Other CONDITIONS
NEUROLOGICAL Conditions
1. Stroke
Damage to the brain from interruption of its blood supply. A stroke is a medical emergency.
Symptoms of stroke include:
-Trouble walking, Speaking and Understanding, as well as paralysis or numbness of the face, arm or leg.
People may experience:
–Muscular: difficulty walking, paralysis with weak muscles, problems with coordination, stiff muscles, overactive reflexes, or paralysis of one side of the body
–Visual: blurred vision, double vision, sudden visual loss, or temporary loss of vision in one eye
–Speech: difficulty speaking, slurred speech, or speech loss
–Whole body: fatigue, light-headedness, or vertigo
–Limbs: numbness or weakness
–Sensory: pins and needles or reduced sensation of touch
–Facial: muscle weakness or numbness
Also common: balance disorder, difficulty swallowing, headache, inability to understand, mental confusion, or rapid involuntary eye movement. Disorder of the central nervous system that affects movement, often including tremors. Nerve cell damage in the brain causes dopamine levels to drop, leading to the symptoms of Parkinson’s.
2. Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s often starts with a tremor in one hand. Other symptoms are slow movement, stiffness and loss of balance.
People may experience:
-Tremor: can occur at rest, in the hands, limbs, or can be postural
-Muscular: stiff muscles, difficulty standing, difficulty walking, difficulty with bodily movements, involuntary movements, muscle rigidity, problems with coordination, rhythmic muscle contractions, slow bodily movement, or slow shuffling gait
-Sleep: early awakening, nightmares, restless sleep, or sleep disturbances
-Whole body: fatigue, dizziness, poor balance, or restlessness
-Cognitive: amnesia, confusion in the evening hours, dementia, or difficulty thinking and understanding
-Speech: difficulty speaking, soft speech, or voice box spasms
-Nasal: distorted sense of smell or loss of smell
-Urinary: dribbling of urine or leaking of urine
-Mood: anxiety or apathy
-Facial: jaw stiffness or reduced facial expression
Also common: blank stare, constipation, depression, difficulty swallowing, drooling, falling, fear of falling, loss in contrast sensitivity, neck tightness, small handwriting, trembling, unintentional writhing, or weight loss
3. Cerebral palsy
A congenital disorder of movement, muscle tone or posture. Cerebral palsy is due to abnormal brain development, often before birth.
Symptoms include exaggerated reflexes, floppy or rigid limbs and involuntary motions. These appear by early childhood.
People may experience:
-Muscular: difficulty walking, difficulty with bodily movements, muscle rigidity, permanent shortening of muscle, problems with coordination, stiff muscles, overactive reflexes, involuntary movements, muscle weakness, muscle spasms, or paralysis of one side of the body
-Developmental: failure to thrive, learning disability, slow growth, or speech delay in a child
-Speech: speech disorder or stuttering
Also common: constipation, difficulty raising the foot, difficulty swallowing, drooling, hearing loss, leaking of urine, paralysis, physical deformity, scissor gait, seizures, spastic gait, teeth grinding, or tremor.
4. Peripheral neuropathy
Any damages to peripheral nerves leading to weakness, numbness and pain from nerve damage, usually in the hands and feet. A common cause of peripheral neuropathy is diabetes, but it can also result from injuries, infections and exposure to toxins.
Symptoms include pain, a pins-and-needles sensation, numbness and weakness. Can have no symptoms
People may experience:
-Pain areas: in the back, face, foot, hands, or thigh
-Pain types: can be burning and tingling or sharp
-Pain circumstances: can occur at night
-Muscular: cramping, difficulty walking, muscle weakness, problems with coordination, or loss of muscle
-Sensory: pins and needles, uncomfortable tingling and burning, oversensitivity, reduced sensation of touch, or sensitivity to pain
Also common: poor balance, slow reflexes, tingling feet, tingling fingers, or weakness
5. Muscular dystrophy
A group of genetic diseases that cause progressive weakness and loss of muscle mass. In muscular dystrophies, abnormal genes (mutations) lead to muscle degeneration. Most forms begin in childhood. Damaged muscles become progressively weaker. Most people who have the condition eventually need a wheelchair. Other symptoms include trouble breathing or swallowing.
6. Bell’s palsy
Sudden weakness in the muscles on one half of the face. Bell’s palsy is also known as acute peripheral facial palsy of unknown cause. It can occur at any age. The exact cause is unknown. It’s caused by swelling and inflammation of the nerve that controls the muscles on one side of the face. It could be caused by a reaction that occurs after a viral infection.
Symptoms usually start to improve within a few weeks, with complete recovery in about six months. A small number of people continue to have some Bell’s palsy symptoms for life. Rarely, Bell’s palsy occurs more than once. Bell’s palsy may be a reaction to a viral infection. It rarely occurs more than once.Bell’s palsy is characterised by muscle weakness that causes one half of the face to droop.
People may experience:
-Pain areas: in the ear
-Sensory: abnormality of taste or sensitivity to sound
Also common: facial muscle weakness, drooling, or dry eyes
7. Carpal tunnel syndrome
This is caused by pressure on the median nerve. The carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway surrounded by bones and ligaments on the palm side of the hand. When the median nerve is compressed, symptoms can include numbness, tingling, and weakness in the hand and arm. Carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms usually start gradually and include:
8. Tingling or numbness
You may notice tingling and numbness in the fingers or hand. Usually the thumb and index, middle or ring fingers are affected, but not the little finger. You might feel a sensation like an electric shock in these fingers. The sensation may travel from the wrist up the arm. These symptoms often occur while holding a steering wheel, phone or newspaper, or may wake you from sleep. Many people “shake out” their hands to try to relieve their symptoms. The numb feeling may become constant over time Weakness. You may experience weakness in the hand and drop objects. This may be due to the numbness in the hand or weakness of the thumb’s pinching muscles, which are also controlled by the median nerve.
9. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)
It is one of the most common causes of vertigo — the sudden sensation that you’re spinning or that the inside of your head is spinning. BPPV causes brief episodes of mild to intense dizziness. It is usually triggered by specific changes in your head’s position. This might occur when you tip your head up or down, when you lie down, or when you turn over or sit up in bed.
Symptoms may include:
–Dizziness
–A loss of balance or unsteadiness
–Nausea
–Vomiting.