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Symptom: Hand pain



Introduction: Hand pain

Pain can arise from a variety of causes ranging from accidental trauma to nerve conditions. Pain-like sensations often described as pins-and-needles, prickling or burning sensations are called paresthesias; see hand paresthesias. All pain or pain-like sensations need prompt medical investigation.

» Review Causes of Hand pain: full list

Causes of Hand pain:

The following medical conditions are some of the possible causes of Hand pain. There are likely to be other possible causes, so ask your doctor about your symptoms.

See full list of 57 causes of Hand pain

» Review Causes of Hand pain: full list

Hand pain: Multiple Symptom Checker

Listed below are some combinations of symptoms associated with Hand pain, as listed in our database. Visit the Multiple Symptoms Checker, to add and remove symptoms and research your condition.

Multiple Symptom Checker - Other Symptoms

Multiple Symptom Checker Combinations

See full list of 402 Multiple Symptom Checker combinations related to Hand pain

Causes of General Symptom Types

Research the causes of these more general types of symptom:

Causes of Similar Symptoms to Hand pain

Research the causes of these symptoms that are similar to, or related to, the symptom Hand pain:

Diagnostic Guides for Hand pain

12 MEDICAL SYMPTOM BOOKS: FULL TEXT ONLINE! Read the full text of published book sections related to Hand pain from the following published medical books for more detailed information about Hand pain. Free access (no registration): read all online diagnostic book sections about Hand pain

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE!
Full text. Free access (no registration).

Wrist & Hand Pain/Swelling

  • "In a Page: Signs and Symptoms"

HAND AND FINGER PAIN

  • "Differential Diagnosis in Primary Care"

Wrist/Hand Pain

  • "Field Guide to Bedside Diagnosis"

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2007 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic tests for Hand pain:

Various tests are used in the diagnosis of Hand pain. Some of these are listed below :

  • General appearance
    • Looking for bruising, deformity of hand or fingers, swelling of the hand or fingers, abnormal posture of body, muscle wasting, abnormal arm movements
    • Physical examination
    • May be necessary to examine a variety of joints including the cervical spine, shoulder, elbow , wrists and the various joints of the hand
    • Test muscle tone, power, reflexes and co-ordination of upper limbs

See full list of 23 diagnostic tests for Hand pain

Diagnosis Checklist: Questions your doctor may ask (and why!)

During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques in their assessment of Hand pain. Your doctor may ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to remember that your consultation is a two-way process and any extra information you can share with your doctor about your symptoms may help them with their diagnosis. Some of the questions your doctor may ask are listed below:

  • How long have you noticed pain in your hand? - to establish if acute or chronic.
  • What area(s) of the hand is affected by the pain? - to determine if local or generalized pain and to determine if finger joints may be involved.
  • Is the arm also affected by the pain?
  • Are both hands affected and is it symmetrical?- helps determine which nerves may be affected e.g. painful peripheral neuropathy is symmetrical compared with individual nerve or nerve root disease which should be suspected if pain is asymmetrical or confined to one hand
  • Is there a time of day when hand pain is worse? - can help determine the cause of hand pain e.g. carpal tunnel syndrome wakes the person in the middle of the night ; cervical spondylitis wakes the person with pain and stiffness that persists well into the day; people with thoracic outlet syndrome find it difficult to fall asleep due to pain.

See Diagnosis Checklist for Hand pain (24 listings)

Diagnosis Checklist: Associated symptoms your doctor may ask about (and why!)

Sometimes, other symptoms may be present and may help your doctor analyse your condition. The symptoms your doctor may ask about (in association with Hand pain) may include:

  • Hand paresthesia? - if also paresthesia in the involved hand this usually suggests herniated cervical disc , spinal cord tumor or cervical spondylosis. Other conditions to consider are brachial plexus neuropathy, thoracic outlet syndrome, cervical rib, Pancoast's tumor, Raynaud's disease, sympathetic dystrophy or various entrapment syndromes such as carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar nerve entrapment at the elbow.
  • Neck pain? - pain originating from disorders from the neck can transmit to distal parts of the arm and sometimes the hand.
  • Fever? - can indicate septic arthritis, osteomyelitis.
  • Joint pain in other parts of the body? - may suggest osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus erythematosus, psoriatic arthritis.
  • Symptoms of Diabetes mellitus? - e.g. frequency of urination, excessive thirst, weight loss (especially in Type 1 Diabetes mellitus), tiredness, fatigue, increased infections especially of the skin and genitals, blurry vision - Diabetes mellitus is a cause of painful peripheral neuropathy.

See Diagnosis Checklist for Hand pain (24 listings)

Stories from Users for Hand pain

Real-life user stories relating to Hand pain:

Symptom specific forums: The following patient stories in our interactive forums and message boards relate to Hand pain or relevant symptoms:

Videos for Hand pain

Diabetes on Your Nerves

Diabetes on Your NervesAlmost half of all people with diabetes experience some form of nerve damage, which can develop into a complication known as peripheral neuropathy....

Treating Neuropathy

Treating NeuropathyTreating nerve damage from diabetes requires a two-pronged approach: controlling blood sugar and alleviating the pain caused by peripheral...

 
See full list of 2 related videos

Patient Surveys for Hand pain

Medications or substances causing Hand pain:

The following drugs, medications, substances or toxins are some of the possible causes of Hand pain as a symptom. Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using, including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.

See full list of 20 medications causing Hand pain

Drug interactions causing Hand pain:

When combined, certain drugs, medications, substances or toxins may react causing Hand pain as a symptom. Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using, including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.

  • Thalidomide and chloramphenicol interaction
  • Thalomid and chloramphenicol interaction
  • Thalidomide and cisplatin interaction
  • Thalomid and cisplatin interaction
  • Thalidomide and dapsone interaction

See full list of 32 drug interactions causing Hand pain

Organs affected by Hand pain:

The list of organs typically affected by Hand pain may include, but is not limited to:

Detailed list of causes of Hand pain

The list below shows some of the causes of Hand pain mentioned in various sources:

See full list of 57 causes of Hand pain

How Common are these Causes of Hand pain?

This information refers to the general prevalence and incidence of these diseases, not to how likely they are to be the actual cause of Hand pain. Of the 57 causes of Hand pain that we have listed, we have the following prevalence/incidence information:

  • 2 causes are "very common" diseases
  • 1 causes are "common" diseases
  • 2 causes are "uncommon" diseases
  • 0 causes are "rare" diseases
  • 0 causes are "very rare" diseases
  • 53 causes have no prevalence information.

See the analysis of the prevalence of 57 causes of Hand pain

Conditions listing symptoms: Hand pain:

The following list of conditions have 'Hand pain' or similar listed as a symptom in our database. This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete. Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause of any symptom.

B

  • Broken hand ... hand pain

    C

  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 1A ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 1B ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 1C ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 1D ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 1E ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 1F ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 2A ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 2AI ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 2AII ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 2C ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 2D ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 2E ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, type 4 ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 4A ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 4B1 ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 4C ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 4E ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 4F ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 4G ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 4H ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, X-linked ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, X-linked, 1 ... hand pain
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth, demyelinating, autosomal recessive ... hand pain

    D

  • Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy ... pain in hands

    E

  • Eosinophilic fasciitis ... hand pain

    H

  • Hand conditions ... Hand pain
  • Hand fracture ... Hand pain
  • Hand injury ... Hand pain
  • Hand neuropathy ... painful hands

    J

  • Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis ... hand joint pain

    P

  • Polyneuritis ... hand pain

    S

  • Scapulocostal syndrome ... hand pain
  • Sickle Cell Anemia ... hand pain

    T

  • Thoracic outlet syndrome ... hand pain
  • Thoracic outlet syndrome TOS ... hand pain

    U

  • Ulnar nerve injury ... hand pain

    W

  • Whiplash Injuries ... hand pain

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  • Causes of Hand pain Based on Risk Factors

    This information shows analysis of the list of causes of Hand pain based on whether certain risk factors apply to the patient:

  • Diabetes - history of diabetes or family history of diabetes?

    Doctors and specialists: Who should I consult about Hand pain?

    Depending on the seriousness of the onset of Hand pain, you may want to consult one of the following medical professionals.
    Important:In extreme cases, always seek advice from emergency services :

    Classifications of Hand pain:

    Medical Conditions associated with Hand pain:

    Pain (2679), Hand symptoms (808), Sensations (2894), Nerve symptoms (3150), Common symptoms (4058), Arm symptoms (1012)

    Symptoms related to Hand pain:

    Wrist pain (12), Finger pain (19), Hand paresthesias (37), Finger paresthesias (13), Hand numbness (30), Finger numbness (14)

    Hand pain as a disease:

    You may also want to research other Diseases in our Disease Center.

    Medical articles on signs and symptoms:

    Doctor-patient articles related to symptoms and diagnosis:

    These general medical articles may be of interest:

    Books Related to Hand pain

    See full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis

    More Ways To Research Medical Signs and Symptoms:

    Books Related to Hand pain

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