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Ever wondered why doctors carefully examine your hands during a check-up? Much like your eyes and tongue, your hands can provide valuable clues about your health and potential underlying conditions. Let's delve into some telltale signs that your hands might reveal about your well-being.

Let me start with Arachnodactyly, and this can be confirmed in people whose thumb finger overlaps when holding a fist, or whose thumb and pinky finger overlap when holding the wrist. This is a sign that your fingers are long, and the name comes from its similarity with spider fingers. This type of finger is common with people with Marfan syndrome as they possess long fingers and arm span compared to their height. This is a genetic mutation and it can affect elastic fibers in other organs which can lead to pneumothorax causing the collapse of the lungs without any warning.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Steps_steinberg_sign.png</div>
<sup>[wikimedia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Steps_steinberg_sign.png)</sup>

While I just discussed Marfan Syndrome and its association with Arachnodactyly, it will be great to mention that Ehlers-danlos syndrome can also cause Arachnodactily. People with Ehler's-danlos syndrome have hyper mobility to body parts such as the fingers as it affects collagen. it can cause stretchy skin and loosed joints where they come out of their joints. People with vascular Ehlers-danlos syndrome can have their vessels stretch and rupture. Having a few joints that are hypermobile doesn't mean you suffer from EDS, it can just be nothing.

When I look at people's palm and I see that it is red at the sides of all a sudden which wasn't like that before, I begin to suspect Palmar Erythema which is as a result of blood vessel dilation. It is common with people with liver disease such as Liver Cirrhosis, or people who suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis. It is also common with pregnant women but then having red palms doesn't mean you are suffering from a condition at all time, diet can also cause palms to be change color such as having Lycopenemia where there is a buildup of lycopene in the skin as a result of eating too much tomatoes.

Try joining your hands together in a prayer form very tight, and check if your hands tighten without space. Testing your hands by joining them tightly in a prayer form can reveal a positive prayer sign. If your hands and fingers don't hold together without space, it might be indicative of certain conditions preventing full finger extension. Diabetes is one potential cause, as sugar particles can stiffen hand collagen.

https://images.pexels.com/photos/4498211/pexels-photo-4498211.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&w=1260&h=750&dpr=1
<sup>[pexels](https://www.pexels.com/photo/fit-smiling-lady-standing-with-prayer-hands-while-practicing-yoga-4498211/)</sup>

People who suffer from hypothyroidism or Rheumatoid Arthritis can have swollen carpals ligament which will put pressure on the nerves leading to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome which would cause numbness and tingling in the fingers. It can also be caused by repetitive stress injuries such as people who make hair.

When I see people who have complete white fingers or blue in cold and completely red when warmed up, I begin to suspect Raynaud phenomenon where blood vessels experience spasm in response to cold or emotional stress, and can be signs for diseases such as Scleroderma.

Like I said, little things that we think do not matter do matter in medicine. The hand can be a gateway to understanding our health, and regular self-checks and awareness of these signs can aid in early detection and prompt medical attention when needed.


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##### <center><sup>Read More</sup></center>
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<sup><sup>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3752499/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2935167/
https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/scleroderma
https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/raynauds-phenomenon
https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/carpal-tunnel-syndrome
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11204525/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18039017/
https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/45.3.220
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ehlers-danlos-syndromes/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK549814/
https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/marfan-syndrome</sup>