Frequent tremor of the hand may portend the presence of a neurological disease that requires treatment, but the causes of tremor of the hands are not necessarily due to neurological diseases, as the cause of the tremor may be stress and anxiety.
You may be wondering how to know the causes of hand tremor and determine whether the tremor is normal or pathological. Although hand tremor is a common symptom of many diseases of the nervous system, it may occur for psychological reasons that have nothing to do with a serious disease, but rather a transient condition that affects everyone between Once in a while.
There is no doubt that the tremor of the right or left hand may cause inconvenience to those who suffer from it and impede the injured person from performing his daily tasks, and in order to get rid of this problem, you must first determine the cause that led to its occurrence.
What are the causes of shaking hands?
Some people notice that the tremor of the hands appears more clearly when they hold things, while others notice that the tremor is associated with a rapid heartbeat, and these symptoms may help us identify The cause of trembling hands more easily.
Determining the cause of hand tremor is not easy, due to the many problems and diseases that cause hand tremor, and doctors often fail to identify the causes of hand tremor, so the condition is then known as “essential tremor.”
Let us mention together the most important causes of tremor in the hand:
Mental state
The psychological factor is one of the most common causes of hand tremors among adolescents and young adults. If you feel nervous or angry about something, you may suddenly feel a shiver in your hands with your heart racing and excessive sweating. There is no need to worry, as this is normal, it may happen to everyone, and it usually goes away when the reason that caused it disappears. Make you stressed or anxious.
This can be avoided by practicing activities that relieve stress, such as deep breathing, meditation and relaxation sessions. It is also possible to use some medications that relieve social phobia, such as beta-blockers.
Parkinson's disease
This disease is one of the common causes of hand tremors in the elderly. It occurs due to the degeneration of neurons in the brain responsible for muscle movement. Thus, motor symptoms appear on the patient, including: shaking and trembling in the hands and feet, slow walking, difficulty maintaining body balance, and other symptoms. other tags.
The tremor usually begins on one side of the body (the right or the left) until the tremor moves later to the opposite side. To find out if the cause of the tremor of the hands is due to this problem, you can read more about Parkinson's disease symptoms.
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder that affects the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), which leads to many symptoms throughout the body, including tremors of the hands and feet.
This disease is considered one of the most common neurological diseases that affect young people under the age of 40. Its symptoms may get worse with the passage of time, and the tremor of the hand becomes more noticeable to the patient. You can read more about Symptoms of multiple sclerosis.
hyperthyroidism
Excessive secretion of thyroid hormones is one of the important causes of hand tremor, especially in women. Tremor is often accompanied by other signs such as a rapid pulse, increased appetite, hair loss and many other signs. Get more information about the symptoms. hyperthyroidism.
lack of blood sugar
Sugar is a major source of energy in the human body, as nerve cells and muscles derive energy from it. When its level decreases for some reason (such as lack of food intake), a wide range of symptoms will appear, including tremor of the hands with pale skin.
Diabetics are more likely to be injured as a result of the wrong use of sugar-lowering drugs, and to find out if the cause of hand tremor is due to this problem, read about Symptoms of low blood sugar.
Hand tendinitis
Tendonitis is one of the causes of tremor of the hands when holding things or lifting them up. This condition is characterized by the presence of pain accompanying the tremor, which increases in intensity with the movement of the hand and eases with rest. The inflammation affects people who use the hands a lot, such as painters, tennis players, and golfers.
Get more information on Hand tendonitis And how to treat it in the event of suspicion of the possibility of infection with tendonitis.
Smoking and alcohol
Studies have shown that the nicotine present in cigarette smoke speeds up the heartbeat and increases anxiety and tension, resulting in tremors and tremors in the hands.
Alcoholic beverages also affect the process of liberating chemical vectors in the nervous system, affecting the speed of the brain's response to stimuli, which makes alcohol one of the causes of frequent tremors and tremors in the hands.
ischemic stroke
Exposure to a stroke may affect the mechanism of communication between nerves and muscles, causing sudden, involuntary contractions that appear in the form of trembling in the hands or feet.
There are many signs of a stroke, whether motor or intellectual. You see a stroke with greater frequency in older people. You can get more information about Ischemic stroke in the elderly.
Alzheimer's disease
Hand tremors for the elderly is a common sign of degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. With the decline of brain cells, motor function declines, leading to frequent tremors and tremors in the fingers and hands.
Tremor in Alzheimer's patients may cause difficulty in performing simple activities such as drinking a glass of water or writing straight. Fortunately, it is now possible in Turkey to treat and alleviate the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease through a technique Transcranial pulse stimulation.
Lack of sleep and caffeine
Just as a car needs fuel in order to be able to work well, the human body needs energy in order to work efficiently. Rest and sleep energize our bodies and minds. When we do not get enough sleep, our brains may fail to send nerve signals to the muscles in an appropriate manner, and thus our hands tremble involuntarily.
The caffeine in coffee is a stimulant for the nervous system and may cause tension and insomnia (inability to sleep) when consumed in excess, so it is best not to drink excessively to avoid the negative effects of caffeine, including trembling hands. Hand tremor.
Liver diseases
Tremor may indicate a problem with the liver, as some genetic liver disorders such as Wilson's disease Wilson's disease It affects the brain of the infected person, causing several symptoms such as tremors of the hands with jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes).
Also, severe hepatitis infections may lead to damage to the motor brain functions when neglected to treat them well, so hepatitis is one of the causes of sudden tremor of the hands.
Primary fibrillation
When the doctor fails to find out the cause of the hand tremor and denies all previous causes of the tremor, then the person has primary tremor. Essential tremor It is attributed to more than 70% of the causes of hand tremor.
The cause of the main hand tremor is still not clearly understood and it is believed that it is a genetic disease that runs in the family. When a first-degree relative such as a father or brother has an injury, you may be at greater risk of hand tremor.
How is tremor of hands treated?
There is no need to treat hand tremor as long as it does not cause inconvenience to the patient, but when it leads to difficulties in performing daily tasks and causes disturbing symptoms to the patient, then the tremor can be reduced and controlled through various methods.
If the causes of hand tremor are well known, such as hyperthyroidism, then by managing the cause (treatment of hyperactivity of the gland) the sudden tremor of the hands can be reduced. The same applies to other diseases that cause tremor.
Taking some medications may help relieve the underlying problem of tremor of the hands (of unknown cause), such as a group of beta-blockers such as propranolol. propranololHowever, you should pay attention because this medicine is not to be taken by patients with asthma and may cause problems in heart patients.
Anti-epileptic drugs may also be useful in treating tremors of the hands, such as primidone. It is best to consult a specialist doctor so that he can prescribe medications suitable for your health condition and the nature of the tremor that you suffer from.
Botulinum toxin injection (Botox) is one of the therapeutic options used to treat some basic cases of tremor in the hand. The effect of a Botox injection usually lasts for three months before the need for re-injection again. This method of treatment may be associated with some side effects such as weakness of the fingers and hand muscles.
Recently, advanced methods have appeared in the treatment of hand tremors, such as using a device worn around the wrist to stimulate peripheral nerves and prevent hand tremors, in addition to deep brain stimulation, which is one of the promising medical treatments.
In conclusion, despite the many causes of hand tremors, most cases do not cause fear and anxiety, as they are often caused by psychological factors such as emotion and anger, but hand tremors may sometimes indicate diseases that occur at the level of the nervous system, such as Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis, in addition to To a wide range of other neurological disorders, and knowing the cause of tremor helps us to develop an appropriate treatment plan for tremor.
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