What is paresthesia? “Paresthesia” is the technical term for the sensation of tingling, burning, pricking or prickling, skin-crawling, itching, “pins and needles” or numbness on or just underneath your skin. It can affect places on and throughout your body and happens without an outside cause or warning.
Understanding the Context
· Lots of things can cause numbness, tingling, and sometimes weakness in parts of your body. Find out when you need to see a doctor for these symptoms. · Most brief numbness and tingling comes from short-lived pressure on a nerve—such as crossing your legs or sleeping on your arm—but persistent or one-sided symptoms can signal diabetes, vitamin B12 deficiency, a trapped nerve, poor circulation, multiple sclerosis, or even a stroke. New weakness, facial droop, or sudden loss of sensation is an emergency.
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Key Insights
A clinician can confirm the cause ... · Learn about the various causes of tingling sensations, from temporary pressure on nerves to underlying medical conditions. Discover when to seek medical advice. · Numbness and tingling are abnormal sensations that can occur anywhere in your body, but they are often felt in your fingers, hands, feet, arms, or legs. · Conditions that are most likely to cause numbness and tingling on one side of the body include stroke and tumors.
Final Thoughts
The numbness can affect either the rightside or the left side of the body. A tingling or numb feeling is a condition called paresthesia. It’s a sign that a nerve is irritated and sending extra signals. Think of that pins and needles feeling as a traffic jam in your nervous system. When traffic is running smoothly, tiny electrical impulses move along the nerves that run to and from your spine to your arms and legs.