How to tell if you have dystonia
People who live with vegetative-vascular dystonia for quite a long time get used to their symptoms if they do not manifest themselves as crises and do not disrupt the normal course of life.
They learn to live with headaches, endure periodic numbness in their arms or legs, sometimes suffer from rapid heartbeat, and know that when the weather changes, they may experience insomnia. The rest of the time, VSD does not make itself felt and does not cause life-threatening conditions. But some manifestations of dystonia feel truly scary. A lump in the throat and a feeling of lack of air, palpitations and fear during panic attacks, sudden loss of consciousness, pressure changes. If after such an incident you were examined and no dangerous diseases were found, then with a high probability we can talk about VSD.
Numbness of the limbs with dystonia is usually associated with an unpleasant experience. Such a reaction of the body can occur even in anticipation of a pleasant event, from an excess of emotions.
Symptoms
As a rule, neck pain is dull in nature. Sometimes the pain gets worse when you move your neck. Neck pain may be accompanied by numbness, tingling, sometimes the pain can be acute, there may be difficulty swallowing, enlarged lymph nodes, and dizziness.
Cervicalgia may be associated with facial headache, shoulder pain, or numbness or tingling in the shoulder (upper limb paresthesia). Such associated symptoms often result from root compression. For example, compression of a root with sensory fibers providing innervation to the occipital region can lead to neck pain radiating to the back of the head. Depending on the disease, in some cases, neck pain may be accompanied by pain in the upper back or lower back, for example with ankylosing spondylitis, when the inflammatory process covers the entire spine.
What other diseases cause numbness in hands, feet and tongue?
Lesions of the cervical, cranial, and lumbar nerves can cause numbness. But in addition to this, other symptoms are usually present: pain, tingling, dysfunction (claudication, arm weakness, slowness and blurred speech).
Metabolic diseases can also cause changes in sensitivity, including numbness of body parts. If you often limit yourself to meat, fish, eggs, and do not supplement your diet with synthetic vitamin B12, then this can cause metabolic disorders and cause weakness in your arms and legs.
Loss of sensation in the left hand may be one of the classic symptoms of myocardial infarction. At the same time, the general condition worsens, the person looks very pale or, on the contrary, turns red, dizziness or headache, a feeling of heaviness in the chest or a burning sensation appears.
A hernia in one part of the spine can put pressure on a nerve, causing pain or loss of sensation.
Decreased sensation in the feet can be a complication of diabetes. This is one of the first signs of diabetic foot and should be reported to your doctor as soon as possible.
Numbness of the face
Stroke
Diabetes
36461 March 16
IMPORTANT!
The information in this section cannot be used for self-diagnosis and self-treatment.
In case of pain or other exacerbation of the disease, diagnostic tests should be prescribed only by the attending physician. To make a diagnosis and properly prescribe treatment, you should contact your doctor. Numbness of the face: causes of occurrence, what diseases it occurs with, diagnosis and treatment methods.
Definition
Numbness of the face occurs when the sensitivity of skin and muscle receptors to various impulses is impaired. This symptom may develop gradually or appear suddenly. Loss of facial sensitivity is described as burning, tingling, sometimes pain, and in some cases as a complete absence of sensation. When the face is numb, the color of the skin over the affected area may change in the form of pallor or redness.
In severe cases, sensory impairment is accompanied by a decrease in the motor function of the facial muscles.
Types of facial numbness
Any external influence, be it heat or cold, light touch or strong pressure, leads to activation of skin receptors and muscle structures. Each receptor is associated with a specific type of nerve fiber that transmits a specific type of sensitivity (sensation of pressure on the skin, vibration, stretching of the skin, and temperature sensitivity). An impulse is generated in the receptor, which is sent through nerve fibers at high speed to the nerve ganglia, which are a collection of sensory neurons. This is where primary information processing occurs to activate vital reflexes. Subsequently, the impulse goes to the brain, where it is processed in special nerve centers, and the person feels pain, pressure, vibration, etc. Thus, we can talk about the following types of sensitivity disorders:
- Violation of surface sensitivity
occurs when receptors (temperature, tactile, pain, etc.) and nerve fibers of the facial skin are damaged. - Violation of deep sensitivity
occurs when the receptors and nerve fibers of the facial muscles are damaged. - Violation of complex types of sensitivity
. A similar type of disorder occurs when the cerebral cortex is damaged. There is no recognition of two different stimuli that simultaneously affect the skin, or the person cannot determine the location of the touch.
Possible causes of facial numbness
In many cases, numbness in different parts of the face is short-term, passing within a few minutes.
Such episodes can occur when the head is positioned in an awkward position, for example during sleep.
This occurs due to compression of the nerve fibers and a temporary disruption of impulse conduction. There is a burning and tingling sensation in the affected area. Partial loss of sensitivity is observed with prolonged exposure to the cold due to vasospasm. After gradual warming of the skin, sensitivity is restored.
However, facial numbness can be a symptom of a serious medical condition.
Acute cerebrovascular accident, or stroke
– a common cause of sudden numbness of the face in combination with a violation of facial activity. Hemorrhage or blockage of brain vessels by a thrombus (blood clot) occurs, acute oxygen deficiency and damage to neurons with disruption of their functions develops. Symptoms develop unexpectedly, sometimes accompanied by headache.
The main signs of a stroke are: numbness of the face and limbs on one or both sides, sudden weakness, speech impairment (inability to clearly pronounce words), drooping of the corner / corners of the mouth, uncoordination of movements.
If these symptoms appear, you should immediately seek medical help. A cerebral aneurysm
can cause numbness in the face due to compression of nerve fibers and sensitive centers of the brain. It usually develops gradually; at the onset of the disease, symptoms may be completely absent. Numbness first affects one area of the face (for example, perioral), and with further growth of the aneurysm, the affected area gradually expands. Sensations may also change: from tingling, burning at first - to a complete absence of sensations later.
There is a danger of rupture of a cerebral aneurysm; in this case, the symptoms are similar to those of a stroke and appear quickly.
Trigeminal neuritis
often accompanies inflammatory diseases of the oral cavity (caries, periodontitis), ear (otitis), paranasal sinuses (sinusitis, frontal sinusitis, ethmoiditis), parotid glands (mumps). The branches of the trigeminal nerve are irritated, which can lead to numbness in the corresponding areas of the face.
Impaired sensitivity with increased tone of the masticatory muscles
occurs due to compression of the branches of the trigeminal nerve by muscle fibers. Hypertonicity of the masticatory muscles is characteristic of damage to the temporomandibular joint due to arthritis and arthrosis, incorrectly selected braces, and certain diseases of the pharynx, for example, peritonsillar abscess.
Diabetes
– with this disease, the process of utilization of glucose from the blood is disrupted, which leads to damage to the vascular wall and disruption of the nutrition of nerve bundles. In the absence of maintenance therapy, tingling and partial loss of sensitivity in areas where the blood supply is impaired may occur.
Numbness of the face in multiple sclerosis
occurs due to demyelination (disappearance of the outer sheath) of the nerve fibers of the trigeminal nerve. Numbness is often preceded by severe pain not only in the face, but also in the limbs.
Tumors of the brain and its membranes
lead to impaired sensitivity in the facial area due to compression of the neurovascular bundles or tumor growth in them.
Which doctors should I contact if I have facial numbness?
If your face becomes numb, you should consult a neurologist or therapist. In some cases, consultation with an otolaryngologist, endocrinologist, or dentist may be required.
Diagnosis and examinations for facial numbness
Depending on the suspected cause of facial numbness, the following laboratory and instrumental studies may be required:
- clinical blood test;
What will help restore sensitivity?
If during VSD your arms or legs are numb, you feel chills - take a hot shower, put on socks, wrap yourself in a warm blanket.
A hot drink will not only warm you up, but also activate reflex mechanisms that will return normal sensitivity to your limbs.
If numbness occurs after stress, take a sedative and try to sleep. For vegetative-vascular dystonia, Glycine is the best choice. Unlike herbal preparations, it will improve metabolism in nervous tissue at the cellular level and help recover from stress.
The combination of glutamic acid, glycine and cystine in Eltacin® helps to gradually bring dystonia under control and reduce the frequency of all symptoms. We recommend taking it in courses, as well as if your arms, legs or tongue become suddenly numb. After two or three courses of amino acids, manifestations of VSD will bother you less and less often, including sensory disturbances.
Diagnostics
Cervicalgia requires a clear identification of the cause of the pain. A full examination is especially necessary when neck pain is accompanied by neurological symptoms (dysfunction of the pelvic organs) or the pain is intense, there are sensory disturbances (numbness, tingling) or the pain lasts for more than a week of treatment at home.
During the examination, the doctor should assess the presence of painful points in the neck, range of motion in the neck, the presence of muscle spasms, the condition of the muscles of the neck and shoulders, the presence of muscle weakness, tension in muscle groups in the upper torso.
In some cases, instrumental studies such as X-rays, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or ENMG (nerve fiber conduction testing) are necessary. These research methods help verify the diagnosis.
