Health.com: 10 Things Your Hands Can Reveal About Your Health

Your hands do a lot of things if you think about it. They make a first impression with a handshake, they comfort others, they type for you at work and pour your coffee every morning. One thing they do that you didn’t necessarily think about is, reveal information about your health.

Physicians everywhere have learned to look at signs in their patient’s hands whether that be their form, function or appearance. The hands can provide insight to how the rest of your body is feeling.

Anne Albers, MD, cardiologist with OhioHealth Heart & Vascular Physicians, joined the conversation on hand health and provided examples of when she makes notes of certain hand symptoms.

“During the physical exam for patients, we definitely pay attention to someone’s hand grip,” said Albers to Health. “We associate it with frailty,” she says.

The symptoms that are most common in patients' hands are:

• Weak hand grip

• Tiny red bumps or blisters

• Numb or tingly hands

• Trigger finger

• Red scales or puss-filled bumps

• White, blue or red fingers

• Hand tremor

• Purple finger nodules

• Hand pain, stiffness, and swelling

• Long ring fingers

These symptoms can help physicians locate prognostic and diagnostic clues. Some things the symptoms help diagnose are, risk of heart disease, allergies, arthritis, endocarditis and even your bodies testosterone levels.

Of course hands can’t explain it all nor can they diagnose alone, but their aid in helping doctors understand their patients condition are extremely helpful during your medical visits.

Check out the full story here.