The symptoms of peripheral neuropathy may decrease or disappear over time, but in some cases they never go away. Peripheral nerves have a great healing capacity. Although it may take months, a recovery can occur. However, in some situations, the symptoms of neuropathy may decrease but not go away completely.
For example, nerve damage caused by radiation often does not recover well. Neuropathy caused by chemotherapy is also difficult to cure, and recovery can take from 18 months to 5 years or more. During recovery from platinum-induced neuropathy, patients may suffer from increased symptoms. Neuropathic pain is often described as a shooting or burning pain.
It can go away on its own, but it is often chronic. Sometimes it is relentless and serious, and sometimes it comes and goes. It is often the result of damage to the nerves or a malfunctioning nervous system. The impact of nerve damage is a change in nerve function both at the site of injury and in the areas around it.
A tree that has been cut down and cut into wood cannot become a living tree again. Scrambled eggs can never be raw. Peripheral neuropathy may affect only one nerve, two or more nerves in different areas of the body. Pain is the most common symptom of neuropathy.
You can feel the pain at all times and the pain can come and go. Peripheral nerves have the ability to heal on their own. In some cases, the symptoms of neuropathy may be reduced, but not completely disappear. The good news for people living with neuropathy is that it is sometimes reversible.
Simply by addressing contributing causes, such as underlying infections, exposure to toxins, or vitamin and hormone deficiencies, the symptoms of neuropathy often resolve on their own. Nerve damage can occur after any injury, and the results are often related to the severity of the injury. Minor injuries can cause some nerve damage, but the body tries to heal itself whenever possible. However, more serious injuries can cause serious nerve damage that often requires nerve repairs.
The Inherited Neuropathies Consortium (INC), a group of academic medical centers, patient support organizations, and clinical research resources dedicated to conducting clinical research on Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and improving care for people with the disease, seeks to better characterize the natural history of several different forms of neuropathy and identify genes that modify the clinical characteristics of these disorders. NINDS-funded research ranges from clinical studies of the genetics and natural history of hereditary neuropathies to discoveries of new causes and treatments for neuropathy, to basic scientific research on the biological mechanisms responsible for chronic neuropathic pain.
