What is the difference between needles and pins

Numbness is a condition where you can't feel anything in part of your body. Pins and needles are a tingling or prickling sensation that is often felt in hands or feet. Usually this is due to pressure on nerves or the blood vessels that supply nerves.

This often happens after you've been in an awkward position, like sitting cross-legged, or it may be the sign of a trapped nerve. Occasionally, it may be the sign of a more serious underlying problem such as diabetes. You should also go if you have signs of a neurological disease worsening loss of power or sensation in part of the body, difficulty walking, falls.

If you have lots of attacks, or you hurt yourself because of the numbness, your GP may want you to see a specialist. In all other cases, you should see your GP. Give yourself a check-up with a general blood profile, now available in Patient Access. Numbness and pins and needles occur when you lose normal sensation in an area of the body. This happens because pressure cuts off the blood supply to nerves that carry messages about sensation to the brain. This can affect any part of the body - eg, hands, feet, face.

Wearing tight shoes or sitting on your foot can give you a numb foot or leg or cause pins and needles. This kind of numbness has an obvious cause, gets better when the pressure is removed and doesn't cause any further problems. Numbness or pins and needles can also be due to a trapped nerve. A slipped disc or back problem can put pressure on a nerve that travels from your back, down your leg and into your toes.

A trapped nerve in the neck can also cause numbness or pins and needles anywhere from your neck, down your arms and into your fingers. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a trapped nerve at the wrist , giving you pins and needles and pain in the hand and loss of grip. Other examples are thoracic outlet syndrome and spinal stenosis. Diabetes can damage small blood vessels that supply nerves in fingers and toes.

This can cause pins and needles, pain or numbness in the hands and feet peripheral neuropathy. They may feel it at any given time no matter what they are doing. The sensation can last for much longer than just a minute or two. However, the cause of this is much more than just a pinched blood vessel. There has been damage caused to the peripheral nerves. When damaged, these nerves are unable to communicate properly to the brain. They might send signals of numbness or pain to the brain even when there is none.

Those who have peripheral neuropathy have typically had other health issues including the following: Diabetes Alcoholism Infections Autoimmune Diseases Tumors Bone Marrow Transplants Chemotherapy Diabetes and Peripheral Neuropathy People who have diabetes are highly likely to develop peripheral neuropathy at some point in their lives.

Alcohol can have a toxic effect on nerve tissue, and alcohol abuse is a frequent cause of neuropathy. People suffering from alcoholic neuropathy may feel burning and tingling sensations in their feet, which may persist or may last from a few months to a few years. While it can be an annoyance, it is most commonly a passing sensation. In the case of my post-slumber arm, after some light movement to get the blood flowing, everything tends to return to normal within a minute or so.

As the uterus grows, it can put pressure on the nerves that run down the legs. This occurs because the nerve and the artery are squeezed and the steady supply of oxygen and glucose to the nerve is seized. Pins and needles sensation is also supposed to be a result of anxiety and stress.

Pens and needles in the limbs are also referred to as peripheral neuropathy.