Acute inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy, better known as Guillain-Barre syndrome, can damage motor, sensory, and autonomic nerve fibers. Most people recover from this syndrome, although severe cases can be life threatening. Autonomic nerves control functions that you're not aware of, such as breathing and heartbeat. Damage to these nerves can be serious.
You may have a combination of 2 or 3 of these other types of neuropathies, such as sensorimotor neuropathy. If left untreated, neuropathy can gradually damage more nerves and cause permanent damage. As a result, a person may suffer from foot ulcers and other complications that can cause serious bacterial infections due to lack of blood flow. This, in turn, leads to gangrene or complete death of body tissue.
Nerve damage can lead to numbness, tingling, unusual sensations and pain in the first three fingers of the thumb side of the hand. The person may wake up at night with numbness in the hand or find that when doing activities such as using a hairdryer, numbness is more noticeable. Over time, carpal tunnel injuries can weaken the muscles of the hand. You may also feel pain, tingling, or burning in your arm and shoulder.
If you experience nerve pain, sitting for long periods of time slowly damages your nerves over time. Sitting can affect nerves that are most vulnerable to pain sensations, such as tingling, burning, or throbbing pain. Severe neuropathies can also cause autonomic dysfunctions, such as feet turning purple due to loss of blood vessel control.
