What your hands say about your health

• Your hands reveal a lot about the state of your health.
• This is something that has been recognised since at least the time of Hippocrates – the father of modern medicine.
• The ancient Greek physician first described “clubbing” in a patient with empyema (where pus fills the space between the lungs and the membrane around it) in the fifth century BC.
• Clubbing is where the nail looks like an upside-down spoon, and it is still recognised as a sign of disease.

Palms

• If you find your palms are becoming sweaty in the absence of nervousness, hot temperatures or exercise, it could be down to faulty nerve signals causing the sweat glands to become active.
• But unexplained sweaty palms – and face, neck and armpits – can be a sign of thyroid problems.
• Excess of this hormone causes bodily processes to speed up and can be the cause of sweaty palms.
• A more concerning palm change is the appearance of small areas of red or purple discolouration on the palms of the hands and fingers.

Pins and needles

• If you experience pins and needles in your hand that you can’t shake off, it might be a sign that you have carpal tunnel syndrome.
• Pins and needles in the hand can also be a sign of diabetes.
• Everyone experiences pins and needles at some point, but if you get it a lot or it lasts a long time, you should see your doctor.

Finger length

• The length of the index versus ring finger varies in men and women.
• In women, they are fairly equal in length, but in men, the ring finger is typically longer than the index finger.