Neuritis is the inflammation of a peripheral nerve or nerves often accompanied by degenerative changes in nervous tissue. A neuropathy involves either a cranial nerve or spinal nerve. At times, several different groups of nerves in various parts of the body may be involved. This condition is known as polyneuritis or polyneuropathy. Some form of neuropathy affects 1 person in 400.
The causes of nerve pathology include:
- Mechanical from injury, pressure, overworking a part of the body
- Vascular (blockage of a vessel or hemorrhage into nerve tissue)
- Infectious as in shingles, diptheria, polio, tetanus, or leprosy
- Toxic from heavy metals like arsenic, mercury and lead; chemical poisoning from organo-phosphates, drugs or alcohol; vaccination as in Guillain barre syndrome
- Metabolic from acidosis, vitamin deficiencies, diabetes
Symptoms of neuritis that arise from the involvement of sensory nerves include tingling, burning, pins-and-needles sensations, stabbing or even loss of sensation. If motor nerves are involved, symptoms may range from a slight loss of muscle tone to paralysis with muscle wasting. Since neuritis is regarded as a condition that results from a number of disorders, rather than a disease in itself, treatment is directed first at the underlying cause.