Skip to main content
dysesthesia

dysesthesia

1 9.9
An unpleasant feeling like burning, tingling, or pain caused by nerve damage
  • noun
  • /ˌdɪsɛsˈθiʒə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : disestesia
  • Many cancer patients report dysesthesia as a side effect of their treatment, making their skin feel unbearably sensitive.
  • infraorbital dysesthesia

Examples

  • After undergoing surgery, she experienced dysesthesia in her leg, which felt like a constant tingling pain.

  • Causalgia, allodynia, dysesthesia, muscular weakness, shudders and straining.

  • All patients had full restoration of extraocular movements and resolution of infraorbital dysesthesia.

    Academic text (2011)
  • All patients demonstrated complete extraocular movements (including the patient in Figure 1) and full resolution of infraorbital dysesthesia (Figure 2).

    Academic text (2011)
  • Recognized clinical effects of orbital floor fractures include diplopia, impaired extraocular muscle motility, enophthalmos, hypoglobus, and infraorbital dysesthesia.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The doctor explained that dysesthesia could manifest as a burning sensation in the hands and feet after nerve damage.

Synonyms

paresthesia
vsdysesthesia
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A feeling of tingling, prickling, burning, or numbness in the skin

is an unpleasant abnormal sensation rather than a neutral or varied one
painful sensation
vsdysesthesia
4.8

A sharp uncomfortable feeling in the body when something hurts

is a broader unpleasant abnormal feeling not limited to acute pain

How Unpleasant

burning
45 3.9
dysesthesia
  • Specialized
1 9.9
tingling
22 3.4
numbness
19 4.6

Surface Forms

dysesthesia singular
dysesthesias plural

Morphology

dysesthesia = esthesia (semi-transparent) = dys + esthesia

Formed by the medical prefix 'dys-' (abnormal/bad) + the combining form 'esthesia' (sensation), which is transparent in meaning but both elements are specialized and may be unfamiliar to average learners.

Etymology

The word dysesthesia comes from Greek parts dys- meaning 'bad' or 'difficult' and esthesis meaning 'sensation', and you can see the same esthesis part in anesthesia. So, dysesthesia is an unpleasant or strange feeling in the body, like burning, tingling, or pain.