in the blood as well as a high level of fats. These high accumulations in the blood can cause damage to the nerves and the small blood vessels that nourish the nerves.

When this occurs, peripheral neuropathy can follow. Listed here are 8 symptoms that people with peripheral neuropathy can expect to experience for all or part of their condition. Some are more severe than others but all are worth knowing about.

1. Burning sensation in the feet, hands, legs, and arms

The pins and needles type sensation in the affected limbs and extremities is something that is fairly common for people with peripheral neuropathy to experience.

The sensation is best described as a burning feeling and for sufferers, it can range from being mildly annoying to debilitating and excruciatingly painful. When this type of pain strikes, it can cause so much disturbance to someone’s day to day routine that taking time away from work or education becomes almost unavoidable.

The best plan of action when hitting with a bout of buzzing or burning legs, arms, hands and feet is to try and find some kind of distraction to shift the focus away from the irritating symptoms. Interestingly, this type of symptom is usually felt unilaterally, meaning that only one side of the body is likely to be affected, as opposed to bilaterally where both sides are affected. Buzzing and burning can be very annoying.