Numbness in Fingers
Fingers are one of the most sensitive organs in your body and are often used for carrying on daily activities like writing, typing, eating and driving etc. For the same reason, fingers are prone to injuries and trauma and any change in nervous function is reflected in your fingers.
Numbness in fingers is directly caused when the nerves get affected or the blood vessels receive less blood. It would also create a tingling sensation on the fingers and these are typical symptoms of Paresthesia. Actually, numbness of fingers is itself not a disease, but it is indicative of other disorders.
Normally there would be numbness in fingers when suddenly you are exposed to cold temperature, but this would last for few seconds. When there is continuous numbness and tingling feeling, then you need to seek immediate medical advice. It can be due to various factors ranging from vitamin deficiency to life threatening disorder like Stroke or cardiovascular diseases.
Causes :
• Lack of vitamin : Any deficiency in vitamin and calcium will be reflected in the form of numbness in fingers. Iron deficiency, vitamin B12 can affect the fingers causing tingling and numbness. It is easy to correct the problem by taking supplementary vitamins orally after confirming it through blood test.
• Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke : Ischemia and stroke are the two disorders that would cause numbness in fingers affecting one side of the body. When there is stroke, it affects the normal functioning of the nerves and cut off the supply to the brain paralyzing the nerves temporarily. Very often transient ischemic attack TIA comes as a warning for the impending stroke. If you have additional symptoms like loss of breath or nausea, vomiting then you need to visit your doctor immediately.
• Underlying Medical Issues : Number of medical disorders like Shingles, migraine Headache and Hypothyroidism can cause numbness in fingers and feet. Thus this symptom is a warning signal for the underlying health problems. Even diabetic people may sometime feel numbness for few seconds in their fingers or toes.
• Nervous Disorder: Any type of nervous problem or spinal cord issues may directly affect the brain functions causing numbness. Multiple Sclerosis affects the myelin sheath of the nervous system which in turn blocks the nerve signals causing tingling or numbness feeling. Epilepsy, blood vessel enlargement and brain tumor may also cause this problem.
• Other Factors: Certain medicines taken for Depression and anxiety may develop numbness in fingers. A person who undergoes chemotherapy or radiation therapy for cancer and those who are under toxicity of alcohol can get affected with loss of sensation in their toes and fingers. Certain circulatory disorders can also cause temporary numbness.
In addition, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, ganglion cysts, Guillain Barre Syndrome, HIV, Lyme Disease, Syphilis, nerve compression, Raynaud’s disease and peripheral neuropathy can also cause numbness in fingers.
Symptoms :
There would be loss of sensation in fingers and tingling feeling. For some there would be pain when moving the fingers. Certain nerves that carry signal are damaged when numbness occurs. The numbness can occur in one or more fingers and the intensity of damage also varies according to the underlying causes.
There would be burning feeling, itching, neck pain, rashes on skin, and twitching and muscle spasms for some people. That apart, some people may get life threatening condition like dizziness, shortness of breath, difficulty in talking, slurred speech and loss of vision along with numbness.
Pictures of Numbness in Fingers :
Treatment :
Depending on the underlying cause your doctor will decide the course of treatment for managing numbness in fingers. A right diagnosis is very important in this case and every patient should be first examined to know the real cause that causes numbness.
People with nervous disorder or diabetics should be treated accordingly for lowering the symptoms.
In severe cases, surgery is done to open up the carpel tendon to release the median nerve that has been trapped inside.
Fingers are one of the most sensitive organs in your body and are often used for carrying on daily activities like writing, typing, eating and driving etc. For the same reason, fingers are prone to injuries and trauma and any change in nervous function is reflected in your fingers.
Numbness in fingers is directly caused when the nerves get affected or the blood vessels receive less blood. It would also create a tingling sensation on the fingers and these are typical symptoms of Paresthesia. Actually, numbness of fingers is itself not a disease, but it is indicative of other disorders.
Normally there would be numbness in fingers when suddenly you are exposed to cold temperature, but this would last for few seconds. When there is continuous numbness and tingling feeling, then you need to seek immediate medical advice. It can be due to various factors ranging from vitamin deficiency to life threatening disorder like Stroke or cardiovascular diseases.
Causes :
• Lack of vitamin : Any deficiency in vitamin and calcium will be reflected in the form of numbness in fingers. Iron deficiency, vitamin B12 can affect the fingers causing tingling and numbness. It is easy to correct the problem by taking supplementary vitamins orally after confirming it through blood test.
• Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke : Ischemia and stroke are the two disorders that would cause numbness in fingers affecting one side of the body. When there is stroke, it affects the normal functioning of the nerves and cut off the supply to the brain paralyzing the nerves temporarily. Very often transient ischemic attack TIA comes as a warning for the impending stroke. If you have additional symptoms like loss of breath or nausea, vomiting then you need to visit your doctor immediately.
• Underlying Medical Issues : Number of medical disorders like Shingles, migraine Headache and Hypothyroidism can cause numbness in fingers and feet. Thus this symptom is a warning signal for the underlying health problems. Even diabetic people may sometime feel numbness for few seconds in their fingers or toes.
• Nervous Disorder: Any type of nervous problem or spinal cord issues may directly affect the brain functions causing numbness. Multiple Sclerosis affects the myelin sheath of the nervous system which in turn blocks the nerve signals causing tingling or numbness feeling. Epilepsy, blood vessel enlargement and brain tumor may also cause this problem.
• Other Factors: Certain medicines taken for Depression and anxiety may develop numbness in fingers. A person who undergoes chemotherapy or radiation therapy for cancer and those who are under toxicity of alcohol can get affected with loss of sensation in their toes and fingers. Certain circulatory disorders can also cause temporary numbness.
In addition, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, ganglion cysts, Guillain Barre Syndrome, HIV, Lyme Disease, Syphilis, nerve compression, Raynaud’s disease and peripheral neuropathy can also cause numbness in fingers.
Symptoms :
There would be loss of sensation in fingers and tingling feeling. For some there would be pain when moving the fingers. Certain nerves that carry signal are damaged when numbness occurs. The numbness can occur in one or more fingers and the intensity of damage also varies according to the underlying causes.
There would be burning feeling, itching, neck pain, rashes on skin, and twitching and muscle spasms for some people. That apart, some people may get life threatening condition like dizziness, shortness of breath, difficulty in talking, slurred speech and loss of vision along with numbness.
Pictures of Numbness in Fingers :
Treatment :
Depending on the underlying cause your doctor will decide the course of treatment for managing numbness in fingers. A right diagnosis is very important in this case and every patient should be first examined to know the real cause that causes numbness.
People with nervous disorder or diabetics should be treated accordingly for lowering the symptoms.
In severe cases, surgery is done to open up the carpel tendon to release the median nerve that has been trapped inside.
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