THE 13 MOST COMMON TOUCH DISEASES - MEDICINE - 2025

The diseases touch can occur at specific times and disappear, can be extended in time or become chronic problems. Its causes can be of various kinds: from poor body posture, the aftermath of some surgical intervention or trauma, to a serious illness.

Touch is one of the five senses that human beings have, which allows them to have information about the world around them regarding the qualities and characteristics of objects, as well as the perception of certain elements of the environment such as temperature, pressure, etc.

The sense of touch is directly related to the skin, which is the largest organ in our body (since it completely covers it) and is responsible for perceiving, thanks to the multiple nerve receptors it contains, stimuli from the outside world.

This perception is made when these nerve receptors, distributed in the epidermis and in the dermis of the skin, receive an external signal and send it to the brain, thanks to the connection of the thalamus with the parietal lobe, where the information is processed and forwarded to the skin in the form of heat, cold, pressure, pain, pleasure, etc.

However, this process - like any other in human beings - is susceptible to various kinds of disorders that can lead to illness or disability. We will describe some of the most common below.

Main disorders of the sense of touch

Analgesia

Faced with damage caused or painful stimuli, there is a total absence of discomfort or pain.

Agrafoesthesia

The term has to do with the absence of graphosesthesia, which is the individual's ability to recognize letters or numbers that are written imaginary (or real, but without the individual seeing it) on the skin of any part of the body.

Astereognosia

It is related to the absence of stereognosia, which is the ability to identify objects through touch.

Anafia

Anafia is the total or partial absence of touch; that is, the inability to perceive any type of sensation through the skin.

Allodynia

Allodynia is an exaggerated perception of pain when faced with stimuli that are not painful in normal situations and for most people.

It can be static, when the pain is caused by a specific and unique stimulus, such as pressure with a finger, or dynamic, when the pain is caused by a repetitive stimulus.

Hyperesthesia

Hyperesthesia is a hypersensitivity of the skin that causes the sensation of external stimuli, even if it is of low intensity, to intensify to levels that are unpleasant.

Hypoesthesia

Hypoesthesia is the opposite case to the one mentioned recently: sensitivity decreases and the stimulus is perceived weakly.

Anesthesia

In this case, the stimulus is not perceived at all.

Hyperaphy

It is the increased ability to perceive stimuli, an exaggerated sensitivity.

Hypoafia

It is the opposite of Hyperaphy, that is, the decrease in the ability to perceive stimuli, a diminished sensitivity.

Hyperalgesia

Hyperalgesia is the exacerbation of pain. That is, stimuli that are generally painful feel even more painful.

Hypoalgesia

On the contrary: stimuli that are generally painful for the average person, are perceived with little pain.

Paraesthesia

Paresthesia is a tingling sensation in an extremity. It is almost always due to pressure from a nerve, a product of poor body posture or when the elbow is struck with relative force.

Less often, it may be due to taking some medication. It usually lasts seconds or a few minutes.

Causes of sensitivity disorders

Sensitivity disorders can be due to multiple causes: from temporary reasons such as pinching a nerve that produces momentary tingling, to infections of the nervous system, burns, allergies, etc.

Temporary disorders

Imprisonment of nerves due to poor posture, poisonous insect bites or bacterial infections that can affect the nerves or nerve endings.

Nervous irritation from punctures or medical tests. Allergies Side effects from the intake of certain medications.

Nerve injury or neurological damage

Generally, the lesions are due to tumors or hernias that step on certain nerves and produce alterations in sensitivity. They are usually resolved with surgical intervention for their removal.

In the case of damage or neurological diseases, the symptoms at the level of touch are secondary consequences of the same, which usually disappear when treated correctly.

More complex diseases such as multiple sclerosis require long-term medical treatment to reduce these types of symptoms.

In situations of neuropathies or cerebral infarction, for example, one of the symptoms that can occur is a momentary disturbance of sensitivity.

In this case, attention must be immediate to solve the cause of the problem and minimize the risk of sequelae.

Burns and surgeries

Burns cause severe damage to the epidermis and, depending on the severity, they can also penetrate the dermis, modifying the entire structure of the nerve endings, and can cause temporary or more or less permanent disorders in the area.

The same can happen in areas of scars produced by cuts or surgeries, where sensitivity tends to be modified for long periods of time or permanently.

Neurological diseases

Multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's can lead to sensitivity disorders.

Blood dysfunctions

Anemias, arteriosclerosis, peripheral arterial disease, and even diabetes can lead to touch disorders.

Psychological dysfunctions

Certain mood disorders or pathologies such as phobias, panic attacks, etc., could cause these types of disorders.

Other skin pathologies

In addition to diseases that directly affect tactile ability, there are other pathologies that affect the skin and that can also hinder or modify the sensitivity and normal performance of the capacities of this sensory organ.

Scabies or scabies

Skin disease caused by mites that burrow under the skin and deposit their eggs there, causing a lot of itching and red dots or lines on the skin.

It is highly contagious, especially by direct contact of infected skin with healthy skin. There is a belief that scabies is transmitted by animals; however, they have another type of scabies that does not infect humans.

Psoriasis

It is a chronic skin disease in which scaly spots and pustules of a certain thickness and of an intense red or purple color appear.

It mainly appears on the elbows, knees, chest and scalp, and can spread to other areas of the body.

Urticaria

Skin allergy that manifests itself as hives or spots that become inflamed and itchy.

It is the body's natural reaction to the exposure of an antigen, either by contact, inhalation or ingestion.

Dermatitis

Inflammation of the dermis that manifests itself as redness, suppuration and / or peeling of the skin.

Mycosis

Infection of the skin caused by microscopic fungi. They affect different areas of the skin and there are different types of fungi, taking different names according to each case: ringworm, pityriasis, candidiasis, onychomycosis, etc.

Leprosy

It is a chronic and contagious disease, produced by a bacterium that mainly affects the skin and the nerves of the feet and hands; in some cases it also affects the skin overlying the nose.

It produces nodules and lesions of a certain size. This disease is practically eradicated in most developed countries. It takes many years to manifest and many more to heal.

References

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6. Definition of hyperaphy. Recovered from definitions-de.com
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8. Allodynia. Recovered from psicologiaymente.net
9. Mycosis Recovered from e.wikipedia.org