A Simple Guide to Allodynia, (Hypersensitivity to Mild Pain Stimuli) Diagnosis, Treatment and Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes Allodynia, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

Allodynia is a type of neuropathic pain (nerve pain).

Allodynia is an infrequent symptom that can happen from several chronic nerve-related disorders.

When the patient is feeling it, the patient senses pain from stimuli that do not normally cause pain.

Stimuli such as lightly touching the skin or brushing the hair might feel painful.

Allodynia is rare even though it is frequent in people with neuropathic pain.

15 to 50 percent of people with neuropathic pain have allodynia.

There are 3 forms of allodynia:
Tactile (static) allodynia: a severe sensation of pain results from gentle touch or pressure
Thermal allodynia: mild changes in temperature produces pain, such as a small drop of cold water that results in significant discomfort
Mechanical (dynamic) allodynia: a painful sensation that happens when a person is affected by normally harmless stimuli moving across the skin, such as light touch

People with allodynia are excessively sensitive to touch.

Things that do not normally produce pain can be very painful.

These may involve cold temperatures, brushing hair or wearing a cotton t-shirt.

Allodynia can result from several disorders.

The most frequent causes of allodynia are diabetes, shingles, fibromyalgia and migraine headaches.

Some underlying disorders and lifestyle factors can produce allodynia such as:
Fibromyalgia
Migraine headaches
Post-herpetic neuralgia, a complication of shingles
Peripheral neuropathy or damage to a group of nerves
Shingles
Opioid use
Chemotherapy
Diet and nutrition factors
Diabetes
Trauma

The main symptom of allodynia is the pain from stimuli that do not normally produce pain.

In some patients, the patient might feel hot or cold temperatures painful.

The patient might feel the gentle pressure on the skin painful.

The patient might feel pain in reaction to a brushing sensation or other movement along the skin or hair.

If the patient notices that the skin has become more sensitive to touch than normal, the patient can do a self-test to determine whether the patient may have symptoms of allodynia:
Brush a dry cotton pad on the skin.
Apply a hot or cold compress.

If the patient feels a painful tingling feeling in reaction to any of these stimuli, the patient might have allodynia and should make an appointment with a doctor to confirm this.

The doctor will examine for any underlying disorders, such as diabetes, and ask the patient about symptoms.

The report of the quality of pain is very important when determining whether pain is neuropathic, like allodynia.
Burning
Throbbing
Constant
Intermittent
Radiating

Additional tests for the underlying cause may be:
Blood tests, such as full blood count or FBC and urine tests
MRI or CT scan to look for signs of MS, stroke or another disease or injury
Electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction study (NCS).
Quantitative sensory testing (QST),

If the doctor believes the patient might have diabetes, they will likely order blood tests to measure the level of blood glucose.

Treatments may involve:
Oral medicines, such as ibuprofen or pregabalin
Topical treatments, such as lidocaine ointment or a capsaicin patch
Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as naproxen or indomethacin
Lifestyle changes, like exercise and dietary changes
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Spinal cord stimulation
Nerve blockers
Surgery

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Allodynia
Chapter 2 Cause
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Shingles
Chapter 8 Trigeminal Neuralgia
Epilogue

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Apr 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005166083

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

A

Simple

Guide

To

Allodynia,

(Hypersensitivity to Mild Pain Stimuli)

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2022 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Allodynia, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Allodynia)

This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

My diagnosis and treatment capability has improved tremendously from my continued education.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Allodynia

What is Allodynia?

Allodynia is a type of neuropathic pain (nerve pain).

Allodynia is an infrequent symptom that can happen from several chronic nerve-related disorders.

When the patient is feeling it, the patient senses pain from stimuli that do not normally cause pain.

Stimuli such as lightly touching the skin or brushing the hair might feel painful.

Allodynia is rare even though it is frequent in people with neuropathic pain.

15 to 50 percent of people with neuropathic pain have allodynia.

There are 3 forms of allodynia:

1. Tactile (static) allodynia: a severe sensation of pain results from gentle touch or pressure

2. Thermal allodynia: mild changes in temperature produces pain, such as a small drop of cold water that results in significant discomfort

3. Mechanical (dynamic) allodynia: a painful sensation that happens when a person is affected by normally harmless stimuli moving across the skin, such as light touch

People with allodynia are excessively sensitive to touch.

Things that do not normally produce pain can be very painful.

These may involve cold temperatures, brushing hair or wearing a cotton t-shirt.

Allodynia can result from several disorders.

The most frequent causes of allodynia are diabetes, shingles, fibromyalgia and migraine headaches.

To relieve allodynia, the doctor will treat the disorder that is causing pain.

They may also advocate a