What causes neuropathy?
Diabetes: Uncontrolled high blood sugar can damage the nerves, and diabetes is the most common cause of neuropathy.
Trauma: Nerve damage can be caused by sports, vehicle accidents, fractures, and other trauma resulting in neuropathy.
Inherited disorders: Unfortunately, neuropathy may be genetic. Inherited health conditions that may result in neuropathy include familial amyloidosis, CMT disease, Fabry disease, and metachromatic leukodystrophy.
Vitamin levels: Neuropathy can be caused by dysfunctional nerves. To keep nerves functioning correctly, it’s important to have the right levels of vitamins E, B1, B6, B12, and niacin. Those who don’t have the proper levels of these vitamins put themselves at risk for developing neuropathy.
Tumors: Neuropathy can occur when tumors push on the nerves or crowd their space. This can happen whether the tumors are benign or malignant.
Medications and treatments: Neuropathy can be caused by certain antibiotics, anti-seizure medications, and HIV medications. In addition, peripheral nerves can possibly be damaged by chemotherapy and radiation.
Alcohol abuse: Alcoholism can affect nerve function because the nerves require a certain amount of thiamine and other vitamins to work properly. When alcohol is abused, these vitamins are often lacking due to poor diet.
Toxic substances: Exposure to industrial chemicals and heavy metals may seriously damage the nerves. This most often occurs in industrial workers.
Health conditions: Neuropathy may result from kidney disorders, vascular issues, autoimmune disorders and infections, myeloma, lymphoma, monoclonal gammopathy, liver disorders, or hypothyroidism.
