Why do discomfort occur in the legs and what can be done about it?

This material provides information about what peripheral neuropathy is, its causes and symptoms.

Peripheral neuropathy is a term used to describe changes that occur when peripheral nerves are affected. Peripheral nerves are all nerves outside the brain and spinal cord. They carry signals from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body. There are 3 types of peripheral nerves:

• Sensory nerves , which help you feel pain, temperature, vibration, as well as touch something and navigate in space (be aware of the position of your legs and arms in space).
• Motor nerves , which help you move and keep your muscles toned.
• Autonomic nerves , which control processes within your body that occur naturally, such as how fast your heart beats and how much you sweat.

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Causes of burning in the legs

There are pathological causes of burning in the legs. These are diseases that require complex treatment. But there are a number of reasons that are not serious diseases, but are superficial. They can be easily avoided if you carry out regular foot prevention and take care of their hygiene. Symptomatic causes of burning:

• lack of vitamins in the body;
• frequent stress;
• psychological stress;
• metabolic failure;
• normal leg fatigue;
• wearing tight, tight shoes.

In such cases, unpleasant sensations are episodic. They immediately pass as soon as the irritant disappears. If the burning sensation does not go away for a long time, it is necessary to undergo an examination to identify a concomitant disease.

Content

• Causes
• Associated symptoms
• Diagnostics
• Treatment
• Conclusion

Burning sensation in the feet is a common complaint among patients, and before starting treatment, the doctor should understand the causes of the manifestation. Heat in the feet is not a cause, but a consequence. 30% of women and 20% of adult men experience these unpleasant sensations. The symptom can be caused by various diseases and pathologies, so you should not ignore the manifestations.

Diseases that cause burning feet

It is necessary to know a number of diseases that cause heaviness and burning in the feet, as well as how to deal with them.

Allergy

An allergic reaction manifests itself to synthetic shoe material, low-quality fabric of trousers, nylon tights, and socks. Then your feet will not only “burn”, but also itch. The skin will turn red and swelling will appear. Allergies can be caused by cosmetics, household chemicals, including soap, cream, scrub, etc. Before using the product, you need to find out its expiration date and carefully read the composition.

Varicose veins

Women often suffer from varicose veins. As the disease progresses, the veins lose tone, dilate and weaken. The blood begins to flow through them incorrectly. A burning sensation in the calves and knees may be one of the symptoms of the disease. They appear in the late afternoon and hardly bother you in the morning. If treatment is not started, leg cramps may soon begin.

Fungus

If the surface of the skin of the feet is infected with microorganisms, burning and itching will be the first signs of a fungal disease. The fungus affects the areas between the toes and then spreads to the feet. The affected skin begins to peel off. It will be impossible to touch it, since any touch immediately begins to cause a burning sensation.

Diabetes

There is such a thing as “diabetic foot”. When the disease becomes more complicated, ulcers appear on the legs, which are difficult to heal. They hurt and burn when touched. You can take care of them with soft lubricants and carefully do a pedicure. But it is much more important to monitor the level of insulin in the blood - then irritating symptoms will appear less.

Atherosclerosis

“Burning” in the legs is often a sign of atherosclerosis, a common disease in older people. It is characterized by the appearance of blood clots in the vessels. They impede blood flow and lead to oxygen starvation in the limbs.

Symptoms include not only cramps and lameness, but also a burning sensation in the fingers and feet. To alleviate the condition, it is recommended to lower your legs from the bed and wait a few minutes.

Gout

This is a chronic disease that affects people with metabolic disorders. The level of uric acid in the blood becomes unreasonably high. Gout mainly affects the joints. My big toes start to hurt. This is the initial symptom that appears at night. This may cause your body temperature to rise.

Vegetovascular dystonia

Disturbances in the stability of the nervous system are often triggered by stress, frequent coffee consumption, hormonal changes, viral diseases, bad habits and an unhealthy lifestyle. Symptoms are headache, pressure changes, dizziness, and mental instability. People over the age of 60 may have “burning” limbs.

Causes of peripheral neuropathy

The most common cause of peripheral neuropathy is diabetes (also called diabetic neuropathy). Other reasons include:

• certain types of chemotherapy; for more information, see the Chemotherapeutic Agents section;
• certain medications used to treat certain conditions, such as anticonvulsants (phenytoin), medications to treat heart disease and blood pressure problems (amiodarone), and antibiotics (metronidazole); The Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy® can give you a complete list of medications that may cause peripheral neuropathy. For more information, visit www.foundationforpn.org/what-is-peripheral-neuropathy/causes/other-drugs

If you have any of these possible causes of peripheral neuropathy, tell your healthcare provider about them. Tell us which medications you are currently taking and which ones you have taken in the past. This also applies to over-the-counter medications and dietary supplements.

Sometimes there is no obvious cause for peripheral neuropathy.

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Folk remedies for treating “burning feet” in the elderly

To quickly get rid of the uncomfortable feeling, it is recommended to do the following:

1. Take a contrast shower. First, pour warm water over your feet, then with water at room temperature. It should not be too hot or cold. Shower duration is 20 minutes.
2. Treat your feet with a moisturizer containing menthol. Make massage movements, starting from the toes, down the leg.
3. Use medicinal baths with decoctions of linden, chamomile or calendula. Place two tablespoons of the herb in 1 liter of boiling water, cool slightly and leave on your feet for about 20 minutes.
4. To do exercises. You can twist your feet clockwise as well as counterclockwise, and actively move your toes to restore blood circulation.

Symptoms

The characteristics of symptomatic manifestations are determined by the pathology that provoked them.

The feeling of burning in the feet is accompanied by:

1. Change in color, deformation of the nail plates, peeling of the skin, burning in the toes (fungus).
2. The appearance of a pronounced vascular network under the skin (with varicose veins).
3. Burning in the veins, feeling of fullness, burning pain in the knee area. These symptoms, appearing in the right or left joint, indicate thrombophlebitis.
4. Narrowing of the vascular lumen, painful sensations in the veins, burning and heat in the legs, sweating of the feet, stench - symptoms resulting from tissue ischemia and indicating the presence of obliterating endarteritis.
5. Foot deformation, gait disturbance, incorrect posture, and spinal diseases indicate flat feet.
6. Redness of the soles, palms, and a burning sensation are signs of the development of liver cirrhosis.

The feeling of fatigue and muscle soreness that occurs at rest in the evening or at night is associated with fatigue and physical strain due to increased physical activity during the day.

Prevention of burning feet

To avoid discomfort in your feet, it is important to choose the right shoes. It needs to be comfortable, soft, and made of natural material. It is better to walk around the house without shoes - in socks or barefoot. It is also necessary not to overload your feet, give them rest, alternating it with physical exercise. It is advisable to reduce the consumption of alcohol or not drink it at all, eliminate spicy foods and soda from the diet, as these products have a bad effect on blood circulation.

If you are attentive to your health, the burning symptoms will not bother you. At the first sign of discomfort, you should consult a doctor.

Drug therapy

Treatment of burning sensation in the feet is primarily aimed at eliminating the root cause that provoked this condition, and involves the use of the following drugs:

We also recommend reading: Acute pain in the foot

• in the case where the diagnosis has confirmed the allergic nature of the burning sensation in the feet, it is recommended to take antihistamines (Suprastin, Diazolin, Loratadine, Zyrtec, etc.);
• for fungal etiology of the disease, antimycotic drugs are prescribed (Terbinafine, Clotrimoxazole, Naftivin, Miconazole, etc.);
• to relieve pain and inflammation, it is recommended to take NSAIDs (Diclofenac, Ortofen, Ibuprofen, etc.);
• for gout, Anturan and Colchicyl are prescribed, as well as corticosteroids (Prednisolone, Hydrocortisone, etc.);
• to normalize venous tone, venotonics are prescribed (Detralex, Aescusan, Venarus, etc.), and if the feet are burning due to thrombophlebitis, it is recommended to take anticoagulants (Heparin, Warfarin, etc.);
• in diabetes mellitus, a burning sensation can be present not only in the feet; similar symptoms can also affect the palms, which requires mandatory treatment, primarily with drugs such as Bucarban and Glyurenorm;
• To compensate for the deficiency of vitamin substances, oral intake of B vitamins (Neurobion, Tienshi, etc.) is recommended.

For burning and painful symptoms, intramuscular and intravenous injections of antispasmodics and painkillers (Analgin, Spazgan, Trigana, etc.) are often given, but the main role in therapy is given to physiotherapy (electrophoresis, paraffin-ozokerite applications, massage, exercise therapy, etc. ).

How to enhance the effect of a sign

If popular belief predicts the occurrence of desired events, you can increase the chance of their occurrence if you properly relieve the burning sensation. To do this, you need to properly scratch the soles of your feet:

• You need to scratch the soles in the direction from the heel to the toes.
• The action should be performed only with the right hand, even if it causes discomfort.

To “put out the fire” in your feet, you should not rub them on furniture or flooring - in this case, the omen will turn against you.

The outcome of mystical events is influenced by the person himself, his lifestyle and religion. Even if according to the signs it is known what it means, if the soles of your feet are burning and the belief does not promise anything good, you should not think about a bad omen and in this case, it will not come true.

Interpretation of signs by day of the week

To correctly determine the message of a sign, it is important to pay attention to which day the sensations arise.

The Dream Book states that if in a dream a person saw his legs being consumed by fire, he should abandon the planned trip, since it could turn into misfortune.

Also, such a dream is a warning sign about future failures in business. Believe it or not is a personal matter. But, as they say, sometimes it’s better to be safe than sorry.

The day of the week on which the discomfort occurred will allow you to interpret the sign correctly.

Preventive actions

You can prevent the feeling of burning skin on your legs by following these rules:

1. Timely identify and fully treat diseases of internal organs and pathologies of the musculoskeletal system.
2. Wear high-quality casual shoes with low heels that fit properly, and periodically treat them with antifungal agents.
3. Massage your feet daily before bed.
4. Give your legs rest, avoid physical strain and injury.
5. Walk barefoot.
6. When working sedentarily, you need to get up periodically and take leisurely walks.
7. Follow a proper diet: eat natural foods, fresh vegetables and fruits.
8. Prevent vitamin deficiencies, avoid hypothermia of the extremities and lower parts of the spinal column.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, monitoring your health, and adequate treatment of existing diseases will prevent the occurrence of an unpleasant illness and can significantly make life easier for the patient.

Can legs burn with atherosclerosis of the vessels of the lower extremities?

If varicose veins can be called a female disease, then atherosclerosis of the vessels of the lower extremities is more likely a male disease. When it occurs, a blood clot forms in the lumen of the vessel, disrupting the movement of blood through the vessel. As a result, the tissues do not receive sufficient nutrition.

IMPORTANT: This disease is also called coronary leg disease.

Burning legs above or below the knees are not the only symptom of the disease.
The patient also complains of intermittent claudication and cramps while walking. Atherosclerosis of the vessels of the lower extremities is often a pathology accompanying diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Risk factors include physical inactivity, addictions, stress, and hereditary predisposition. Indications for improving the patient's condition are an active lifestyle, maximum elimination of risk factors, treatment of the disease - the causes.

How to Avoid Negative Predictions

If your feet are burning, and the sign that your heels are burning does not mean anything good, you should try to avoid negative predictions. To do this you can use the following methods:

• If discomfort occurs, rinse your feet with cool water and say a prayer.
• Visit a sauna or hot bath to get rid of negative energy. After the procedure, get a massage.
• Turn to your guardian angel for help, place your palm on your chest and ask him for support.

Can legs burn with varicose veins or thrombophlebitis?

The causes of a very common disease, varicose veins, are very diverse. At risk are women, pregnant women, overweight and obese people, people who stand for a long time and in one position, patients with leg injuries, etc.

Varicose veins

Patients with varicose veins feel a burning sensation and heaviness in their legs, which intensifies towards the end of the day, their legs burn, and cramps may appear. Veins under the skin begin to protrude externally. It is advisable to treat varicose veins from the very first signs of its manifestation; if this does not happen, the doctor prescribes:

• special means
• load and power mode
• wearing compression clothing - stockings, bandages, etc.

The lower extremities also burn with thrombophlebitis, a pathology characterized by inflammation of the venous walls, the formation of blood clots on them, that is, blood clots. The causes of thrombophlebitis include:

• slow movement of blood through the veins
• coagulation disorders
• inflammation and infections inside the body
• surgical operations
• vascular injuries due to various reasons
• pregnancy and childbirth
• tumors

Thrombophlebitis.
Unlike other pathologies in which the symptom of burning legs is possible, with thrombophlebitis a regimen of physical activity is indicated in order to improve blood flow in the veins. Cooling compresses also help. Drugs such as troxevasin, rutoside, and aescusan are prescribed. They help strengthen the walls of blood vessels and alleviate the condition in the legs. The doctor will also prescribe medications to improve blood flow and thin the blood.

Can legs burn with vegetative-vascular dystonia?

Due to disruption of the autonomic nervous system (about the characteristics of the disease and methods of its treatment, read the article “ Vegetative-vascular dystonia: symptoms, signs and treatment in adults. Types of vegetative-vascular dystonia ”), the patient may have diametrically opposite symptoms:

• limbs are getting cold
• limbs are burning

Other symptoms of VSD: dizziness, headaches, lightheadedness, irregular heartbeat, emotional instability, the appearance of skin spots.