Dysesthesia is a neurological condition characterized by a distortion of the sense of touch, which causes all touch to feel unpleasant. The root words for this condition come from the Greek words for "bad" and "sensation," reflecting the fact that for a patient with dysesthesia, sensations feel not just abnormal, but unpleasant. It sometimes occurs with paresthesia, transitory tingling and numbness which can feel abnormal and strange, but not always unpleasant.
Patients develop the condition because there are lesions somewhere in the nervous system. The peripheral nerves, sensory nerves, or sensory pathways may be involved. If a patient experiences unpleasant sensation in the hand, for example, it could be a problem with the nerves in the hand, the nerves which connect the hand to the brain, or the part of the brain which processes the sensations from the hand. In all cases, the patient experiences unpleasant sensations when exposed to touch, even though these sensations are not actually happening.
Burning dysesthesia, in which the patient feels like the affected area is on fire, is one form of this condition. Patients can also feel like they are being frozen or stabbed. They may also describe sensory experiences which, while not painful, are unpleasant. Some patients, for example, say that they feel like they have something under their skin. An examination of the area will not show any signs of exposure to noxious stimuli.
Even light touch can be painful for someone with dysesthesia. The weight of clothing or bed covers can be extremely uncomfortable, and the patient also experiences pain when people or objects brush up against the body. A friendly paw from a household pet, for instance, can cause excruciating pain because the nerve lesions confuse the signal which says "the cat is batting my leg" and translate it into a sensation of pain or discomfort.
Dysesthesia can be seen in people with diabetes, neuropathy, and multiple sclerosis, among other conditions. Treatment for this neurological issue is dependent on finding the cause. It may be possible to pinpoint the location where the sensory signals are getting scrambled. In such cases, patients may be offered options such as electrical stimulation of a nerve to stop the signals, or a neurotomy, in which the involved nerve is simply severed. Pain management medications can also be administered to dull the sensation of pain and keep the patient more comfortable.
For patients, this condition can be extremely frustrating. Sometimes it is difficult to find a doctor who will meet pain management needs because doctors may reject the idea that the patient is in pain at all. In addition, treatment often requires patient adjustment of medications and treatment options to find a method which works.