Symptoms

Symptoms vary according to the type of peripheral neuropathy and may develop quickly or slowly.

The main types of peripheral neuropathy include:

• sensory neuropathy – damage to the nerves that carry messages of touch, temperature, pain and other sensations to the brain
• motor neuropathy – damage to the nerves that control movement
• autonomic neuropathy – damage to the nerves that control involuntary bodily processes, such as digestion, bladder function and control of blood pressure
• mononeuropathy – damage to a single nerve outside of the central nervous system

In many cases, someone with peripheral neuropathy may have more than one of these types of peripheral neuropathy at the same time.

A combination of sensory and motor neuropathy is particularly common (sensorimotor polyneuropathy).

Sensory neuropathy

Symptoms of sensory neuropathy can include:

• pins and needles in the affected body part
• numbness and less ability to feel pain or changes in temperature, particularly in your feet
• a burning or sharp pain, usually in the feet
• feeling pain from something that should not be painful at all, such as a very light touch
• loss of balance or co-ordination caused by less ability to tell the position of the feet or hands

Motor neuropathy

Symptoms of motor neuropathy can include:

• twitching and muscle cramps
• muscle weakness or paralysis affecting one or more muscles
• thinning (wasting) of muscles
• difficulty lifting up the front part of your foot and toes, particularly noticeable when walking (foot drop)

Autonomic neuropathy

Symptoms of autonomic neuropathy can include:

• constipation or diarrhoea, particularly at night
• feeling sick, bloating and belching
• low blood pressure, which can make you feel faint or dizzy when you stand up
• rapid heartbeat (tachycardia)
• excessive sweating or a lack of sweating
• problems with sexual function, such as erectile dysfunction in men
• difficulty emptying your bladder of urine
• loss of bowel control

Mononeuropathy

Depending on the specific nerve affected, symptoms of mononeuropathy can include:

• altered sensation or weakness in the fingers
• double vision or other problems with focusing your eyes, sometimes with eye pain
• weakness of one side of your face (Bell's palsy)
• foot or shin pain, weakness or altered sensation

The most common type of mononeuropathy is carpal tunnel syndrome. The carpal tunnel is a small tunnel in your wrist.

In carpal tunnel syndrome, the median nerve becomes compressed where it passes through this tunnel, which may cause tingling, pain or numbness in the fingers.