Numerous factors, such as nerve injury and circulation issues, can lead to hand numbness. It can be a minor, temporary issue or a sign of something more serious.
What Is Numbness in Hands?
Hand numbness is a change in sensation in hand. The hands’ sensory abilities include touch and temperature. The familiar sense is replaced by a lack of it or a sensory disruption that could cause stinging, burning, or hurting feelings. The entire arm and hand could also feel numbness. Depending on the reason, numbness in hand may affect one or both hands.
What Are The Possible Causes Of Numbness In Hands?
Hand numbness is caused by the injury, compression, or irritation of a nerve that supplies the hand. Even though the numbness is just present in hand, the damaged nerve might be anywhere throughout the nervous system. For example, temporary numbness can result from injury to a particular brain region, the spinal cord, or the nerves that go down the arm to the fingertips.
A wide variety of medical conditions can injure the nerves that supply the hand with sensation. For instance, a brain injury from an ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke may result in hand numbness. In addition, the body’s nerves are badly damaged by diabetes, alcoholism, and vitamin deficiency, which may contribute to hand numbness.
The arm, cervical spine, brain, or brachial plexus trauma can cause hand numbness. In addition, hand numbness is a symptom of neurological conditions like multiple sclerosis.
Symptoms Of Hand Numbness
Hand numbness can affect your single or both hands, and it can also affect your arm. In addition, it can appear and disappear and occasionally be more obvious.
A numb hand could feel like:
- an absence of feeling
- Tingling, as though your hand had dozed off
- ache and scorching
- a feeling of heat or chill
- Touch sensitivity issues
- difficulty with hand-eye coordination
Severe headaches, vision, and sleep problems can occasionally accompany numbness in the hands. Symptoms occur more frequently as the condition worsens.
How Is Hand Numbness Diagnosed?
The root issue of hand numbness can be determined after a thorough medical history. The diagnosis of general reasons for numbness, such as diabetes or vitamin deficits, will be assisted by laboratory investigations.
The diagnosis of numbness carried on by a stroke or multiple sclerosis can be made using brain imaging investigations, such as CT or MRI. Similarly, a cervical spine MRI may show radiculopathy, or a pinched nerve, as the root of the problem.
X-ray, an electromyogram, and nerve conduction investigations can be beneficial if the physical examination indicates nerve compression.
How Is Numbness In Hands Treated?
Numbness in the hands can be treated in various ways, but not all of them will be effective for everyone. In addition, not all cases of the condition will result in long-term issues with the hand.
Some people may find that it gets better without medical attention but by having a balanced diet and psychical exercise routine. If there is a specific cause for your issue, such as arthritis or an underactive thyroid gland, addressing it may help your symptoms.
Your doctor will discuss the different treatments with you and assist you in determining which is best for you. Getting treatment quickly is critical if the problem is severe and you see weakness in your hand muscles.
Non-Surgical Treatments
In many cases, a wrist resting splint will be beneficial, especially if your symptoms are severe at night. In addition, if specific activities worsen your symptoms, a working wrist splint that presses the palm back slightly may be beneficial.
You can learn more about the various splint kinds from an occupational therapist or physiotherapist. For example, some therapists might suggest wrist exercises to help prevent the median nerve from getting compressed by adjacent tendons.
Surgical Treatments
You might require surgery if the median nerve is severely compressed or non-surgical treatments are ineffective. By relieving pressure on the median nerve, the surgery, also known as carpal tunnel release or decompression surgery, reduces discomfort.
Surgery is typically performed as a day case. The operation is often performed under local anaesthesia or open or keyhole surgery. Which is best for your hand surgeon will determine for you.
What Does a Swollen Ankle Feel Like?
The diagnosis for swelling is simple. If your ankle is swollen, it can cause the lower part of the leg to look more prominent than usual. Walking could be challenging due to the swelling. The skin on your leg may feel tight and stretched out, which could hurt.
Typically, ankle swelling is temporary and not dangerous. However, keeping an eye on your pain and swelling is essential as it can signify something much more severe.
You can reduce swelling and resume your everyday activities by treating them correctly. However, an extended period of swelling can indicate a medical emergency.
What Medications Can Cause Numbness In The Hands?
- chemotherapy drugs
- medicine for decreasing cholesterol
- blood pressure medication
- Antibiotics
- Immunosuppressants
Risk Factors Associated with Hand Numbness
Dr Tan Ter Chyan has extensive experience with numbness in hand treatment. He will assess your condition quickly to determine its root. If your condition is metabolic in nature, he will speak with internal medicine experts to offer you the care you require.
He will often treat nerve compression with rest, splinting, medication, and rehabilitation. If minimally invasive surgery is needed, he will do it to release the pressure without doing any severe damage.
How Can Dr Tan Ter Chyan Help You With Hand Numbness?
Not seeking treatment for hand numbness can lead to problems and lasting harm because severe diseases can cause it. Therefore, if you have any form of chronic numbness or other peculiar symptoms, it is crucial to speak with a medical professional.
Following the recommended treatment plan after the underlying cause has been identified will lower your chance of developing possible hand numbness problems, such as:
- amputation
- Severe nerve pain
- hand impairment
- loss of strength
- paralysis
- a permanent sensory loss
FAQ About Numbness in Hands
The numbness in the hands could be temporary and go away entirely, or it may worsen. Patients could experience burning as the condition worsens, along with hand weakness or cramping. In addition, reduced grip strength can cause a person to drop things often.
While severe cases of hand numbness may necessitate surgery, many cases may be treated at home. Hand numbness treatment at home is simple and frequently effective for mild forms of the condition. Wearing a wrist splint, obtained at most pharmacies, provides comfort for many patients. However, surgery is the only option if you do not get relief in 2-4 weeks.
The median nerve travels via the carpal tunnel and receives sensations from the fingers of the hand. The median nerve can be pinched and irritated by any disorder that results in swelling or a shift in the location of the tissue inside the carpal tunnel. The thumb, index, and first three fingers experience tingling and numbness due to this median nerve irritation. Numbness occasionally goes on its own.