Diagnosis Code S04.031A
Information for Patients
Peripheral Nerve Disorders
Also called: Neuritis, Peripheral neuritis, Peripheral neuropathy
Your peripheral nerves are the ones outside your brain and spinal cord. Like static on a telephone line, peripheral nerve disorders distort or interrupt the messages between the brain and the rest of the body.
There are more than 100 kinds of peripheral nerve disorders. They can affect one nerve or many nerves. Some are the result of other diseases, like diabetic nerve problems. Others, like Guillain-Barre syndrome, happen after a virus infection. Still others are from nerve compression, like carpal tunnel syndrome or thoracic outlet syndrome. In some cases, like complex regional pain syndrome and brachial plexus injuries, the problem begins after an injury. Some people are born with peripheral nerve disorders.
Symptoms often start gradually, and then get worse. They include
- Burning or tingling
- Muscle weakness
- Sensitivity to touch
Treatment aims to treat any underlying problem, reduce pain and control symptoms.
NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
- Axillary nerve dysfunction
- Chronic inflammatory polyneuropathy
- Common peroneal nerve dysfunction
- Distal median nerve dysfunction
- Femoral nerve dysfunction
- Glossopharyngeal neuralgia
- Metabolic neuropathies
- Mononeuritis multiplex
- Neuropathy secondary to drugs
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Radial nerve dysfunction
- Sensorimotor polyneuropathy
- Tibial nerve dysfunction
- Ulnar nerve dysfunction
Vision Impairment and Blindness
Also called: Low vision
If you have low vision, eyeglasses, contact lenses, medicine, or surgery may not help. Activities like reading, shopping, cooking, writing, and watching TV may be hard to do. The leading causes of low vision and blindness in the United States are age-related eye diseases: macular degeneration, cataract and glaucoma. Other eye disorders, eye injuries and birth defects can also cause vision loss.
Whatever the cause, lost vision cannot be restored. It can, however, be managed. A loss of vision means that you may have to reorganize your life and learn new ways of doing things. If you have some vision, visual aids such as special glasses and large print books can make life easier. There are also devices to help those with no vision, like text-reading software and braille books.
The sooner vision loss or eye disease is found and treated, the greater your chances of keeping your remaining vision. You should have regular comprehensive eye exams by an eye care professional.
NIH: National Eye Institute
- Blindness and vision loss
- Home vision tests
- Living with vision loss
- Vision - night blindness
- Vision problems