Tingling in Fingers and Toes

The many functions of our body are controlled by the vast network of nerves and cells. The nervous system plays a major role in executing all the vital functions effectively and smoothly. The two major nervous systems of our body are the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system. The peripheral nervous system is an interconnected wired network of nerves that carry the signals from the brain to the other parts of the body. These nerves are made up of neurons that carry the signals in the form of electrical impulses. Any damage to these nerves causes pain, numbness, and weakness in specific parts of the body. The scientific term used for this damage is called peripheral neuropathy. These abnormal sensations after any injury or damage to these nerves, cause tingling in fingers and toes. The sensations can be described like pricking sensation, ant crawling, creeping, pins and needles sensation, that causes discomfort and pain sometimes. Usually, numbness and tingling happens after the blood circulation is affected or cut off, or after a prolonged or repetitive activity. Less or no blood circulation leads to numbness in the affected area, and tingling follows as the blood starts circulating again.

Causes

To understand more on this segment of peripheral neuropathy, we will study some causes that lead to tingling and numbness in fingers and toes. There may be various causes right from simple to the more serious ones.

Tingling Fingers

• Numbness and tingling in fingers usually happens by everyday activities also. Harmless activities like text messaging, typing, using the computer keyboard and mouse extensively, can cause numbness in fingers and eventually a tingling sensation.
• Even if you rest on your hand for a long time in the same position, inactivity of the hands and fingers, or sleeping in an incorrect position or on the fingers, can lead to numb and tingly fingers.
• Holding very cold objects like ice for a long time, and exposure to extreme cold climates which causes frost bites, cause numbness and tingling.
• Apart from these, other occupational activities such as handling heavy and vibrating machines like power saw, roto tiller and jack hammer, can also cause tingling in the fingers.

Tingling Toes

• Prolonged standing or being seated in the same position, nerve compression due to sitting in cramped conditions, and sitting with the legs crossed, also causes prolonged pressure on the nerves, leading to tingly feet and toes.
• Wearing tight or improper footwear, or wearing tight fitting clothes, leads to restricted blood supply, hence resulting in tingling feet and toes.
• Following a rigorous and extreme exercise workout, jumping, etc., also leads to numbness and tingling

Injuries and diseases can also cause numbness and tingling in fingers and toes. Some of the factors that cause tingling in hands and feet are: nerve and neck injuries, lack of blood supply to a particular area, injury and pressure on the spinal nerves. Poor blood circulation as a result of alcohol abuse, obesity, low physical activity, smoking, dehydration, radiation therapies and seizures can cause tingling in feet and fingers.

Dietary deficiency of certain vitamins like B1 (thiamine), B6 (pyridoxine), B12 (niacin), nicotinic acid deficiency, calcium, potassium and sodium, is also one of the causes of tingling hands and feet. Medications and other substances like alcohol, tobacco, amiodarone, disulfiram, nitrofurantoin, platinum, lead, metronidazole, procarbazine, thallium, arsenic, disulfiram, gold, heavy metals, lead, insecticides, vincristine, etc., are also some of the major causes.

I have made a list of the diseases of which tingling fingers and toes is a symptom of. It is not that every time you experience tingling you are a victim of these diseases, so do not panic.

Diabetes	Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy	Fabry's disease
Acromegaly	Denny-Brown's syndrome	Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
Amyloidosis	Buerger's disease	Olivopontocerebellar atrophy
Sjogren's syndrome	Multiple sclerosis	Lyme disease
Systemic lupus erythematosus	Polyneuritis	Hypothyroidism

Tingling Fingers and Toes: Treatment

Numbness and tingling however can be treated at home as well, and below are some simple tips that will help.

• In case of numbness and tingling in fingers, an easy solution is to relax the fingers. To make sure there is good blood circulation in your fingers, you can stretch your fingers, arms and wrists. Wriggling them will also help in reducing the numbness and tingling effect.
• Shake your fingers after prolonged typing. Maintain a proper sleeping position, make sure you don't sleep on your fingers or hands.
• For home treatment of tingling feet and toes, give rest to your feet in case you are standing or sitting in the same position for a long time. Stretch and massage your feet for better blood circulation.
• Try immersing your feet in cold or ice water if the tingling is prevalent for a long time.
• Follow a healthy lifestyle to avoid tingling and numbness in hands and feet. Limit your alcohol and tobacco consumption. Avoid very high consumption of carbohydrates and sugar. Check your glucose intake if you are a diabetic. Maintain a healthy diet and get help from vitamin supplements if you have a vitamin deficiency.

These simple home remedies will surely help the tingling and numbness to subside. However, if you suffer from frequent and prolonged tingling, and the home remedies do not help, make sure you consult a medical expert and get proper diagnosis and treatment. If your numbness of tingling occurs with the following symptoms, take immediate medical advice.

• Tingling sensations after a neck, back or head injury.
• Loss of consciousness, even if it is for few moments.
• Inability to control arm or leg movement, or other activities like urinary and bowel functions.
• Distorted speech or complete physical weakness.
• A change in eyesight.
• Walking difficulty or paralysis.

Numbness and tingling in fingers and toes is a common experience for most of us, but do not completely ignore it and take care of your body. After all, any discomfort to your body is like an alien you never want to keep and know them for anything more than just research.