Tingling in the hands, or paresthesia, can have numerous causes, some temporary and benign, others serious. It can be caused by injury, inflammation, medical conditions, medications, and more. Persistent paresthesia should be evaluated by a doctor as it could indicate life-threatening conditions.
Tingling in the hands is known by the more accurate term paresthesia, but paresthesia can refer to tingling, burning, or numbness that occurs in other extremities as well. There are numerous causes of hand paresthesia. Some of these are temporary and benign and others are very serious. Whether tingling is present very often or occurs regularly, people who experience it should see a doctor to determine the cause.
Some of the simplest causes can be the feeling of the hand waking up after it has “fallen asleep”. If pressure is put on a nerve connected to one or both hands, they may go numb. As the pressure is removed, the hand begins to wake up and may have a pins and needles sensation. Some people may notice tingling in their hands all day long if they wear shirts that constrict their arms. Once this restriction ends, the tingling usually disappears.
Other causes of tingling hands can result from more constant pressure on the nerves. Conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome can create numbness or tingling in the thumb, index and middle fingers, and other repetitive motion injuries in the wrist can cause numbness or tingling in the little and ring fingers.
Injuries or inflammation to the arm or spine can compress or damage nerves relatively permanently, or at least until the injury heals. This could cause tingling in one or both hands, depending on the location of the compressed or damaged nerve. A direct injury, such as a fracture or broken bone in the hand or wrist, can also cause pins and needles sensations, although it usually causes pain as well.
Hand paresthesia can result from conditions not due to injury. It can be caused by things like vitamin B12 deficiency or conditions like multiple sclerosis. People who are in the midst of a heart attack may notice tingling in one or both hands.
A host of other conditions can have tingling hands as a side effect. These include migraines, Guillain-Barre syndrome, all forms of diabetes, strokes and Sjogren’s syndrome. Low thyroid levels (hypothyroidism) or very low calcium levels could also be a potential cause.
Some medications can make your hands tingle, and these can include some over-the-counter antihistamines and migraine medications. If you seem to get paresthesia while taking a medication, check if it’s a listed side effect, or call a pharmacist or doctor for more information. Some substances cause pins and needles, and one of the most concerning is lead exposure. Lead poisoning easily leads to paraesthesia, and this symptom that occurs in children who may have had lead exposure should not be ignored.
In all, there may be over 50 causes of tingling hands and over 100 medications that can cause it. Because the causes are so varied, persistent paresthesia deserves medical attention. Its presence may not be threatening, but it could also indicate life-threatening conditions such as stroke or heart attack.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
