In the article, we will consider the causes and treatment of hand tremors in the elderly, as well as in the young. What is this pathology? Hand tremor is an intense contraction of the muscles of the hands and forearms or trembling in the limbs of an involuntary nature. The occurrence of this pathology occurs during voluntary movements or at rest.
What is this?
Such muscle contractions often allow only gross work, and actions that require fine motor skills of the hands are not available to a person in this situation. For example, it is extremely difficult to thread a needle or write something to such a patient. This manifestation is intensified by excessive muscle tension, increased concentration of attention, severe fatigue, hypothermia.
The causes and treatment of hand tremors are presented below.
Most often, the violation affects the hands, a little less often - other parts of the body that are located in the middle of the body. Most susceptible to such involuntaryhand tremors in older people, but the disease can also develop at a young age. Very often, experts do not attribute this condition to one or another type of independent disease. Tremor of the body, hands or head is usually considered one of the specific symptoms of various diseases.
Causes of hand tremors
The causes of this phenomenon can be divided into two main groups. The first of these includes a normal physiological tremor, which can be a functional disorder that is temporary and does not always indicate the presence of any disease.
The reasons for this phenomenon may be:
- Increased emotionality. Such a tremor of the hands with strong excitement can be in neurotic personalities, as well as in people whose professional activities are associated with the presence of constant stress.
- Depression, as well as a variety of post-traumatic stress disorders, traces of severe stress.
- Character accentuations. For example, with hysteroid psychopathy, people may experience a pronounced tremor of the hands or other parts of the body at certain intervals.
- The reaction of the body to drugs. Some medications can increase the convulsive activity of the nervous system. Such drugs are antidepressants, some adaptogens (Rhodiola rosea, ginseng extracts, golden root, magnolia vine, eleutherococcus), lithium preparations, some antipsychotics, aminofillin.
- Hand tremors can be caused by drinking too strong coffee or tea, smoking strongcigarettes.
- The use of certain drugs, such as amphetamines, also cause hand tremors.
The causes of hand tremors in adults can be very different.
The most pronounced examples of this pathology in he althy people can be chills during hypothermia or after hard physical work.
It is very important that all these varieties of physiological tremor have a certain external factor, if it is excluded, such a condition should disappear. A specialist should only be consulted if hand tremor does not resolve within two weeks of lifestyle optimization.
Causes, treatment and symptoms of essential hand tremor are presented below.
Diseases
Pathological tremor of the upper extremities may indicate intoxication of the body, usually occurring in case of poisoning or strong nervous excitement. This phenomenon can also occur in the presence of endocrine diseases. Common causes of hand tremors are:
- Poisoning, in particular, lead, strychnine, carbon monoxide.
- Cases of chronic alcoholism and withdrawal symptoms.
- Severe hand tremors are caused by hypoglycemia, which occurs in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
- Thyrotoxicosis and certain pathologies of the adrenal glands can also provoke prolonged tremors of the hands.
- Chronic liver failure, withsevere manifestations of jaundice in some fulminant varieties of viral hepatitis. In this case, the so-called "clapping" tremor may develop, when the hands tremble even in a state of absolute calm.
- Damage to certain areas of the brain: the cerebellum, extrapyramidal nuclei, trunk, which usually causes persistent tremor, as well as in other extrapyramidal disorders. Tremor of the hands with systemic cerebellar damage is called "intentional": the tremor of the hands increases when trying to reach a certain object.
- Family forms of pathology, which are usually caused by hereditary predisposition.
- Alzheimer's disease is a common cause of hand tremors in the elderly.
- Parkinson's disease.
- Senile dementia.
- Wilson-Konovalov disease.
- Multiple sclerosis, as well as other demyelinating pathologies (for example, acute encephalomyelitis).
- Progredient varieties of tick-borne encephalitis, chronic encephalomyelitis.
- Anemia, including hereditary, as well as conditions that may be associated with chronic hypoxemia: parasitic infections, blood loss from hemorrhoids, chronic stomach ulcers, ulcerative colitis, women's diseases.
The causes of hand tremors are not fully understood. A separate form is the so-called "essential" tremor, which sometimes has a family character, but no disturbances in the work of other body systems are determined. Hence the name - "essential",which means “jitter for unknown reasons.”
Hard problem
From the description of some causes of essential tremor of the hands, it becomes clear that such a problem of trembling of the upper limbs is very complex, and specialists should approach its definition very carefully. There is an unhe althy practice when, without understanding, the doctor immediately diagnoses the patient, especially the elderly, with Parkinson's disease and sends him to an institution of extrapyramidal pathology. After that, it turns out that the person does not have this disease. Therefore, this problem of timely diagnosis of trembling is very acute for doctors of modern clinics.
The causes of hand tremor should be determined by a qualified specialist.
Degrees of upper limb tremor
All manifestations of hand trembling are classified according to severity, since sometimes this can serve as a reason for transferring the patient to disability, due to incapacity for work. A similar phenomenon is divided into:
- Slightly pronounced tremor that appears at certain points in time. They can be much shorter than those in which a person's hands do not tremble. Tremor of this category does not affect the patient's lifestyle and its quality in any way.
- Moderate tremor of the hands, when a person is forced to change the nature of the activity, because he cannot control the accuracy of movements.
- Significantly pronounced tremor when the patient has difficulty in basic self-care -cannot bring a glass of water to his mouth, for example. Such patients are prohibited from using sharp cutlery. They find it difficult, for example, to turn the pages of a book while reading, etc. It is also very difficult for such patients to work at a computer. Similar trembling of the upper limbs occurs in some forms of multiple sclerosis, when the cerebellum is damaged, with encephalitis and hepatocerebral dystrophy. The causes and treatment of hand tremors are interrelated.
In childhood
Hand tremor in he althy children is a temporary phenomenon. It can occur with the underdevelopment of the nervous system, as well as its unwillingness to transmit or receive impulses, which is due to incomplete maturation of the peripheral nerves. This kind of violation appears, as a rule, against the background of emotional swings and the active production of adrenaline. This symptomatology is the first sign that there is an active muscle contraction and increased utilization of oxygen and glucose by muscle tissues. In response to such processes, the muscles, as a rule, react with a characteristic trembling.
In such situations, when contacting a doctor, it is necessary to inform him about all critical periods of intrauterine development, if any, as well as about all diseases that occurred during the period of gestation, fetal hypoxia, fetoplacental insufficiency, etc. n.
Other causes of hand tremor in a child may be perinatal trauma, prematurity,congenital forms of diabetes mellitus, threatened miscarriage, congenital syphilis, or rapid delivery.
Under normal developmental conditions, hand trembling usually resolves by 12 months of age. If hand tremor occurs later, you should consult a pediatrician.
Hand tremor in alcoholism
Another cause of hand tremors in adults.
This phenomenon is not uncommon among people suffering from alcoholism. The reason for this is the effect of ethanol on the body, which has a toxic effect, while affecting the nerve endings. This symptomatology reflects the medical concept of "toxic polyneuropathy".
Hand tremor in alcoholism is observed, as a rule, in the morning. This phenomenon is not clearly expressed at the initial stages, the tremor in these cases manifests itself from time to time. However, if alcohol dependence is not treated, this symptom will become chronic. Hand tremor in such conditions can be cured, but the patient should refuse to take alcohol.
Essential upper limb tremor
This disease is observed in 3% of young people under the age of 40-45 years, and their number increases significantly in old age. Trembling of the limbs occurs, as a rule, with a frequency of 7-10 times per second. In some cases, hand tremors are accompanied by tremors of other parts of the body, such as the head, legs, and vocal cords. The causes, treatment and symptoms of essential hand tremor are of interest to many.
Treatment of a pathological phenomenon
The type of therapy that is used in the case of tremor of the upper limbs depends on what type of this phenomenon occurs in each individual case. There is no universal remedy for this, since hand tremors are usually caused by certain factors.
The treatment of tremor due to human physiology is the simplest. It is recommended to normalize sleep, relieve emotional stress with the help of traditional medicine or light sedative medications. It is also necessary to exclude heavy physical work and limit the use of drinks containing caffeine. It is important to stop smoking, often ventilate the room.
Depending on the causes of hand tremor in adults, treatment is selected. The drugs that are indicated in this case are valerian or motherwort tincture, Glycine, Novo-Passit, some antidepressants and tranquilizers.
With hand tremors, it is very useful to apply therapeutic fasting methods or a diet in order to change the physiological muscle tone. In this case, muscle contractions normalize over time.
Of course, if the cause of hand tremors in adults is correctly identified.
Essential hand tremor treatment
Treatment of this type of pathological trembling of the upper extremities is carried out according to other principles than the treatment of physiological forms of tremor. In this case, the following have a good therapeutic effect:medications:
- Beta-blockers, such as Anaprilin, Obzidan, Propranolol, Inderal. The dose is first prescribed in the minimum amount, subsequently increasing it depending on the severity of the pathological process, as well as in accordance with the maximum allowable dosages.
- Neuroleptics, as well as tranquilizers - with severe trembling of the upper limbs.
- Carboanhydrase inhibitors, such as Diacarb.
- High doses of vitamin B6 are highly effective in progressive hand tremors. The drug should be used in courses that are 1 month, with a break in the same time period.
- Levetiracetam is an anticonvulsant drug that also works well in the treatment of essential hand tremor. The reason may be different.
Parkinson's disease as a cause of hand tremors
In the treatment of estrapyramidal tremor of the upper limbs in pathologies such as Parkinson's disease, the use of the most powerful medications is required, since in this case a systemic effect on the basal nuclei of the brain is necessary. In this case, these drugs should actively reduce muscle tone. These medications are:
- "Bromocriptine";
- Memantine;
- "Levodopa";
- Amantadine and others.
These medicines, unlike those used inessential-type hand tremor therapies have a direct effect on the exchange of mediators in the internal structures of the brain, therefore these drugs are dispensed in pharmacies strictly by prescription, because the independent use of such drugs can lead to serious negative consequences.
The causes of hand tremors in the elderly are clear.
Pathological trembling of the upper limbs, partially or completely, can become one of the external manifestations of some serious pathologies in the human body, so do not neglect the treatment of this phenomenon, and even more so - the use of modern diagnostic methods in order to possibly identify other pathologies. If the trembling of the upper limbs is not physiological, that is, in cases where it is not due to cases of nervous strain and stress, it is necessary to identify other causes of tremor of the right hand, left hand, or both at once.
Diagnosis of diseases, a symptom of which is hand trembling, is to identify the cause of the pathology. The directions of these measures are determined by the doctor in each individual case, taking into account other possible symptoms and manifestations of certain diseases.
We looked at the causes and treatment of hand tremors in the elderly.
