Overview

Paresthesias are abnormal sensations, such as numbness, tingling, burning, or a feeling of ants crawling on the skin (formication) [Starr2005, pg 125].

Please see conventional, complimentary and alternative medical treatments for important background information regarding the different types of medical treatments discussed on this page. Naturopathic, Complimentary and Alternative treatments that may be considered include:

Etiology

Paresthesia is a multifactorial disorder; potential causes include:
  • Pinched or damaged nerve due to structural imbalance
  • Nerve dysfunction associated with hypothyroidism [DeGroot1996], [Starr2005, pg 125].
  • Nerve dysfunction associated with compromised blood circulation.

Diagnosis

  • Structural evaluation by a Naturopathic Medical Doctor, Chiropractor, or DO.
  • Basal body temperature below 97.8 degrees F, elevated TSH, or depressed T3 (suggests hypothyroidism).

Differential Diagnosis

Hypotheses

Naturopathic, Complimentary and Alternative Treatments

Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN)

According to the Low Dose Naltrexone home page [LDN], LDN has been seen to benefit many different neurodegenerative diseases associated with autoimmune processes, including Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's Disease. Although Dr. Weyrich is not aware of any reports of treating paresthesia using LDN, Dr. Weyrich speculates that paresthesia may also respond to LDN.

Dr. Weyrich has been trained in the use of Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN). However, Dr. Weyrich has not treated any cases of paresthesia with LDN.

Please see What is Low Dose Naltrexone? for more information.

References