Neuritis Health Dictionary

Inflammation or deterioration of a nerve, usually peripheral. Peripheral neuritis. When more than one nerve is involved it is known as polyneuritis which may occur in various parts of the body. Causes: injuries, bone fractures, alcoholism, viral infection, Vitamin B12 deficiency, diabetes. Nerves become inflamed when poisons are taken into the body in the form of lead, mercury, arsenic and other heavy metals. Gout, leukaemia, and infectious diseases generally, may leave a legacy of polyneuritis. The neuritis of beri-beri is due to lack of Vitamin B1 (thiamine). Neuritis of the optic nerve – Gelsemium. Symptoms. Swelling, redness and pain in affected area. When squeezed, muscles are tender. Knee-jerks and other reflexes may be lost. ‘Pins and needles’.

Treatment. Appropriate to all types. To enhance growth of new nerve fibres as well as to assuage pain. Alternatives. Catnep (inflammation), Chamomile, Cramp bark, Gelsemium, Ginseng, Fringe Tree bark, Ladyslipper, Hops, Oats, Valerian, Wild Yam.

Tea. Combine equal parts: Catnep, Skullcap, Chamomile. 1 heaped teaspoon to each cup boiling water; infuse 15 minutes. 1 cup freely.

Decoction. Combine equal parts: Cramp bark, Valerian. One heaped teaspoon to each cup water gently simmered 10-20 minutes. Half-1 cup thrice daily.

Tablets/capsules. Chamomile, Cramp bark, Ginseng, Skullcap, Valerian.

Powders. Combine, Cramp bark 1; Liquorice half; Valerian half; Wild Yam half. Dose: 500mg thrice daily.

Liquid extracts. Combine: Chamomile 1oz; Hops half an ounce; Skullcap 60 drops; Cramp bark 1oz; water to 8oz. Dose: 2 teaspoons in water after meals. (A. Barker)

Tinctures. Formula: Cramp bark 3; Chamomile 2; Hops 2; Peppermint 1. Dose: 2 teaspoons thrice daily. Practitioner. Tincture Gelsemium BPC (1973). Dose: 0.3ml (5 drops).

Topical. Oil of St John’s Wort. Cloves, Cajeput, Chamomile. Poultices. Chamomile, Yarrow.

Vitamins. B1, B2, B6, B12, B-complex.

Pantothenic acid.

Minerals. Magnesium. Dolomite. Manganese. 

Nerve inflammation, usually with an abnormal amount of pain, and often part of a degenerative process.

In?ammation affecting a nerve or nerves which may be localised to one part of the body – as, for instance, in SCIATICA – or which may be general, being then known as multiple neuritis, or POLYNEURITIS. Owing to the fact that the most peripheral parts of the nerves are usually affected in the latter condition (i.e. the ?ne subdivisions in the substance of the muscles), it is also known as peripheral neuritis.

Causes In cases of localised neuritis, the ?brous sheath of the nerve is usually at fault, the actual nerve-?bres being only secondarily affected. This condition may be due to in?ammation spreading into the nerve from surrounding tissues; to cold; or to long-continued irritation by pressure on the nerve. The symptoms produced vary according to the function of the nerve, in the case of sensory nerves being usually neuralgic pain (see NEURALGIA), and in the case of motor nerves some degree of paralysis in the muscles to which the nerves pass.

In polyneuritis, usually due to some general or constitutional cause, the nerve-?bres themselves in the small nerves degenerate and break down. The condition is protracted because, for recovery to occur, the growth of new nerve-?bres from the healthy part of the nerve has to take place. The cause of polyneuritis may be infection by a virus – for example, HERPES ZOSTER – or a bacterium, as in LEPROSY. Neuritis may also be the result of agents such as alcohol, lead or products from industrial or agricultural activities. ORGANOPHOSPHORUS insecticides are believed by some to be a factor in neuritis and other neurological conditions.

n. a disease of the peripheral nerves showing the pathological changes of inflammation. The term is also used in a less precise sense as an alternative to *neuropathy. See also retrobulbar neuritis.