Dysesthesia

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Dysesthesia is defined as an unpleasant abnormal sensation.^[1] It is caused by lesions of the nervous system, peripheral or central, and it involves abnormal sensations, whether spontaneous or evoked, such as burning, wetness, itching, electric shock, pins and needles.

It is sometimes described as feeling like acid under the skin. Burning dysesthesia might accurately reflect an acidotic state in the synapses and perineural space. Some ion channels will open to a low pH, the acid sensing ion channel has been shown to open at body temperature, in a model of nerve injury pain. Dysesthetic burning may be hallucinatory as to the cutaneous surface, but accurate as to what is occurring in the synapses.^{[citation needed]}

Dysesthesia is commonly seen in diabetic patients, and can be relieved by using creams containing capsaicin.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Paresthesia

Bibliography McHenry, Kenneth, M.D. "Lessons from my Central Pain" Pain Clinical Updates Volume X, No. 3 Sept. (2002) International Association for the Study of Pain