Overcoming Alcoholic Neuropathy
People who have been consuming vast amounts of alcohol for an extended period of time are prone to accumulate alcoholic neuropathy. They develop a primary axonal sensorimotor peripheral polyneuropathy. The area that is usually affected first is the person's feet. The feet start to experience numbness and weakness. The nerves have been damaged by the consumption of alcohol. It is most likely caused by nutritional deficiencies. An alcoholic robs their body of the nutrients it really needs to be healthy. Putting poison into your body daily will cause your major organs and insides to deteriorate at a fast pace. There are a numerous amount of symptoms associated with alcoholic neuropathy. Painful sensations, pins and needles feeling, head tingling, heat intolerance, muscle weakness and cramps, difficulty urinating, bowel movement difficulties, swallowing difficulties, speech slurring, and the incapability to control muscles. There isn't much you can do for treatment since you have already abused your body to the point of breaking.
The first step in treatment is to stop drinking alcohol. Then, take a look at your life to see what else you are doing that is unhealthy. Do you smoke and take any type of drugs? If so, STOP! These things will only cause you more pain and make it hard for any treatments to help you recover. Write down what you eat and drink everyday. Are you eating three meals a day? Do you drink enough water to keep your body functioning? Do you snack on sugary foods throughout the day? If you are consuming large amounts of sugar and caffeine your body will not be working the way it was meant to work. Processed foods will also cause your immune system to be down and not able to fight off the infections like it should. So, look at your diet. Do you get the right amount of exercise? Are you using the muscles that you have left that are not deteriorating? If you don't use your muscles on a daily basis they will become weaker because your body doesn't feel it needs to waste the energy to keep them strong. Participate in some sort of physical activity that keeps you limber and strong. Medical treatment that you will receive might include taking vitamins and supplements to help build your muscles back up. You may be ordered to see a physical therapist or wear orthopedic splints to help the strength in your legs. Medication is usually only used to help minimize the amount of pain you might be feeling. Health care practitioners don't like to use medication unless it is absolutely necessary. Aspirin or Ibuprofen are the preferred medication to use for pains. If blood pressure, urination, and gastrointestinal conditions will need to be dealt with according to the extent of the illness. Your practitioner may try a number of different treatments before they find the one that will work for you. Each person is different; therefore not every treatment will work for every person. A diet high on salt might work for you while elastic stockings might work for a different person. It is basically trial and error to see what works for whom. Like mentioned before, the most important thing that you can do for yourself and your loved ones is to stop the use of consuming alcohol. |
