Facial paresthesia
Facial paresthesia: Introduction
The skin sensation of partial numbness or "pins and needles" or
a type of "burning", "tingling" or "creeping" sensation of the skin,
is known as a "paresthesia".
Symptoms may start as a tingling (paresthesia) and change to a numbness,
or there may be a combination of decreased sensation (numbness) but
with heightened sensations at certain times or with stimulation.
Any type of tingling, burning, or numbness is usually a symptom related to a sensory nerve being damaged, diseased,
or injured.
Causes depend on the exact location of the paresthesia sensations,
but typically include a physical nerve injury type condition
(e.g. a nerve entrapment or some type of pressure being applied to a nerve
directly or to the spinal attachment of that nerve),
or a disease condition affecting the nerves (e.g. neuropathy, diabetic
neuropathy, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and others).
Having these sensory symptoms in multiple locations,
or the recurrence of similar
symptoms in different locations is a hallmark symptom of multiple sclerosis,
so your doctor will likely ask about the past history of similar symptoms
to assess the likelihood of multiple sclerosis as a diagnosis (see symptoms of multiple
sclerosis).
Any of these tingling or numbness symptoms are more than just annoying; they can indicate a serious
medical condition and require prompt medical diagnosis by a professional.
» Review Causes of Facial paresthesia:
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Causes of Facial paresthesia
See all 13
causes of Facial paresthesia
Causes of Types of Facial paresthesia:
Review the causes of these more specific types of Facial paresthesia:
See full list of 2
types for Facial paresthesia
Facial paresthesia: Symptom Checker
Listed below are some combinations of symptoms associated with Facial paresthesia, as listed in our database.
Visit the Symptom Checker,
to add and remove symptoms and research your condition.
Symptom Checker
Symptom Checker
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Symptom Checker combinations related to Facial paresthesia
Facial paresthesia Treatments
Review information on Facial paresthesia Treatments.
Facial paresthesia: Marketplace Products, Discounts & Offers
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Causes of General Symptom Types
Research the causes of these more general types of symptom:
Research the causes of related medical symptoms such as:
Causes of Similar Symptoms to Facial paresthesia
Research the causes of these symptoms that are similar to, or related to, the symptom Facial paresthesia:
Diagnostic Guides for Facial paresthesia
Medical Books Excerpts
Read excertps from published book sections related to Facial paresthesia
from the following published medical books
for more detailed information about Facial paresthesia.
Free access (no registration): read all online diagnostic book sections about Facial paresthesia
Medical Books Excerpts
- Facial pain
- "Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition)" (2006)
- [ read ]
- Paresthesia
- "Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition)" (2006)
- [ read ]
- Facial pain
- "Signs & Symptoms: A 2-in-1 Reference for Nurses" (2007)
- [ read ]
- Paresthesia
- "Signs & Symptoms: A 2-in-1 Reference for Nurses" (2007)
- [ read ]
Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.
Facial paresthesia: Medical Mistakes
Facial paresthesia: Undiagnosed Conditions
Conditions that are commonly undiagnosed in related areas may include:
- Nerve Disorders: serious diseases commonly undiagnosed:
- Chronic Pain Disorders -- serious medical disorders that may be undiagnosed:
- more undiagnosed conditions...»
Facial paresthesia: Research Related Doctors & Specialists
- Nerve Specialists:
- Face / Facial / Oral Health Specialists:
- Pain Specialists:
- Arthritis & Joint Health Specialists (Rheumatology):
- more specialists...»
Other ways to find a doctor, or use doctor, physician and specialist online research services:
Misdiagnosis and Facial paresthesia
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in a variety of different...read more »
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However, there...read more »
Vitamin B12 deficiency under-diagnosed: The condition of Vitamin B12 deficiency
is a possible misdiagnosis of various conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (see symptoms of multiple...read more »
Read more about Misdiagnosis and Facial paresthesia
Diagnostic tests for Facial paresthesia:
Various tests are used in the diagnosis of Facial paresthesia. Some of these are listed below :
- Physical examination
- Test corneal sensation by lightly touching the cornea ( the surface of the eye over the iris) with a wisp of cotton wool and determining if you feel the touch. If the cotton wool is not felt this may indicate a lesion of the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal nerve
- Test facial pain sensation in all three divisions of the trigeminal nerve ( i.e. forehead, middle of face and lower jaw) with the sharp end of a pin. Loss of pain sensation will result in the pin prick feeling dull. Determine the area of dull sensation
- Test facial light touch sensation in all three divisions of the trigeminal nerve with a piece of cotton wool
- Test remainder of cranial nerves, especially third, forth and sixth cranial nerves as they are often also involved if the cause of facial paresthesia is due to aneurysm of internal carotid artery, extension of a pituitary tumor, cavernous sinus thrombosis or secondary tumor in the area of the cavernous sinus
- Examine the ear to detect chronic middle ear infection
- more tests...»
See full list of 22
diagnostic tests for Facial paresthesia
Diagnosis Checklist: Questions your doctor may ask (and why!)
During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques in their assessment of Facial paresthesia.
Your doctor may ask several questions when assessing
your condition. It is important to remember that your consultation is a two-way process and any extra information
you can share with your doctor about your symptoms may help them with their diagnosis.
Some of the questions your doctor may ask are listed below:
- How long have you had facial paresthesia? - to determine if acute or chronic.
- How would you explain the facial paresthesia? - e.g. tingling, burning, numbness or pins and needles.
- What areas of the face are affected by the paresthesia? - helps determine the cause of the facial paresthesia and also the site of the pathology. e.g. the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal nerve supplies the forehead and surface of the eye; the maxillary division of the trigeminal nerve supplies the skin in the middle of the face and the membranes of the upper part of the mouth, palate and nasopharynx; the third division of the trigeminal nerve supplies the skin of the lower jaw and membranes of the lower part of the mouth.
- History of facial trauma? - e.g. facial bone fractures including fracture of the zygomatic and orbital bones may cause numbness of the upper lip.
- Possible poisoning? - e.g. neurotoxic shellfish poisoning; ingestion of tetrodotoxin- containing puffer fish.
- more questions...»
See Diagnosis Checklist for Facial paresthesia (16
listings)
Diagnosis Checklist: Associated symptoms your doctor may ask about (and why!)
Sometimes, other symptoms may be present and may help your doctor analyse
your condition.
The symptoms your doctor may ask about (in association with Facial paresthesia) may include:
- Symptoms of sinusitis? - e.g. fever, facial pain and tenderness, toothache, post-nasal drip nasal obstruction, runny nose, cough, fever, bleeding nose - may suggest cavernous sinus thrombosis as the cause of facial paresthesia as it is a complication of acute sinusitis.
- Symptoms of migraine? - e.g. headache which may be preceded by temporary unilateral loss of vision (partial or total), transient difficulty with speech together with possible tingling, numbness or vague weakness of one side of the face. Nausea and vomiting may follow.
- Symptoms of the perimenopause? - e.g. hot flushes, night sweats, palpitations, lightheadedness, dry skin, crawling skin sensation, mood changes.
- Symptoms of neurofibromatosis 2? - e.g. symptoms of acoustic neuroma, facial weakness, pain or numbness.
- Symptoms of acoustic neuroma? - e.g. progressive deafness, dizziness, numbness of that side of the face and facial weakness, followed by clumsiness.
- more symptoms...»
See Diagnosis Checklist for Facial paresthesia (16
listings)
Home Diagnostic Testing and Facial paresthesia
Home medical tests possibly related to Facial paresthesia:
- Diabetes: Related Home Testing:
- Nerve Neuropathy: Related Home Testing:
- more tests...»
Stories from Users for Facial paresthesia
Real-life user stories relating to Facial paresthesia:
Videos for Facial paresthesia
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See full list of 4 related videos
Patient Surveys for Facial paresthesia
Organs affected by Facial paresthesia:
The list of organs typically affected by Facial paresthesia may include, but is not limited to:
Detailed list of causes of Facial paresthesia
The list below shows some of the causes of Facial paresthesia mentioned in various sources:
See full list of 13
causes of Facial paresthesia
How Common are these Causes of Facial paresthesia?
This information refers to the general prevalence and incidence of these diseases,
not to how likely they are to be the actual cause of Facial paresthesia.
Of the 13
causes of Facial paresthesia that
we have listed, we have the following prevalence/incidence information:
- 1
causes are "very common" diseases
- 0
causes are "common" diseases
- 1
causes are "uncommon" diseases
- 0
causes are "rare" diseases
- 0
causes are "very rare" diseases
- 12
causes have no prevalence information.
See the analysis of the prevalence of 13
causes of Facial paresthesia
Conditions listing symptoms: Facial paresthesia:
The following list of conditions
have 'Facial paresthesia' or similar
listed as a symptom in our database.
This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete.
Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause
of any symptom.
B
Broken nose
... numb face, tingling faceC
Chemical poisoning - 1,1-Dimethylhydrazine
... numb faceChemical poisoning - DDD
... facial paresthesiaChemical poisoning - DDT
... facial paresthesiaChemical poisoning - Sodium Monofluoroacetate
... facial paresthesiaClassic migraine
... tingling faceF
Facial fracture
... numb face, tingling faceM
Menopause
... facial tinglingMigraine
... tingling faceMultiple Sclerosis
... facial paresthesias, facial tinglingP
Paralytic shellfish poisoning
... facial tingling, facial paresthesiaPerimenopause
... facial tinglingR
Rolandic Epilepsy
... facial paresthesia
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Doctors and specialists: Who should I consult about Facial paresthesia?
Depending on the seriousness of the onset of Facial paresthesia, you may want to consult one of the following medical professionals.
Important:In extreme cases, always seek advice from emergency services :
Classifications of Facial paresthesia:
Subtypes of Facial paresthesia:
Numb face (3 causes), Tingling face (13 causes)
Medical Conditions associated with Facial paresthesia:
Tingling face (13 causes), Face symptoms (4405 causes), Tingling (803 causes), Head symptoms (6066 causes), Pain (5609 causes), Sensations (5876 causes), Nerve symptoms (6219 causes), Common symptoms (7717 causes)
Symptoms related to Facial paresthesia:
Numb skin, Numb lips (24 causes), Tingling face (13 causes), Tingling lips (24 causes), Numb cheeks, Blue face, Tingling skin (21 causes), Paresthesias (415 causes)
Medical articles on signs and symptoms:
Doctor-patient articles related to symptoms and diagnosis:
These general medical articles may be of interest:
See full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis
Evidence Based Medicine Research for Facial paresthesia
Medical research papers related to Facial paresthesia include:
Research More Evidence-Based Medicine at TripDatabase.com
Related medical articles from our Disease Center for Facial paresthesia:
More Ways To Research Medical Signs and Symptoms:
» Next page: Causes of Facial paresthesia
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