Alison's terrible round the clock pain that can't be explained

Alison Webster suffers from CRPS - chronic pain (Chris Austin / DC Thomson)

Yet Alison Webster from Broxburn, West Lothian, barely notices such accidents.

She already suffers from severe pain around the clock.

Alison suffers from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), a condition still not fully understood by the medical profession which leaves victims in constant pain no matter what painkillers they take.

Alison was preparing a meal when the mishap occurred.

“I’d lifted an empty pot but hadn’t realised it was partly on the hob and had caught alight. By the time I saw the flame the plastic had melted and was firmly stuck to skin on two of my fingers, causing bad burns.”

Although doctors still can’t fully explain it, CRPS can be triggered by events such as surgery or fractures.

Four years ago, when she went to hospital with a broken wrist Alison thought the nurse who was setting her arm in plaster had somehow put boiling water on her arm.

For the next six weeks Alison felt as if her arm was cooking inside the plaster.

“It was summer and the weather was warm so I just thought it was an added inconvenience.

“However, my orthopaedic surgeon, a Canadian, was aware of the problem and he confirmed the diagnosis. Some have to wait 10 years.

“Mostly it stems from fractures and minor surgery, but teenage girls can go to bed fine and wake up with it in the morning. It happens spontaneously, but they have the best chance of remission.

“There’s no problem with your hands or feet or whatever. It’s the brain that’s getting the wrong signal. It’s misfiring, but they don’t know why.

“I don’t sleep. The most anyone with CRPS sleeps is two hours at a time. Not because of the pain, it’s because the brain never shuts down. You grab naps as and when you can.”

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It affects every aspect of her life. Sitting here now the temperature is one degree, but to me it’s so hot if feels like the middle of summer.

“I have to watch the thermometer. I could easily get hypothermia because I feel as if I am burning.”

Despite the pain, Alison says she has to keep using her hands to remind her brain that they still belong to her.

“The pain is like using your hand 10 minutes after you have broken your wrist. It takes a long time to adjust. It’s 24/7 for everyone. It doesn’t go away. Nothing can stop it.

“People are terrified to come off these huge doses of medication because they are in pain and think they’ll be in worse pain if they come off.

“In reality, it will probably be no different.”

In the absence of a cure, Alison says the best sufferers can hope for is to have a GP that has heard of CRPS.

“Treatment is patchy across the country. I’m lucky to have a good physiotherapist and a GP who has had patients with it before. Some people get no help from their GP because they’ve not heard of it.”