Inflammatory polyneuropathy
Inflammatory polyneuropathy is a condition where your immune system accidentally attacks and damages your nerves, causing muscle weakness and numbness throughout your body.
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Your nervous system is like a complex network of electrical wires that helps your brain talk to your muscles and skin. In this condition, your immune system—which is supposed to protect you from germs—gets confused and starts attacking the protective coating, called myelin, that surrounds these nerve wires.
Because your immune system is attacking many nerves at once, we call it polyneuropathy, which literally means "many nerve diseases." This damage disrupts the signals traveling from your brain to your body, leading to feelings of tingling, weakness, or loss of sensation, most commonly starting in your hands and feet.
Common Symptoms
- A pins-and-needles tingling sensation in your fingers or toes.
- Weakness in your legs that makes it difficult to climb stairs or stand up.
- A feeling of numbness or loss of sensation in your feet.
- Difficulty with balance or coordination when walking.
- Pain that feels like burning or sharp stabbing in your limbs.