The Most Common Signs Of Fibromyalgia

Sensitivity To Sounds, Lights, And Smells

Individuals affected by fibromyalgia can experience a symptom where they feel greater sensitivity to sounds, lights, and smells. This symptom is a part of a group of symptoms called central sensitivity syndromes. A fibromyalgia patient has an increased central sensitivity to pain-related stimuli inside and outside of their body, which is what causes them to have symptoms related to chronic pain. It is thought that this same mechanism can be applied to the nerves that control an individual's sensitivity to certain smells, sounds, and lighting conditions.

Chemical changes in the brain of individuals affected by fibromyalgia have also been implicated as a mechanism of this sensory overload. Common sensitivities reported in fibromyalgia patients include loud or sudden noises, loud music, bright or flashing lights, potent tastes, and strong smells like those in nail salons, shampoos, natural oils, and perfume. These sensory overload symptoms greatly differ from one fibromyalgia patient to the next, as they are tailored to the brain and experiences of each patient.

Sensitivity To Temperature

Along with sensitivities to certain sounds, lighting conditions, and smells, individuals affected by fibromyalgia can experience increased sensitivity to temperature. This symptom is the result of the abnormal and erratic core temperature fluctuations of the body in fibromyalgia patients. Affected individuals also experience this symptom as a result of their reduced ability to adapt to sudden minor changes in the temperature of their environment. The lower threshold of temperature-related pain is also a contributing factor to this manifestation. The nerves that detect temperature are not the same as the sensory nerves that detect pain.

These nerves are distributed in a balanced fashion throughout the body on the blood vessels of healthy individuals. However, fibromyalgia patients are known to have abnormalities in the location and quantity of these types of nerves. The hands, feet, and face are the regions most commonly affected by these nerve abnormalities, but they can occur anywhere in the body. Nerve transmission from these nerves to the brain can also be erratic and abnormal, resulting in the temperature center in the brain frequently changing the temperature of the body's inner thermostat.