What is erythromelalgia and how to live with it?

Erythromelalgia is a infrequent distressing disorder which is hard to handle and primarily impacts the feet and hands. The problem is characterized by the symptoms of redness, warmness as well as burning discomfort. The episodes with this problem are periodic and last anywhere from minutes to several days. Episodes will most likely start out with a straightforward itchiness, but then progress to extreme pain and a burning sensation. The feet or hand will become warmer, tender and also bloated and also look a reddish shade. The attacks are quite debilitating and will probably have a sizeable impact on the patient with an impact on the quality of living and the capability to perform some of the common things to do of daily living.

There are 2 types of erythromelalgia. One is the primary kind that has a tendency to impact younger people and it is almost certainly because of a inherited genetic mutation that make nerve cells more active. The second kind usually have an impact on older persons and it is resulting from an underlying condition such as all forms of diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, several blood disorders as well as a adverse affect to particular drugs. There are a variety of problems that are similar and doctors will have to distinguish it from them included in the analysis. These include problems such as chronic pain problems, chilblains along with burning foot disease.

The treatment of erythromelalgia is frustrating as there is hardly any one treatment that seems to assist everyone along with the response to medication is quite varied among people. The main tactic will be to stay clear of conditions which trigger an attack for instance a warm bath, environmental triggers or particular foods. Lots of people with erythromelalgia will find respite from cooling down by using air conditioning and also cooling skin gels. Some do make use of immersion of the limb into cool water but this is not advisable as it may result in maceration in the skin and maybe chilblains plus they may perhaps have a secondary infection.

For the second kind of erythromelalgia, management will likely be aimed at therapy for the underpinning medical condition, which can often be very useful. For the primary variety of erythromelalgia the treating of the pain sensation is often a great deal more challenging with the reaction to various prescription drugs being diverse between people. Often anti-inflammatory medicines are tested out, but they are usually not helpful. Medication that obstruct the channels in the nerve fibres which make the nerves over active are frequently experimented with and they do generally help some. The anticonvulsant prescription drugs such as gabapentin might help quite a few. There are some topical cream medications which quite a few find helpful which include capsaicin. In the toughest circumstances sympathetic block or a sympathectomy that does involve surgical procedures on the back may be performed. Nonetheless, the results of these are varying. When the discomfort is severe and the problem is difficult to handle and it has such an impact on the daily life of those who have got erythromelalgia experts recommend that all individuals with erythromelalgia have a assessment with a pain treatment specialist and clinical psychologists to assist them to overcome the symptoms and learn the strategies which have been useful for dealing with the pain.