Numbness Of Feet & Hands Signifies These Diseases; Shocking!

If you are having numbness in your hands and feet, then it could be a sign of certain diseases, which are listed here. Check it out.

By Suhasinisrirangam

Monday, May 8, 2017, 9:50

Ever wondered what if the pins and needles in the middle of your day to-day affairs were something that kept recurring?

Also, what if numbness in our feet and hands sometimes could actually be a problem? But before wondering so, do we know what causes all of it?

As we speak particularly about numbness caused in the hands and feet, let us first understand what brings them to us.

Hands: Numbness in the hands can happen due to damage and compression of one of the nerves or a branch of it in the arms or wrists.

Also, any diseases that affect the peripheral nerves such as diabetes, results from injuries, infections and exposure to toxins will lead to the same.

Feet: This area's numbness is characterized by a burning sensation along with pins and needles, which is due to irritation caused in the nerve root in the lower spine.

Now, as mentioned above, the numbness could be sporadic and direct in its nature, most times benign and short-lived, if one has slept on one arm for a long time, if one has crossed their legs for a long time or kept up in a posture for long time without movement.

However, the recurrence of it is when one should immediately visit a doctor, as it may be one of the many below conditions:

Diabetes:

One out of every five people in an average Indian family is known to be suffering from this commonest disease - hereditary or lifestyle.

This is also one of the most common causes of peripheral neuropathy. The foremost symptoms include numbness that begins in both the feet and goes upwards.

Systemic Diseases:

These are the diseases that affect not just one single organ in the body, but the entirety of it. Some of these are kidney disorders, vascular diseases, hormonal imbalances, and cancer tumours that have exertion on nerves. Most times, in these diseases, one is bound to go through numbness.

Multiple Sclerosis:

The sensation of numbness might be mild initially, but beware the frequency and show it to a doctor, lest it might actually turn into multiple sclerosis. It's a condition whereby the myelin sheath in the central nervous system gets damaged, thereby affecting balance, causing dizziness, loss of balance and fatigue.

Peripheral Artery Disease:

This is a disease where plaque gets accumulated in the arteries that carry blood to your head, organs and limbs. Plaque comprises of fat, calcium, fibrous tissue and cholesterol.

If left untreated, plaque condenses to become harder, which then narrows the arteries, thereby blocking the blood flow and oxygen supply to the body. Thus, this can affect the legs, which leads to numbness in feet and increased risk of infection in that area.

Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome:

This tunnel is found along the inner leg behind the bump on the inside of our ankle. The tarsal tunnel syndrome, also known as posterior tibial neuralgia, is a compression of posterior tibial never, which is located along the inner side of the heel.

Numbness of the heels slowly spreads to the entire foot if left untreated, and could also lead to permanent nerve damage.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome:

This syndrome is primarily caused by pressure on the median nerve in our wrist. This median nerve runs from the forearm to the entire hand through a tiny place called the carpal tunnel.

Now, this median nerve controls the movement and sensation in our thumb and the first three fingers. So, numbness around that area is suggestive of this syndrome.

Neuralgia:

It is disease characterized by severe pain and burning due to damaged nerves. This may occur in any part of the body, particularly due to ageing and infections such as shingles.

There are various types of Neuralgia - Postherpetic neuralgia, Trigeminal neuralgia and Glossopharyngeal neuralgia. The most common cause of Neuralgia are - infection, multiple sclerosis, pressure on nerves and diabetes.

The lesser common causes of the same are - chemical irritation, trauma (post-surgery), medications prescribed for cancer, chronic kidney disease, etc.

Stroke:

Stroke occurs when there isn't enough blood supply to the heart, especially because of blockages in the blood vessels.

As we have little visibility into our space inside, the symptoms of a stroke compensate, for us to be able to detect one.

The first symptom is numbness in the left arm, going all the way to the palm, sudden vision changes, balance, trouble speaking and loss of movement in the face arms and legs.

Lyme Disease:

This is an inflammatory disease that spreads quite quickly. Visible symptoms of Lyme include rashes on the skin, bad inflammation of the joints (especially the knees) brought together with cold or flu-like symptoms. The early phases of Lyme include fatigue, fever, muscle and joint pain, stiffness in the neck and swollen lymph nodes.

By virtue of the kind of disease that this is, it should not be left untreated for too long. If neglected, it leads to several neurological complications such as peripheral neuropathy, which brings about numbness or weakness in the limbs.

Fibromyalgia:

This is a condition that happens when the brain amplifies pain signals. It is a disorder characterized by widespread muscle pain, exhaustion, memory retention problems and mood swings. This is one of the most common causes of numbness in the legs and feet; however, there could be many other reasons why.