Why do my hands tingle or go numb?
Position solves most of it: nerves squeezed at the wrist or elbow wake you with numb hands or make phones and steering wheels tingle. Night tingling of thumb through ring finger, shaken off the wrist, is classic carpal tunnel.
Both-hands-and-feet tingling is different, a glove-and-stocking pattern, pointing to B12 deficiency, diabetes, alcohol or thyroid trouble, all testable.
Sudden one-sided numbness with face droop, weakness or speech trouble is a stroke until proven otherwise: emergency services, immediately. For the rest, persistent or progressive tingling deserves tests, and early carpal tunnel splinting works well.
Source: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, carpal tunnel syndrome
See a doctor promptly if
- Extreme thirst, frequent urination, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, rapid breathing or drowsiness. This can be a diabetic emergency, seek urgent care
- Unintentional weight loss with thirst and urination, especially in someone slim or young. This may be type 1 diabetes and needs same-day assessment
- A foot wound, ulcer or infection that is not healing, with known or suspected diabetes
- Sudden vision loss or new floaters in one or both eyes
- Confusion, sweating and shakiness that improve with sugar in someone using glucose-lowering medication
Try the symptom diary10 seconds a day, free, nothing to installThe first question in the room is when, how often and what came before it. A dated week answers all three.
Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS · How we review
If you are buying a thermometer
A basic digital stick thermometer is accurate and costs a few dollars. Forehead scanners are fine for quick checks on children; ear thermometers need good technique to read true.
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