Burning feet
By Mayo Clinic staffOriginal Article: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/burning-feet/MY00409
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Definition
Burning feet — the sensation that your feet are painfully hot — can be mild or severe. In some cases, your burning feet may be so painful that the pain interferes with your sleep. With certain conditions, burning feet may also be accompanied by a pins and needles sensation (paresthesia) or numbness, or both.
Burning feet may also be referred to as tingling feet or paresthesia.
Causes
Burning feet can occur simply because your feet are tired. Athlete's foot can cause burning feet. Burning feet can also be a symptom of nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy), perhaps due to diabetes, exposure to certain toxins, chronic alcohol use, certain B vitamin deficiencies or HIV.
Possible causes of burning feet:
- Alcoholism
- Athlete's foot
- Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (a group of hereditary disorders that affects the nerves in your arms and legs)
- Chemotherapy
- Chronic kidney failure
- Complex regional pain syndrome (chronic pain due to a dysfunctional nervous system)
- Diabetic neuropathy (diabetes-related nerve damage)
- HIV/AIDS
- Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid)
- Tarsal tunnel syndrome
- Vitamin deficiency anemia
When to see a doctor
Seek emergency medical care if:
- The burning sensation in your feet came on suddenly, particularly if you may have been exposed to some type of toxin
- An open wound on your foot appears to be infected, especially if you have diabetes
Schedule an office visit if you:
- Continue to experience burning feet, despite several weeks of self-care
- Notice that the symptom is becoming more intense and painful
- Feel the burning sensation has started to spread up into your legs
- Start losing the feeling in your toes or feet
If your burning feet persist, or if there is no apparent cause, then your doctor will need to do tests to determine if any of the various conditions that cause peripheral neuropathy are to blame.
Self-care
- Rest and elevate your feet.
- Switch to more comfortable shoes.
- Bathe your feet in cool water.
- Rutkove SB. Overview of polyneuropathy. http://uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 9, 2010.
- Kleinschmidt KC. Ethanol. In: Shannon MW, et al. Haddad and Winchester's Clinical Management of Poisoning and Drug Overdose. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7216-0693-4..50036-0&isbn=978-0-7216-0693-4&sid=1081935496&type=bookPage§ionEid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7216-0693-4..50036-0&uniqId=226224763-2#4-u1.0-B978-0-7216-0693-4..50036-0. Accessed Nov. 9, 2010.
- Athlete's foot. American Podiatric Medical Association. http://www.apma.org/MainMenu/Foot-Health/Foot-Health-Brochures-category/Athletes-Foot.aspx. Accessed Nov. 9, 2010.
- Characteristics and symptoms of CMT. Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association. http://www.charcot-marie-tooth.org/about_cmt/symptoms.php. Accessed Nov. 9, 2010.
- Complex regional pain syndrome fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/reflex_sympathetic_dystrophy/detail_reflex_sympathetic_dystrophy.htm. Accessed Nov. 11, 2010.
- Peripheral neuropathy fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/peripheralneuropathy/detail_peripheralneuropathy.htm. Accessed Nov. 11, 2010.
- Berger JR, et al. Neurological complications of human immunodeficiency virus infection. In: Goldman L. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/112186126-9/778412241/1492/1400.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2805-5..50422-5--cesec13_17551. Accessed Nov. 11, 2010.
- Arieff AI. Neurological aspects of kidney disease. In: Brenner BM, et al. Brenner and Rector's The Kidney. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3105-5..50053-0--cesec53&isbn=978-1-4160-3105-5&type=bookPage§ionEid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3105-5..50053-0--cesec53&uniqId=226224763-6#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3105-5..50053-0--cesec53. Accessed Nov. 11, 2010.
- Tarsal tunnel syndrome. American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. http://www.footphysicians.com/footankleinfo/tarsal-tunnel-syndrome.htm. Accessed Nov. 11, 2010.
- Tavee J, et al. Small fiber neuropathy: A burning problem. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. 2009;76:297.
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