What is Peripheral neuropathy?
The peripheral nervous system connects the nerves in your brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body.
Peripheral neuropathy is a dysfunction of these nerves that are damaged or destroyed.
They can send a pain signal when there's nothing causing it or block that feeling even when something is hurting you.
In the case of Eric Clapton, it is a pain that began to manifest itself a few years ago.
"I have felt a lot of pain over the past year. It started with a low back pain," Clapton told Classic Rock magazine.
What are the symptoms?
The disorder can affect any of the nervous groups:
Sensory, which are connected to the skin
Motors, which are connected to the muscles
Autonomic, which are connected to the organs
Symptoms include a tingling in the hands or feet, the feeling of wearing gloves or tight socks, sudden sharp pains, numbness in the fingers, weakness of the limbs.
In 2013, Clapton had to cancel several commitments due to backaches.
In the interview, he described the pain as "electric shocks that descended the leg."
Who is at risk?
Several factors put people with HIV at greater risk for PN. These include a history of PN, a high viral load, CD4 cell counts below 100, the conditions that define AIDS, the use of nerve-damaging medications, diabetes, poor nutrition and excessive alcohol use. Peripheral neuropathy usually appears in the advanced stages of HIV disease.
Men and women usually have the same incidence rate of PN. Older adults have a higher risk. People who do not consume enough vitamins (especially B12 and E) and minerals in their diets or through supplements also have a higher risk. Similarly, people are at greater risk when they consume too much vitamin B6 or drink too much alcohol.
Several medications commonly used in HIV disease may increase the risk of PN: Zerit, Videx, Dapsone, INH (isoniazid), Flagyl (metronidazole), Oncovin (vincristine), Myambutol (ethambutol) and Zyvox (linezolid). If you take any of these, or especially two or more of them, you may be at greater risk. The risk increases even more if you have some of the conditions mentioned above.
