Numbness is the inability to feel anything when your skin is touched.
It may feel like the part you touch does not belong to you. Tingling
(paresthesia) is a pins-and-needles sensation, like when your hand falls
asleep. If you bump your "funny bone," you may feel intense pain
with numbness and tingling shooting down your arm. This feeling is not serious,
lasts only briefly, and will go away on its own.
Numbness and tingling may mean that
nerves have been injured or pinched, swelling is
putting pressure on nerves, or blood vessels have been injured. This can occur
gradually from an overuse injury or from a sudden (acute) injury, such as a
fracture, dislocation, or severe sprain. It is normal to have temporary changes
in feeling after an injury or when you have swelling. Home treatment may help
relieve swelling that can cause numbness or tingling.
Numbness and tingling may develop even when there has not been an
injury.
- Numbness and tingling may be present with other
conditions such as
arthritis,
diabetes mellitus,
multiple sclerosis,
peripheral arterial disease, and
peripheral neuropathy.
- Numbness and
tingling in the arm with chest pain that is crushing,
squeezing, or increasing in intensity can be a
symptom of a heart attack, which requires emergency
care.
- Sudden arm weakness or numbness with
loss of function can occur in conditions such as a
transient ischemic attack, a
stroke, or a
migraine headache, which require emergency
care.
Numbness and tingling are more serious when:
- You have a complete loss of feeling.
- You have symptoms
of impaired blood flow to your arm (such as pale, white, blue, or cold skin or
no pulse at the wrist).
- Your symptoms don't go
away.
- Your symptoms get progressively worse.
- Your
symptoms go away but keep coming back.
- You have muscle weakness
that is not caused by pain.
- You have symptoms of a heart attack or
loss of function.
- You have severe pain and swelling of the forearm
and hand which may be
compartment syndrome.
