What are the common medically recognised types of neuropathy, explained in simple and easy-to-understand terms?
Neuropathy is a condition that occurs when the nerves in the body are damaged, and it can take several forms including peripheral neuropathy which causes numbness or tingling in the hands and feet, diabetic neuropathy which develops in people with long-term high blood sugar, autonomic neuropathy which affects automatic body functions such as digestion, bladder or heartbeat, focal neuropathy which involves damage to a single nerve, proximal neuropathy which affects nerves in the thighs, hips or buttocks, hereditary neuropathies such as Charcot‑Marie‑Tooth disease that run in families, nutritional deficiency neuropathy often due to low vitamin B12 levels, alcohol‑related neuropathy caused by long‑term heavy drinking, medication‑induced neuropathy from certain drugs like chemotherapy agents, and infection‑related neuropathies linked to conditions such as HIV or Lyme disease, with all of these types potentially leading to tingling, burning pain, weakness or loss of sensation and requiring proper diagnosis and care from a doctor.