Anxiety, nervous excitement, emotional strain, frailty are common causes of shakiness in hands and trembling of the fingers. Even if you are in excellent health, you may notice slight tremors from time to time. One of the conditions associated with rhythmic shaking is known as essential tremor. ET is one of the hereditary disorders of the nervous system in which there is moderate intensity of hand tremors that occur during movement and may gradually progress. Age is one of the significant risk factors. Although vibration can occur at any age, it is more likely in elderly people.
How hand tremors can affect life
Tension, fatigue, consumption of excess caffeine can make the situation worse, deteriorating your well-being. At some point, simple daily tasks we do with our hands become more challenging. It can be both a physiological reaction of the body to overwork, hypothermia, alcohol intoxication and a symptom of an array of serious diseases. And even if mostly ET is not life-threatening and doesn’t require intensive care and tremors hands treatment, it can get worse over time, notifying us about the following health issues, such as:
- Endocrine disorders. With an overactive thyroid gland, a person often experiences tremors. In addition, there may be weight loss with increased appetite, muscle weakness, increased heart rate, and the patient becomes hot-tempered and overly emotional.
- Autoimmune diseases. Multiple sclerosis is another shaky hands cause. With such a diagnosis, tremors can occur not only in the hands but also in other parts of the body.
- Parkinson’s disease. A progressive disease of the nervous system affects mostly middle-aged and elderly patients. It is marked by tremor as one of the first symptoms that appear even at rest with the occurrence of a head tremor over time, muscular rigidity, and slow poorly controlled movement. Tremor elevates and intensifies with excitement, physical exertion, in addition, there is a sensation of dizziness and imbalance, muscle weakness, gradual impairment of cognitive abilities, memory loss, depression.
- Metabolic disorders. Being diagnosed with a rare hereditary Wilson-Konovalov disease, hand tremors may already appear at a young age. The cause of the disease is an impaired exchange of copper in the body, it begins to be deposited in the tissues of organs, disrupting their work.
Proven ways to deal with essential tremor
The tactics of tremors hands treatment depend on the trigger that caused it. Physiological tremors can be eliminated by dealing with the provoking factor. Pathological tremors require active therapy. If you think that shaking is caused by chronic stress or lack of sleep, change your mindset and lifestyle to boost your quality of life. If the episodes continue, then therapy with drugs (beta-blockers, anti-seizure, and antiepileptic drugs) that inhibit the progression of ET and reduce severity must be designed by a qualified specialist after a comprehensive medical checkup, several tests (electroencephalogram (EEG) or electromyography (EMG)), and obtaining an accurate diagnosis.
The first specialist whom patients turn to when trembling in their hands appears is a neurologist. If necessary, you may need to consult a cardiologist, endocrinologist, psychotherapist. The tasks of medical health care specialists are to determine what provokes such trembling and the key triggers to develop the efficient tremors hands treatment.
Adequate diagnosis and early management of shaking hands are pivotal to repair normal body function, relieve symptoms, and maintain good health.
FAQ about tremors hands
How do you stop hand tremors?
As a rule, standard tremors, such as physiological one, are reversible and usually do not require special treatment. There are several groups of drugs for reducing the intensity of tremors. If the tremor is a symptom of another disease, treatment is directed at the underlying pathology. So, for example, in the pathology of the thyroid gland, after the correction of the hormonal background and its normalization, the tremor decreases.
Generally, it is enough to avoid stressful situations, give up the frequent use of strong coffee and black tea, stop smoking and drinking alcohol, establish normal good sleep, reduce the intensity of physical exertion, and the trembling in the limbs will be reduced. As a preventive measure, the patient may be shown a special course of exercises. Activities that promote fine motor skills in the hands can be very helpful. Exercising with a weighting agent (you need to pick up something heavy) can also help relieve tremors. A simple and effective exercise that anyone can do: clench hands into a fist and unclench with a sharp movement, repeat 30-50 times.
What is the best medicine for shaking hands?
There are several ways of treating this disorder. First of all, it is necessary to identify the reason for the breakout of the hand shake. If the reason is physiological, then it is enough to eliminate it to normalize the condition. In order to prevent or reduce symptoms as much as possible, triggers (such as caffeine, fatigue, lack of sleep, medications, and, where possible, stress and anxiety) should be avoided. When tremor accompanies any pathological process in the body, it is necessary to consult a specialist doctor who will conduct a comprehensive examination and prescribe the appropriate therapy for the case. Only a doctor will prescribe certain medications that can normalize the course of diseases. One of the variants of treatment is taking several medicines. If a number of neurological diseases are detected, the patient can be treated with surgery.Tremors may provoke a number of chronic and dangerous diseases, so timely visit a neurologist and take care of your health.
What is the latest treatment for essential tremor?
Although an essential tremor is not life threatening, the condition of the patient may get worse over time. Several factors can make the situation worse, such as caffeine use, stress and the lack of sleep. This disease is difficult to treat. Diagnosed essential tremor requires long-term administration of drug therapy with dose selection. The treatment, in the first stages, takes place on an inpatient basis, then the patient is monitored by a neurologist on an outpatient basis. Hence, the most widespread way to cure an essential tremor is prescribing drug therapy. The ill are prescribed beta-adrenergic receptor blockers, vitamins, tranquilizers, as well as anticonvulsants and antiepileptic drugs. In some cases, when the disorder leads to significant disturbances in activity and discomfort, and medications do not help, the patient may be shown surgical intervention, namely, implantation of electrodes in the area of the brain responsible for sensory stimulation. This method is used only for severe situations.
How do you treat an action tremor?
Firstly, it is necessary to understand which factor caused the unwanted reaction and eliminate it. The minimum program is a visit to a therapist. Usually, after the initial examination, the doctor recommends contacting a neurologist, endocrinologist, taking tests to check the thyroid gland, and prescribing an MRI of the brain. When the attack begins, the patient should pick up the object and move it from side to side several times (back straight, arms lowered 30 degrees). Carrying out heavy objects or taking medicines may be beneficial in several types of an action tremor. In other cases — the only way to stop the illness is a surgery.
