Woman’s Own – 02 September 2019

Theclue’s

inthecolour

WORDS:

FAYE

M

SMITH.

PHOTOS:

GETTY.

IF

YOU

HAVE

ANY

CONCERNS

ABOUT

YOUR

HEALTH,

SPEAK

TO

YOUR

GP.

Evenif you’renotfeelingunwell,yourhands

couldreveala hiddenhealthcondition

Everyday

ailments

Y

oureyesmaybethe

windowtothesoul,but

it’syourhandsthatcan

givethegameaway

whenit comestowellness.

‘Handscanreveala significant

amountaboutyourgeneralhealth,’

saysDrJudithHolmes,whohas

a privateGPpracticeatSpire

ParkwayHospital,Solihull.‘At

medicalschool,studentdoctors

aretaughttostartanyformal

clinicalexaminationbylooking

atthepatient’shands,astheycan

givesomanycluesastowhatmay

behappeningunderthesurface.’

Here’swhattolookoutfor...

Sweatingordryskin

Thiscouldindicatethyroidissues.

‘Anoveractivethyroidcancause

handstotremorandtheskintobecome

excessivelysweaty,’saysDrHolmes.

‘Ifunderactive,itmaycausedryskin

onthehandswiththenailseparating

fromthenailbedunderneath.Andyou

mayseeridgingordiscolourationof

thenails,too.’Worried?AskyourGP

forabloodtest.‘Inmostcases,you’re

alsolikelytohaveothersymptoms,such

asdifficultystayingwarmorcooling

down,extremetiredness,protruding

Achesandpains eyesorhairloss,’addsDrHolmes.

With 27 bonesanda networkof

ligamentsandnervesin yourhands,

painisn’tuncommon.‘Tingling,throbbing,

crampandstiffnesscouldberepetitive

straininjury,especiallyif you’reusing

a computermouseorkeyboardregularly,

withsymptomseasingwhenyou’ve

stopped,’saysDrHolmes.

Stretchingcanhelp.Withyourarm

extended,stretchyourfingersbackone

ata timeandthenalltogether.Squeeze

yourhandsintofists,thenopenslowly

andasfullyasyoucan.‘Paincould

indicatearthritis,nerveproblemsor

circulationissues,evenif onlyonehand

is affected,’saysDrHolmes.If painis

persistent,seeyourdoctor.

Strains

andbruises

It’seasytohurtyour

fingers,handsor wrists.

Resttheinjured area,

treatwithicewrapped in

a teatowelfor15 minutes

(appliedimmediately

andfourtimesdaily),

painkillersanda support

bandage,if necessary.

Paleorwhitehands

Canbea signofanaemia– especially

if,whenyouflexyourfingersback,

thelinesonthemdrainofcolour.

‘Therearemanytypesofanaemia,’

saysDrHolmes.‘Iron-deficiency

anaemiacancausespoon-shaped

nails,whileanaemiacausedby vitamin

B12deficiencycancausea brown-grey

discolourationofthenails.But hand

changesgenerallyonlyoccurwhen

anaemiais long-standinganduntreated.’

Coulditbe

repetitive

straininjury?

Youcan

self-treatmost

minorinjuries

What are your hands

secretly saying?