Peripheral Neuropathy

Person sitting on a couch massaging their foot.

Peripheral neuropathy is a condition that results from damage to the peripheral nerves, which are the vast network of nerves that carry signals between the brain and spinal cord and the rest of the body. When these nerves are damaged, the signals they transmit become distorted, weakened, or absent, producing symptoms that typically include numbness, tingling, burning pain, and muscle weakness, most commonly in the hands and feet. The underlying causes are numerous and include diabetes (the most common cause), chemotherapy, autoimmune diseases, infections, inherited conditions, and physical injury. Because the peripheral nervous system also governs many automatic body functions, including sweating and blood vessel dilation, damage to these nerves can impair the body's ability to regulate temperature effectively, making people with peripheral neuropathy more vulnerable to both heat-related discomfort and difficulty sensing dangerous temperature extremes.

The body regulates temperature primarily through sweating and changes in blood flow to the skin, both of which are controlled by the autonomic nervous system via small-diameter nerve fibers. These are precisely the nerve fibers that peripheral neuropathy most commonly damages. Research published in the Handbook of Clinical Neurology establishes that peripheral neuropathy affecting autonomic and small sensory fibers can cause abnormalities of both autonomic and behavioral thermoregulation, since the autonomic effectors of temperature regulation, including sweat glands, arterioles, and related structures, all depend on the type of unmyelinated and thinly myelinated fibers that are impaired in many peripheral neuropathies. Source: Science Direct

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"The extremity cooling system is working well. Since I had gone through 2 rounds of chemo before I bought the system, I have some neuropathy in my hands and feet. I have used it for rounds 3-5 and will use it for my final round on Monday. I may have less neuropathy because I used the system for the majority of my treatments." - Jackie, San Diego

"I use these Soft Ice® Mitts during my chemo treatment to help ward off neuropathy damage to my fingernails. They keep the hands extremely cold and have pockets so that the ice packs can be switched out during my treatments. Very happy to have found these. They work great." - Pamela in Spokane Valley, WA

For people experiencing Small Fiber Neuropathy:"My mom has small fiber neuropathy, which causes her feet to burn with a "stabbing sensation" almost constantly. We ordered your Kool Max® Cooling Ankle & Foot Wraps almost two months ago now and it really does wonders for helping control her pain while she is out of the house. I can't rave enough on how much of a difference these ice packs have made!"- Aly

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The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a licensed healthcare practitioner before using any hot/cold therapy or body cooling product for a medical condition.