What causes frequent numbness in the hands?

Some people may find that their hands become numb for unknown reasons, and the numbness often lasts for a long time. In fact, hand numbness may be the first symptom of certain diseases. Therefore, people need to pay great attention to it.

Don’t think that numbness in the hands is just a wrist problem. You should look for the culprit from the root cause of the numbness. There are many diseases that cause numbness and pain in the hands. The most common causes are as follows:

1. Gout:

A man in his 30s often felt numbness and pain in his hands after surfing the Internet for less than five minutes. During the medical examination, the doctor found that the patient's big toe and ankle joints were red and swollen. A blood test showed that the uric acid level was as high as 9.2mg/dl (the normal value should be 4 to 7), confirming that the patient had gout. After treatment, the numbness and joint pain in the hands and other problems were improved. Clinically, about 1% of patients with hand numbness suffer from gout, which may be caused by uric acid deposited in the median nerve, compressing the median nerve and causing numbness and pain in the hands.

2. Transient cerebral ischemia:

This is a common cause of numbness in the hands of the elderly. The elderly often suffer from high blood pressure and high blood lipids. High blood pressure can cause vascular spasm, and high blood lipids can cause vascular sclerosis. In addition, the blood viscosity of the elderly increases and blood flow is slow during sleep. These factors can lead to transient cerebral ischemia and numbness of the hands. Therefore, the elderly should check their blood pressure, blood lipids, and blood rheology tests regularly. If they have high blood pressure or high blood lipids, they should receive treatment. Drink more water and take some medicine to reduce blood viscosity, prevent thrombosis, improve blood supply to the brain, and the numbness in your hands will disappear.

3. Cervical spondylosis:

Cervical spondylosis is a common disease among middle-aged and elderly people. It is caused by compression of local blood vessels and nerve tissues in the cervical spine due to cervical bone hyperplasia, intervertebral disc degeneration or relaxation of local joint ligaments. Its symptoms are varied, and numbness of the hands is one of them. If you suffer from cervical spondylosis, you can diagnose it with a cervical spine X-ray. Treatment measures include physical therapy, traction and the use of blood-activating and blood-stasis-removing drugs. In normal times, you can do some slow neck exercises, and pay attention to the height of the pillow when sleeping. Generally, 7-9 cm high is appropriate, not too high or too low, and the hardness should be moderate. The sleeping posture should be correct to avoid compression of local blood vessels and nerve tissues in the cervical spine and numbness of the hands.

4. Diabetes:

Diabetes can cause many complications, diabetic peripheral neuropathy is one of them. Once this complication occurs, there will be symptoms such as numbness and abnormal sensation in the limbs. If you suffer from diabetes, you must receive regular and reasonable treatment, control your blood sugar to a normal range, and pay attention to supplementing vitamins B1, B6, and vitamin C. You can also use ginkgo leaf preparations, ligustrazine and other drugs, and the numbness of the limbs will be eliminated.

5. Peripheral neuritis:

If the digestion and absorption function is poor and malnutrition is present for a long time, it will cause vitamin B1 deficiency leading to peripheral neuritis and numbness of the hands. At this time, just pay attention to increasing some nutrition and supplement more vitamin B1.

6. Compression of the brachial nerve:

If you have an incorrect sleeping posture, your neck is tilted or your arms are under pressure, your hands will become numb due to compression of the brachial nerves. At this time, just change your sleeping posture and move your arms, and the numbness will be eliminated.

7. Overdose:

Overdose of certain drugs, such as gentamicin, can cause side effects such as numbness in the lips and limbs, so be careful to avoid overdose.