As a result, it is usually necessary to get medical help to manage alcohol use disorder. Diagnosis usually involves a healthcare provider collecting a medical history, performing a medical and neurological exam, and performing blood and urine tests. Treatment options include steps to quit alcohol use and managing symptoms of the disease. The first step in treating alcoholic neuropathy includes stopping alcohol use altogether.
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These symptoms can occur in addition to the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. Consuming too much, especially over months or years, can result in severe symptoms. If liver damage is evident, appropriate consultation with a transplantation service is recommended. However, neuropathy is generally an exclusion criterion for transplantation. Your health care provider will perform a physical exam and ask about symptoms. People who drink heavily on a regular basis and have one or more of the following symptoms should contact a doctor.
Conditions That May Mimic Alcoholic Neuropathy
- It looks at things like liver and kidney functions and blood sugar levels.
- The peripheral nervous system sends messages from your brain all around the body.
- Some doctors feel so strongly about this that they refuse to continue treatment for a person that doesn’t restrict alcohol consumption.
- The peripheral nervous system is separate from the central nervous system (CNS) that houses your brain and spinal cord.
Fortunately, abstaining from alcohol can help restore your nutritional health. This may improve your symptoms and help prevent further nerve damage. The prognosis for alcoholic neuropathy depends on various factors, including the extent of nerve damage and the individual’s commitment to avoiding alcohol and adhering to treatment plans. Some individuals may experience significant improvement in symptoms within weeks to months, especially with early intervention and consistent treatment. However, for others, especially those with severe or long-standing neuropathy, some symptoms may persist indefinitely. Long-term management focuses on symptom relief, preventing further nerve damage, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle to support nerve function.
- Alcoholic neuropathy, also called alcohol-induced peripheral neuropathy, is nerve damage in the body caused by the toxic effects of alcohol.
- But if the neuropathy becomes advanced, it might not be reversible.
- Nutritional problems linked to alcohol use, such as vitamin deficiency, can also cause nerve damage.
- If necessary, you may be advised to take pain medications, unless you already have a dependency on opioids.
- As a result, it shows why it’s important to seek help for a drinking problem early.
- It’s important to see a GP if you experience the early symptoms of peripheral neuropathy.
Risk factors
In cases such as these, the transplant will provide the body with a healthy environment to begin healing from the toxic environment it had prior to the transplant. It’s crucial that you realize which is alcoholic neuropathy dangerous of these conditions have an impact. When you pair them with alcohol, you can make the neuropathy worse. Although the pain was common, not every patient experienced nerve damage the same way.
What is alcohol-related neurologic disease?
Deficiency of vitamins other than thiamine may also contribute to clinical features of alcoholic neuropathy. Chronic alcoholism can alter the intake, absorption and utilization of various nutrients (nicotinic acid, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folate or vitamin E). Thus, these vitamin deficiencies were not considered to be major causal factors of neuropathy [26]. In one clinical study, aimed at studying distinct clinicopathologic features of alcoholic neuropathy, 64 patients were assessed. In 47 of these patients sural nerve biopsy was performed, with discrimination in terms of their thiamine status [3].
Some people experience a faster onset and progression of alcoholic neuropathy than others. It’s not completely clear why some people are more prone to this complication than others. Alcoholic neuropathy signs and symptoms can progress gradually and are usually subtle at first. In fact, a person who drinks heavily might not recognize that the symptoms they are experiencing are related to their alcohol consumption. At Healthgrades, our Editorial Team works hard to develop complete, objective and meaningful health information to help people choose the right doctor, right hospital and right care. Our writers include physicians, pharmacists, and registered nurses with firsthand clinical experience.
Clinical features of alcoholic peripheral neuropathy develop slowly, extending over a period of months and include abnormalities in sensory, motor, autonomic and gait functions. Painful sensations with or without burning quality represent the initial and major symptom of alcoholic neuropathy [2, 4]. Sometimes, these symptoms can be very painful and incapacitating. Later on, weakness appears in the extremities, involving mainly the distal parts.