Throat Disorders—Peripheral Nerve Disorders

Also called: Neuritis, Peripheral neuritis, Peripheral neuropathy

Your peripheral nerves are the ones outside your brain and spinal cord. Like static on a telephone line, peripheral nerve disorders distort or interrupt the messages between the brain and the rest of the body.

There are more than 100 kinds of peripheral nerve disorders. They can affect one nerve or many nerves. Some are the result of other diseases, like diabetic nerve problems. Others, like Guillain-Barre syndrome, happen after a virus infection. Still others are from nerve compression, like carpal tunnel syndrome or thoracic outlet syndrome. In some cases, like complex regional pain syndrome and brachial plexus injuries, the problem begins after an injury. Some people are born with peripheral nerve disorders.

Symptoms often start gradually, and then get worse. They include

• Numbness
• Pain
• Burning or tingling
• Muscle weakness
• Sensitivity to touch

Treatment aims to treat any underlying problem, reduce pain and control symptoms.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

• Axillary nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Chronic inflammatory polyneuropathy (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Common peroneal nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Distal median nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Femoral nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Glossopharyngeal neuralgia (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Metabolic neuropathies (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Mononeuritis multiplex (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Neuralgia (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Neuropathy secondary to drugs (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Peripheral neuropathy (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Radial nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Sensorimotor polyneuropathy (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Tibial nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Ulnar nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)

Also called: Pharyngeal disorders

Your throat is a tube that carries food to your esophagus and air to your windpipe and larynx. The technical name for your throat is the pharynx.

Throat problems are common. You’ve probably had a sore throat. The cause is usually a viral infection, but other causes include allergies, infection with strep bacteria or the leaking of stomach acids back up into the esophagus, called GERD.

Other problems that affect the throat include

• Tonsillitis – inflammation of the tonsils
• Cancer
• Croup – inflammation, usually in small children, which causes a barking cough
• Laryngitis – swelling of the voice box, which can cause a hoarse voice or loss of voice

Most throat problems are minor and go away on their own. Treatments, when needed, depend on the problem.

• Blockage of upper airway (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Epiglottitis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Glossopharyngeal neuralgia (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Herpangina (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Laryngitis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Laryngoscopy (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Retropharyngeal abscess (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Strep throat (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Throat swab culture (Medical Encyclopedia)