Erythromelalgia is a very rare painful condition which can be challenging to deal with and typically affects the feet and the hands. This condition is identified through the symptoms of redness, warmth as well as burning discomfort. The attacks for this disorder are intermittent and last anywhere from minutes to several days. Attacks will most likely start out with a basic scratching, but then moves on to severe pain and a burning discomfort. The feet or hands will become warmer, sensitive and bloated as well as look a reddish hue. The episodes are very crippling and can have a critical influence on the individual with an affect on the standard of life and the capability to execute some of the typical activities of daily life.
There are two types of erythromelalgia. One is the primary kind which tends to have an impact on younger individuals and it is most probably caused by a inherited genetic trait which make nerve cells more active. The alternative variety usually have an effect on older persons and is resulting from an underlying condition for example diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, some blood problems as well as a side affect to specific drug treatments. There are a variety of conditions that resemble erythromelalgia and doctors will have to distinguish it from them included in the investigation. Included in this are conditions like chronic pain problems, chilblains and burning feet syndrome.
The management of erythromelalgia is challenging as there is not a one therapy that appears to help everybody along with the response to treatment methods are fairly variable between people. The main method is to try to stay away from conditions that set off an episode such as a hot bath, environment triggers or particular foods. A lot of people with erythromelalgia do find help by cooling down with the aid of an air conditioner as well as cooling skin gels. A few do make use of immersion of the feet or hands in cool water however, this is just not advisable as it may bring about moisture accumulation in the skin and perhaps chilblains and they might develop a secondary bacterial infection.
With the secondary type of erythromelalgia, management is generally aimed toward management of the underlying condition, which is frequently very helpful. With the primary type of erythromelalgia the management of the pain sensation can often be much more challenging with the response to several medicines being different between people. Often anti-inflammatory medicines are tested out, however they are commonly unhelpful. Medicine which obstruct the channels within the nerve fibres that make the nerve impulses overactive are sometimes experimented with and these do often help some. The anticonvulsant medicines for example gabapentin could help quite a few. There are some topical drugs that many find helpful such as capsaicin. With the toughest circumstances sympathetic block or a sympathectomy that will involve surgery on the back may be performed. However, the outcomes of surgery are mixed. When the discomfort is intense and the condition is difficult to deal with and has such an impact on the everyday life of those that have erythromelalgia it is strongly recommended that all individuals with it have a assessment with a pain treatment professional as well as clinical psychologists to help them take care of the pain and discover the strategies that are good for coping with it.
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- Prowse IV, William E (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- Marshwell, Patrick (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
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