MS “zingers” refer to neuropathic sensations, such as pain or pins and needles, caused by multiple sclerosis-related damage. Treatment can involve medical treatment and avoiding triggers.
Do you ever feel sharp, prickling, radiating pain that seems to come out of nowhere? Does the temperature outside, warm or cold, stir up electric shocks in your body that stop you in your tracks?
Sometimes described as a “zinger,” dysesthesia comes on suddenly. The painful sensations often affect the feet, hands, and legs, but they can occur in other areas of the body. For many people living with multiple sclerosis (MS), dealing with these zingers is an experience they are familiar with.
What is dysesthesia?
Dr. James Stark, an MS specialist and board certified neurologist at the International Multiple Sclerosis Management Practice, says the painful sensations happen to people living with MS because inflammation can cause damage to sensory nerves in the brain and spinal cord.
“Depending on the extent of the nerve damage, patients may report numbness or the lack of sensation, or they may perceive the sensory symptoms in different ways,” he explains.
This can include a feeling of pins and needles, crawling or itching sensations, a tightening of the skin especially around the chest or abdomen, or painful feelings like shooting pains, electric shocks, or burning sensations.
Dr. Evanthia Bernitsas, a neurologist at Wayne Health Neurology, says painful sensations or dysesthesia are very common in MS.
“We use this term [dysesthesia] to describe different pain syndromes, such as trigeminal neuralgia affecting the face, burning, tingling or vibratory-like sensations affecting mostly the upper and lower extremities or a squeezing sensation located below the breasts (MS hug),” she explains.
What it’s like living with dysesthesia
Ardra Shephard is one of millions of people living with MS who experience dysesthesia on a regular basis. She shares the reality of managing some of the more common MS symptoms on her blog Tripping on Air.
Shephard wrote a blog post describing her experience living with dysesthesia during the winter months. “If you have MS, the heat might mess you up, but feeling cold can be its own kind of torture,” she writes in the post. For Shephard, this common symptom of MS can feel like pins and needles, an electric shock, cold, or burning pain.
What do zingers feel like?
Community members on Healthline’s Bezzy Multiple Sclerosis Facebook page say they experience zingers or painful sensations in areas such as their neck, head, and legs. Some even say it feels like they’re being shocked by electricity.
Mac Compton compares the feeling to a tight rubber band being snapped hard. “They are intermittent and different from the stabbing pains that feel like an ice pick is being shoved into me,” Compton writes on the page. For Susan Cornett, the zingers are normally in her head. “I feel like I have a lightning bolt from one side to the middle… it’s unnerving.”
Treating dysesthesia
Click here to continue reading