Meaning & use
paresthesia
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Meaning
nouncountable or uncountablemedical
An odd prickling, tingling or numb feeling on the skin, often in the hands or feet, caused by pressure on or irritation of a nerve.
Grammar: Often uncountable in general use (suffer from paresthesia) but countable for episodes (a paresthesia in the left hand).
Patterns
- paresthesia in something
- paresthesia of something
After sitting cross-legged for an hour, she felt paresthesia in her foot.
The patient reported paresthesia in both hands, which the doctor linked to a pinched nerve.
Temporary paresthesia is common when you sleep on your arm.
Word forms
| plural | paresthesias |
|---|
Common combinations
- experience paresthesia
- Many people experience paresthesia after a long flight.
- paresthesia in the hands
- He had paresthesia in the hands every morning.
- chronic paresthesia
- Chronic paresthesia can signal nerve damage.
- cause paresthesia
- Pressure on the elbow can cause paresthesia in the fingers.
- transient paresthesia
- The doctor said the transient paresthesia was harmless.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tingling
- Tingling is the plain everyday word for the sensation, while paresthesia is the formal medical name.
- numbness
- Numbness means a loss of feeling, but paresthesia includes the prickling or odd sensations.
- pins and needles
- Pins and needles is an informal British phrase for the same feeling and would sound out of place in a medical report.
Word family
- paresthetic adjective
- relating to paresthesia
- anesthesia noun
- complete loss of feeling
- hyperesthesia noun
- abnormally increased sensitivity
- paraesthesia noun
- British spelling of paresthesia
Commonly confused: paresthesia or anesthesia? paresthesia or paralysis?
paresthesia vs anesthesia
Anesthesia is deliberate or total loss of sensation, for example during surgery, while paresthesia is an abnormal tingling feeling.
paresthesia vs paralysis
Paralysis is loss of the ability to move; paresthesia concerns feeling, not movement.
Practice
After leaning on her elbow all afternoon, she felt ___ in her fingers.
Choose one answer.
Paresthesia is a tingling sensation caused by nerve pressure. Paralysis would mean she could not move her fingers, and anesthesia means total loss of feeling.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “paresthesia”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.