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Neuritis - Causes, Symptoms And Home Remedies

What is neuritis?

Neuritis is one of the serious nervous disorders. It refers to an inflammation of the nerves, involving a single nerve or a series of nerves. At times, several different groups of nerves in various parts of the body may be involved. This condition is known as polyneuritis. It is also known as polyneuropathy, for strictly speaking, the condition is not an inflammation, but a change in the state of the nerves resulting in weakness, loss of .the reflexes and changes of sensation.

What are symptoms of neuritis?

The main symptoms of neuritis are tingling, burning, and stabbing pains in the affected nerves. In severe cases, there may be numbness and loss of sensation and paralysis of the nearby muscles. Thus a temporary paralysis of the face may result from changes in the facial nerve on the affected side.

During the acute stage of this condition, the patient may not be able to close the eyes due to loss of normal tone and strength by the muscles on the affected side of the face. Neuritis may also be caused by pernicious anemia, involving the nerves of the spine. The patient with this condition may find it very difficult to walk in the dark.

What are causes of neuritis?

The chief cause of neuritis is chronic acidosis, that is, excessive acid condition of the blood and other body fluids. All the body fluids should be alkaline in their reaction, but when the acid waste matter is continuously formed in the tissues over a long period due to a faulty diet, it results in acidosis. Wrong habits of living, overwork, etc., lower the tone of the nervous system and contribute towards neuritis. This disease can also result from a variety of nutritional deficiencies and metabolic disturbances such as faulty calcium metabolism, deficiencies of several vitamin B like B12. B6. B1. pantothenic acid and B2 and general toxemia.

Other causes of neuritis include a blow, a penetrating injury a bad bruise or heavy pressure over a nerve trunk and dislocation and fractures of the bones. Any violent muscular activity or over-extension of the joint as in sprains may injure the nerves and cause neuritis. The condition may also result from certain infections such as tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, leprosy and diabetes mellitus, poisoning with insecticides, mercury, lead, arsenic and alcohol .

Natural home remedies for the treatment of neuritis.

• The most important among the home remedies in the treatment of neuritis is soya bean milk. A cup of this milk, mixed with a teaspoon of honey, should be taken every night It tones up the nervous system due to its rich concentration of lecithin, vitamin BI' and glutamic acid. Soya bean milk is prepared by soaking the beans in water for about twelve hours. The skin of the beans is then removed and after a thorough wash, they are turned into a fine paste in a grinding machine. The paste is mixed with water, three times its quantity. The milk is then boiled on a slow fire, and stirred frequently. After it becomes a little cooler, it should be strained through a cheese cloth and sugar added to it
• Barley brew is another effective remedy for neuritis. It is prepared by boiling quarter of a cup of pearled barley grain in half a cup of water. When the water has boiled down to about one-quarter, it should be strained carefully. For better results, it should be mixed with half a glass of buttermilk and the juice of half a lime.
• Raw carrots and spinach have proved valuable in neuritis as both these vegetables are rich in elements, the deficiency of which leads to this disease. The quickest and must effective way in which the body can obtain and assimilate these elements is by drinking at least half a litre of the combined raw juices of carrot and spinach - 300 ml of carrot juice and 200 ml of spinach juice - daily.
• The use of orange flowers has also been found useful in neuritis. The water distilled from these flowers is a stimulating and refreshing drink, and should be taken regularly by the patient The finest quality is one distilled from the petals of the bitter orange. Eating fresh orange flowers with honey is also an effective tonic for the nerves and valuable in treating neuritis, and about ten grams should be eaten daily.
• Vitamin B : All vitamins of the B group are valuable in neuritis. A combination of vitamins BI, B2, B6, B12, and pantothenic acid have proved to be of immense help in this disease, in fact, extreme pain, weakness, and numbness, in some cases, have been relieved within an hour.

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