G62: Other polyneuropathies

G62.1: Alcoholic polyneuropathy

Many nerves run from the spinal cord and brain to the organs, skin and muscles in the body.

Your nerves or the sheath around your nerves is damaged. As a result, the skin may feel numb or it may tingle, for example. It may also be that you are in pain or that you are no longer able to move certain muscles. The symptoms usually start in the legs. The symptoms may later spread to other areas of the body.

You have been drinking too much alcohol for a long time. As a result, your nerves have been damaged. Alcohol can cause direct damage to nerves. Moreover, less vitamin B is absorbed when one drinks too much alcohol over a long period of time. When there is too little vitamin B in the body, the nerves are unable to work properly.