How does neuropathic pain feel like

Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Neuropathic pain also called nerve pain, is one of the many classes of chronic pain. Nerve pain is complex and can be caused by nerve damage, irritation, or destruction.

Most people describe their chronic nerve pain with a similar set of words. Regardless of the cause, nerve pain can feel like any of the following:. Like other types of pain, nerve pain may vary in intensity. For some, it can feel like mildly bothersome pins and needles.

For others, the pain may be severe and nearly unbearable. Additionally, nerve pain may be localized felt at or near the area of nerve damage or referred felt somewhere else in the body. Learning how to describe your nerve pain can help your healthcare provider more quickly diagnose and effectively treat your pain. Learn to take note of what your pain feels like during your everyday life. Consider keeping a pain journal so you have something to reference when talking with your practitioner.

Because nerve pain is unique, it has some medical buzzwords associated with it. Nerve pain sensations may be described with these buzzwords, which include:. Though you do not need to be able to rattle off this medical terminology when sitting in your healthcare provider's office, it is good to tell your practitioner about your pain and when you feel it. Do you feel nerve pain sensations when touched or is your pain seemingly spontaneous? Like other types of chronic pain, neuropathic conditions often cause other symptoms in addition to pain.

If you have any of the following in addition to the pain described above, you may have nerve damage:. Neuropathic pain is often treated with adjuvant analgesics , such as antidepressants and anticonvulsants.

However, other medications may also be used to treat chronic nerve pain. Neuropathic pain is usually pain that is linked to the peripheral nervous system. This nervous system includes all the nerves within the human body, with the exception of the spinal cord and the brain. When there is damage to the peripheral nervous system, peripheral neuropathy may occur which results in patients feeling neuropathic pain. There could be several reasons which lead to someone feeling neuropathic pain.

Often times, healthcare professionals cannot completely narrow it down to a single cause, injury or disease which results in nerve damage. Many things could lead to nerve damage which eventually result in neuropathic pain, including a sports injury, a fall or a car accident.

Here are some other reasons that could result in nerve damage:. The first thing your healthcare professional would want to do is to identify the root of the neuropathic pain. They include medicines originally used to treat depression such as amitriptyline and duloxetine and seizures gabapentin , pregabalin and carbamazepine. People with chronic pain may find it helpful to attend a multidisciplinary pain clinic where health professionals can work out a personalised pain management plan.

You will need a referral from your doctor to attend a pain clinic. You can find a list of pain services on the Pain Australia website. Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content. Nerve pain, often called neuropathic pain, affects about 1 in 20 Australians. Find out more about managing your nerve pain and strategies to help you live with your condition. Pregabalin is a medicine used to treat nerve pain also called neuropathic pain.

Pregabalin works by controlling brain chemicals to reduce the level of pain you experience. Amitriptyline is used at low doses to treat nerve pain also called neuropathic pain. Find out more about how it can help you manage this condition. Trigeminal neuralgia causes severe, electric shock-like pains in the face.

Neuralgias are caused by irritated or compressed nerves. Read more on Migraine and Headache Australia website. Trigeminal Neuralgia Face pain Description Trigeminal neuralgia, also called tic douloureux, is a condition that affects the trigeminal nerve, one of the largest nerves in the head.

Read more on Brain Foundation website. Trigeminal neuralgia is a disorder that causes episodes of intense facial pain. Find out about the causes, symptoms and treatments. Read more on myDr website. Find out all about neuropathic pain, nerve pain, which is usually described as a shooting, stabbing or burning pain, with myDr.

Shingles is a viral disease that can cause severe nerve pain. Vaccination is the best protection against shingles. Read more on Department of Health website. Pudendal neuralgia is pain caused by the nerve that supplies the skin between your pubic bone and your tail bone.

Read more on Better Health Channel website. Neuropathic pain is caused by damage to the somatosensory nervous system. Find out more about diagnosis and management of this challenging condition. It is characterised by an abnormal immune response that targets myelin, a fatty material responsible for insulating the nerve fibres in the central nervous system.