Sensitive Skin to Touch

Tenderness of the skin is a condition characterized by painful, tingling or pricking sensation, even when the skin is touched gently. Such exaggerated skin sensitivity can result from several conditions. Allodynia is the medical term used for the pain that is produced by usually non-painful stimuli.

If the pain is felt when the skin is touched, it is called tactile allodynia or mechanical allodynia. Apart from tactile allodynia, there are three other types of allodynia, which are known as static mechanical allodynia, dynamic mechanical allodynia and thermal allodynia. In case of static mechanical allodynia, pain is felt when the skin is touched lightly, or when pressure is applied on it. On the other hand, pain is felt in response to brushing in the case of dynamic mechanical allodynia. When pain is felt due to hot or cold stimuli, it is termed as thermal allodynia. The skin can become sensitive to touch due to various reasons, some of which are explained below.

Tactile Allodynia Causes

A painful sensation felt on touching the skin can be a sign of several health conditions including, neuropathy. Most often, it is peripheral neuropathy, which occurs when the nerves of the peripheral nervous system get damaged. Peripheral neuropathy can cause the skin to become so sensitive that one can experience intense pain and pricking or tingling sensation, even when the skin is touched gently. Many times, diabetes, if left untreated can cause neuropathy, which is known as diabetic neuropathy. Diabetic neuropathy can also cause this condition.

Fibromyalgia, the condition, which is associated with heightened painful response to pressure, can also cause allodynia. Sometimes, excessive skin sensitivity to stimuli like touch can be due to postherpetic neuralgia, which can be caused by the virus shingles that causes chickenpox. The area of the skin that is affected by the rash or skin lesions caused by shingles can remain sensitive for several days, after the rash and lesions have disappeared. The virus can lay dormant in the human body and can get reactivated when the immune system is weakened due to some other health conditions.

Apart from these, certain other conditions can also render the skin painful to touch. These are chronic fatigue syndrome, deficiencies of vitamin B1, B2, B6 and B7, migraine and tactile defensiveness. Tactile defensiveness is a neurological disorder that is caused by neurological defect in the midbrain, which is concerned with evaluating and filtering different types of stimuli. The result of such defect is the exaggerated painful response to stimuli like touch and gentle pressure.

Tactile Allodynia Treatment

Treatment for skin that is sensitive to touch requires proper evaluation of the underlying causes. Once the factors responsible for the condition are ascertained, physicians can design an appropriate treatment plan to alleviate the condition. Drugs and medications that are more commonly used are, tramadol, lidocaine, mexiletine, ketamine, morphine, adenosine, venlafaxine and alfentanil. Even anti-inflammatory drugs like naproxen can be used to prevent over sensitization of the central nervous system in order to treat allodynia. Sometimes, one can also get relief by using topical pain relievers such as capsaicin and aspercreme creams.

Touch-sensitive skin is no doubt an annoying and uncomfortable experience for any individual and can become unbearable at times. Besides, it can be an indicator of some serious health conditions as well. Therefore, any abnormal or unusual skin sensitivity to touch and other usually non-painful stimuli should be reported to an expert medical practitioner. This can help to identify and address the underlying causes, in order to treat extreme skin sensitivity to touch, cold and other minor stimuli.