8 Natural Ways to Treat Peripheral Neuropathy

Peripheral neuropathy is a medical condition that causes pain, weakness, and numbness in your extremities, usually the hands and feet.

The peripheral nerves in our body send messages from our brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body. However, when these nerves are damaged, the messages are interrupted. It affects how our body reacts to pain, temperature, and other reflexes.

A few things and your lifestyle choices that are known to cause the peripheral nerve damage include diabetes, traumatic injury, infection, and consuming too much alcohol.

The effects of peripheral neuropathy can develop slowly over some time or they can suddenly show up. The symptoms of peripheral neuropathy mainly depend on the type of nerve damage you are suffering from. 

8 natural peripheral neuropathy treatment options

The ideal peripheral neuropathy treatment for you typically depends on what caused this condition. However, some commonly known treatments include physical therapy, injections, and surgery for increased nerve pressure. Some treatment options also focus on reducing your pain and discomfort like over-the-counter painkillers.

You can also try a number of natural peripheral neuropathy treatment tips and remedies to get some relief from the symptoms and peripheral neuropathy.

Vitamins and supplements

Sometimes people develop the condition of peripheral neuropathy because of vitamin deficiencies. Vitamin B is very important for your nerve health and well-being and its deficiency can lead to major nerve damage.

Even though you may try to get vitamin B from your meals, but you might be recommended to take supplements by your doctor. To prevent any toxicity and worsening of the symptoms it is better to stick to the dose that's recommended by your doctor.

Other supplements that can help prevent nerve pain include vitamin D. Your skin generally generates vitamin D through exposure to sunlight. Deficiency of vitamin D can give your neuropathy pain and taking its supplements can decrease the symptoms you are experiencing.

Cayenne pepper

The cayenne pepper contains capsaicin, it’s the substance in hot peppers that make them spicy. However, capsaicin is known to be used in topical creams due to its pain relief characteristics. It helps in reducing the intensity of the pain signals sent to the body.

Including cayenne pepper in your diet can be affecting in reducing neuropathy pain. You can also choose to consume capsaicin supplements instead.

You may also use topical capsaicin ointments on your body. You may initially feel a burning sensation but the continued use will slowly decrease the symptoms of neuropathy. However, make sure to first consult your doctor about this treatment method and if it will be effective in your particular case.

Quit smoking

The practice of smoking affects your blood circulation. Regularly smoking makes your blood vessels narrow, which means less oxygenated blood can pass through them.

without proper blood circulation, you might experience increased numbness as well as pain because of peripheral neuropathy. Hence, quitting smoking may help reduce the intensity of neuropathy symptoms you are experiencing.

Take warm baths

Usually taking a warm bath is a soothing experience and it is also known to be effective in alleviating pain symptoms of neuropathy. Besides, warm water increases the blood circulation throughout your body, which can help decrease the pain symptoms caused by numbness.

However, in case your sensory nerves are affected by peripheral neuropathy and you are not too sensitive to temperature, make sure to not make your bath water too hot.

Exercising regularly

Engaging in some kind of exercising every day can have many benefits for your overall health including combating pain. Being active and exercising can help reduce your blood sugar level, which can be helpful in reducing or slowing down the nerve damage.

Regular exercise also increased the blood flow to your legs and arms, and it reduces stress. Through all these effects that exercising has on your mind and body, it can be an effective and natural way to reduce the pain and discomfort of neuropathy.

Using essential oils

Using some essential oils can positively affect your body like chamomile and roman lavender. They help improve your body's blood circulation. Besides, essential oils are also known for pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties, which can also boost healing.

You can also use just a few drops of dilute essential oils in 1 ounce of carrier oil like olive oil. Applying this mixture of oils on the affected areas of your body can reduce the stinging and tingling pains you experience due to peripheral neuropathy.

Meditation

You can try different meditation techniques to figure out what works best for you. Meditation is known to help people who are struggling with symptoms of neuropathy and coping with pain. It is also a good way to lower stress, decrease the intensity of pain, and improve your coping skills.

Practicing meditation and taking the mind-body approach, could be the perfect non-invasion and natural way for you to gain more control over your condition and how your mind and body respond to it.

Acupuncture technique

Acupuncture technique promotes natural healing in the body by stimulating the body's pressure points. This method triggers your nervous system and enables your body to release chemicals that can change your pain threshold or experience.

That said, acupuncture gives your body an energy balance, which can help in your physical and emotional well-being.

Treating peripheral neuropathy

For most of the things in life, prevention is the better option than treatment. These eight natural ways to treat peripheral neuropathy are ways of limited the severeness of your condition or reducing the effect of its symptoms on your body and mind. Keeping your blood sugar level in check can help prevent your condition from worsening. Like this, there are many lifestyle changes that can help you gain more control over your condition and improve your health.

Hence, make sure to keep these remedies and tips in mind to be successful in alleviating the pain and discomfort from peripheral neuropathy. However, make sure to consult your doctor before adopting any treatment.