I was attacked by a dog (pit bull) three weeks ago and have a number of bits on both forearms.  I got treatment at the emergency room and their initial evaluation was that I didnt have any structural damage.  My wounds are just about healed and Im not experiencing pain, but I have a patch of skin on my wrist that is completely numb to touch.  Its been like this for three straight weeks with no change.  Its located on my left wrist (on the thumb side of the palm) and starts at the base of the hand and continues down that side of my forearm about 5 inches and ends at one of the dog bites.  Im guessing I have an issue with the nerve, but since its not painful, and doesnt impact my mobility, what are the risks of not getting the nerve damage corrected?
Hello, Thanks for writing to us. According to your description of numbness, it seems that you have numbness only on some patch of your forearm. If a main nerve is damaged - it will create numbness till the end of the finger. So if your numbness is patchy - it means that only a very fine nerve branch may have been damaged, if any, which is not possible to repair. The good thing is that - nerve endings do grow back, but at slow pace, some few mm in a week. So my suggestion would be to wait, as time goes by - the nerve will regrow and your numbness will disappear. To accelerate the nerve growth and minimize the numbness - you could take vitamin B 12 supplements. They are essential in nerve repairs and may help you to recover a bit faster. Thank you.