Numbness in your hands or fingertips can be alarming (and annoying). Similar to the feeling when your hand or foot falls asleep, however with a lasting effect that can be unnerving. Depending on the severity of the sensation, it may even feel as if you’ve lost the control of your hands. What could be causing these frustrating symptoms?

There are a number of culprits.

Potential Causes of Numbness and Tingling in the Hands

Your body is made up of an intricate network of nerves that span your entire body. They are largely responsible for transmitting messages to and from your brain. If this nerve message system is damaged in any way, numbness may occur as a result.

A few of the most common occurrences resulting in hand numbness are:

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is by far one of the most common causes of hand numbness.

CTS is a condition in which the nerve that runs from your forearm to your hand becomes pinched at your wrist. With more of us working from a desk full-time, typing and using a mouse to navigate, there has been an increase in documented cases of CTS.

Additional symptoms of CTS include tingling sensation spreading into the thumb, index and middle fingers. While CTS isn’t life threatening, left untreated it can lead to the need for surgery to repair the pinched nerve. If you find you are experiencing persistent symptoms, contact your doctor for a treatment plan.

Thyroid Disorders

Although less common, Hypothyroidism can result in damage to the nerves running between your brain and the rest of your body, including your hands. Additional symptoms include hair loss, weight gain and low body temperature. This condition can worsen and cause far greater damage than if caught early, so if you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, contact your doctor as soon as possible.

Cysts

Ganglion cysts are non-cancerous lumps that form anywhere on the body. Unfortunately, they tend to form around joints and from time to time, can cause numbness around the hand, wrist and fingers. In most cases, the cysts will eventually dissipate on their own, alleviating the tingling and numbness, however, if they persist then your doctor may have to aspirate the cyst to drain the fluid and relief the pressure on your nerves.

These are the three major sources we see in our patients that have contributed to hand and finger numbness, if you have any questions about how to treat these or any other conditions, please don’t hesitate to contact us!