Your hands can reveal a lot about you, from the hardness and calluses that come from years of physical work to the softness that comes with a life of ease. However, they can also indicate the onset of serious health problems, such as heart disease and lung cancer.
Heart disease is the second leading cause of death in Britain after dementia, claiming more than 60,000 lives each year due to related conditions. Although genetics can influence the likelihood of developing heart disease, early detection can lead to preventative measures such as dietary changes or medication.
Lung cancer, the fifth leading cause of death in Britain, prematurely claims the lives of 95 people every day. In addition to quitting smoking to reduce the risk of developing lung cancer or mesothelioma, early symptom detection and consultation with your doctor can increase survival rates by up to twenty times.
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While your hands are far from the center of these health problems, they can show several symptoms that indicate something is seriously wrong in your body. While most of these symptoms may be harmless, there are certain indications of poor health that should always be brought to the attention of a medical professional.
Changes in the shape or color of your fingers can indicate a range of conditions, many of which are harmless, but some can be life-threatening. If your fingers or tendons start to swell, it may be time to see your doctor, reports Gloucestershire Live.
Finger clubbing
When the tips of your fingers or toes begin to swell and the skin around your nails becomes shiny, it is called finger clubbing, digital clubbing, or sometimes hippocratic fingering. As the top of the finger swells, clubbing often changes the shape and angle of the toenail, which often becomes red and warm to the touch.
Clubbing usually develops gradually over several years, but a lung abscess can cause a sudden onset. According to Mount Sinai Hospital, lung cancer is the most common cause of finger clubbing, although it can signal other conditions, and not everyone with the disease will develop clubbed fingers.
It usually starts at the base of the fingernail before spreading, causing the nails to curve more than normal. However, there is a simple test to determine if a crook in your finger is clubbing: Press your fingernails together and if you see a small, diamond-shaped light hole, your fingers are probably normal.
Although clubbing of fingers and toes can also indicate problems with your heart and thyroid, as well as lung cancer and mesothelioma, Cancer Research UK describes it as an “unusual” condition. They advise: “If you think you have it and are concerned, talk to your doctor.”
“They can examine you and find out about any other symptoms you have. If necessary, they can arrange tests such as a chest X-ray to examine your lungs.”
Once the cause of the clubbing is addressed, the swelling should subside.
Swollen knuckles
A high cholesterol level in your body is usually only detectable through a blood test by your doctor. For people with an inherited condition known as familial hypercholesterolemia, indulging in too many takeaways and neglecting self-care can lead to swollen knuckles.
This is called tendon xanthomata, a condition that results from the buildup of cholesterol around your tendons, which can affect the knuckles of your hand, your knees and your Achilles tendon. Although high cholesterol and resulting heart disease are usually linked to older adults, swelling can start as early as early adulthood if you are one of the 220,000 people in Britain with this genetic condition.
Research shows that people with the condition often suffer from arterial thickening from the age of 11 due to high cholesterol, according to an NHS study. This makes it crucial to identify these symptoms and make the necessary lifestyle changes to counteract them.
Only eight percent of those with this familial condition are recognized by the health care system, so if you notice swelling in your knuckles and other yellowish bumps on your hand or around your eyes, it may be worth getting it checked out. However, for most Britons, the only way to determine your cholesterol level is to have a blood test by a healthcare professional.
The American Academy of Dermatology has emphasized that swelling in the feet and lower legs can be a sign of heart disease: “Many heart diseases cause fluid to build up in your feet and lower legs. As the fluid builds up, you may see swelling, which can extend to the thighs and groin.”
According to the NHS, this swelling can be better in the morning and get worse later in the day.
Bruised fingers
The appearance of unexplained bruises on your fingers can indicate serious underlying health problems, such as blood disorders. Fingers are an unusual place where people bruise without noticeable injury or trauma.
Simon Ridley, research director at Leukemia UK, told the Express: “One of the most common warning signs and symptoms of leukemia is bruising.”
“These bruises are different from the types we all get sometimes because they can occur in unusual or unexpected locations, such as on the hands of adults.”
Nearly 5,000 Britons lose their lives to leukemia every year. Despite the significant progress made in survival rates, the disease still has a mortality rate of 40 percent.
Recognizing the early symptoms and reporting them to your doctor is crucial to increasing your chances of survival.
If your fingers have changed color without bruising, this could also be a sign of Raynaud’s phenomenon, where blood no longer flows properly to the fingers and toes, causing discoloration.
This is often caused by stress, but is often harmless. If it becomes painful or is related to other conditions, it could be an indicator of lupus or Crohn’s disease.
Other symptoms of lung cancer
Finger clubbing is one of the less common symptoms of lung cancer or mesothelioma. The most common symptoms are:
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A persistent cough that lasts three weeks or more
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Breathlessness
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Wheezing
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Frequent respiratory infections
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A cough that changes or worsens
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Pain in the chest and/or shoulder
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Coughing up blood or blood in your mucus
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Unexplained fatigue or lack of energy
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Hoarseness
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Swelling in the face or neck.
Although these symptoms do not always mean you have lung cancer, you should consult your doctor if you are concerned. According to the NHS, anyone diagnosed with lung cancer in the first stage is 20 times more likely to survive for five years or more.
Other symptoms of heart disease
The most obvious sign of coronary artery disease is a heart attack or angina, but there are several symptoms that, if experienced continuously or along with other symptoms, could be a sign that something is wrong with your heart. These symptoms include:
If you have any concerns about your health, you should always consult your doctor about your symptoms. This is your first point of contact.