Neuropathy is when your nerves are damaged or weakened that it causes you to feel pain, numbness and weakness in your hands and feet. Your peripheral nerves send messages to your brain and spinal cord, when those nerves are damaged, these messages are interrupted and cause your nerves to function differently and will affect how your body responds.
Best neuropathy pain relief remedies
Here are some remedies or treatments you can buy or do to control neuropathy and relieve you from the pain that you are feeling. It is best that you talk to your doctor if these remedies can help you and will give you maximum benefit, some of these remedies are best for specific conditions.
Non-prescription treatments or over-the-counter treatments
If your nerve pain is mild and you need an option that will give you relief without needing any prescription from your doctor, OTC treatments can be a solution.
- Topical painkillers – Many OTC creams and ointments are sold to help relieve nerve pain. It will numb the area where you are feeling pain. Some of these topical painkillers contain capsaicin that is best to use for relieving pain and also acts as a good painkiller. Other OTC painkillers contain different natural ingredients that can also help to soothe your skin or even moisture them.
- Pain killing medicines – Unlike topical painkillers that are put directly to your skin. These painkillers are medicines that you need to intake like acetaminophen, aspirin, and ibuprofen. These drugs might help with mild or occasional pain but they may not give you relief when you are experiencing serious pain.
- Supplements and vitamins – In some cases neuropathy can get worse because of the lack of having vitamin B12 in your body. There are injections of vitamin B12 that your doctor might recommend. Supplements and vitamins play a big part in helping keep your body healthy and making sure that your body is getting the right amount and enough nutrients that it needs.
Treatments for neuropathy
Aside from OTC medicines, you can get physical treatments that can help your nerves to function better and to relieve pain, here are some treatments that you can try.
- Acupuncture – Researchers say that acupuncture helps release chemicals that numb pain or that it blocks the pain signals that are sent from your nerves. It has few side effects and you can try it for yourself to see if it works for you.
- Physical Therapy – With the help of physical therapy, it will reverse nerve damage and muscle weakness. Therapists help people to manage pain and give them relief. Physical therapy is also an important part of preventive care, rehabilitation and treatment.
- Massage – Massage doesn’t only give relief to a person who isn’t diagnosed with neuropathy. Some people find that it can be helpful with painful muscle spasms. You should talk to your doctor if you can do this treatment without damaging your nerves.
- Assistive devices – Using Assistive devices like canes or splints might be helpful for you because it can help you to easily move around and reduce pain. Depending on your condition, ergonomically designed chairs or desks could also bring relief.
- Biofeedback – This technique teaches you how to control body functions that are normally involuntary like your heart rate. With practice, you will learn how to relax your muscles and reduce tension.
- Relaxation – Stress management techniques like yoga, meditation or Deep breathing will help you relax. Not only will these treatments relieve some of the stress caused by chronic nerve pain but they may also help with the pain itself.