The state of your hands can reveal a lot about you, from the hard callouses that speak of manual labour to the soft suppleness that comes with a life of ease. But they can also develop important symptoms of serious health issues, including heart disease and lung cancer.
Heart disease is the second biggest killer in the UK, claiming over 60,000 lives each year. While genetics can play a role in your risk, early detection of issues like high cholesterol, followed by changes in diet or medication, can prevent it.
Lung cancer, the fifth leading cause of death in the UK, claims 95 lives prematurely every day. Quitting smoking can reduce your risk, but similarly, spotting symptoms early and seeking medical advice can increase survival rates by as much as 20 times.
READ MORE: Three signs of high cholesterol that can be spotted on your body without a blood test
Even though your hands are far from the core of these health issues, they can display a range of symptoms indicating something is seriously wrong. While most of these signs can be harmless, it is always worth speaking to a medical professional if they persist or get worse.
Alterations in the shape or colour of your fingers can signal various conditions. Many are harmless, but some could be life-threatening. If your fingers or tendons begin to swell, it might be time to consult your doctor.
Finger clubbing
When the tops of your fingers and/or toes start to swell, with the skin around your nails becoming shiny, this is known as finger clubbing, digital clubbing, and sometimes Hippocratic fingers. Clubbing often causes the shape and angle of the toenail to change as the top of the appendage swells, frequently becoming red and warm to the touch.
Typically, clubbing happens slowly over the course of years, but can have a rapid onset if triggered by an abscess in your lungs. According to Mount Sinai Hospital, the most common cause of finger clubbing is lung cancer, though it can indicate other conditions, and not everyone with the disease will develop clubbed fingers.
Usually, it will start at the base of the fingernail before expanding, causing the nails to curve more than normal. But to tell if a curve in your finger is clubbing, there is a simple test - press your fingernails together, if you notice a small, diamond-shaped tunnel of light, your fingers are likely fine.
Although clubbing of the fingers and toes can also indicate other issues with your heart and thyroid, as well as lung cancer and mesothelioma, Cancer Research UK call it an "unusual" condition to develop. They recommend: "If you think you might have it and are worried, do speak to your doctor."
"They can examine you and find out about any other symptoms you might have. They can send you for tests if necessary, such as a chest x-ray to check your lungs."
Once the root cause of the clubbing is addressed, the swelling should subside.
Swollen knuckles
Usually, high cholesterol levels in your body can only be identified through a blood test carried out by your GP. However, for those with an inherited condition known as familial hypercholesterolaemia, indulging in too many fast foods and neglecting self-care can result in swollen knuckles.
This is referred to as tendon xanthomata, a condition triggered by the accumulation of cholesterol around your tendons, which can impact the knuckles on your hand, your knees, and your Achilles tendon. While high cholesterol levels and the resultant heart disease are typically linked with older adults, if you're one of the 220,000 individuals in the UK with this genetic condition, the swelling can begin in early adulthood.
Research indicates that people with this condition often experience a thickening in the arteries due to high cholesterol levels from the age of 11, according to an NHS study. This makes identifying these symptoms and implementing the necessary lifestyle changes crucial.
Only eight per cent of those with this familial condition have been recognised by the health service, so if you observe your knuckles swelling and have other yellowish bumps on your hand, or around your eyes, it might be worth getting checked out. However, for most Brits, the only way to determine your cholesterol level is by undergoing a blood test conducted by a healthcare professional.
Swelling in your legs and feet could be a sign of heart disease, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. They've highlighted that "Many diseases of the heart cause fluid to build up in your feet and lower legs. As the fluid builds up, you may see swelling, which can extend as far as the upper legs and groin."
The NHS states that this swelling may be "better in the morning and get worse later in the day".
Bruised fingers
Another potential red flag is if you start noticing bruises on your fingers. It's quite rare to have bruising in this area and it could suggest an issue with your blood.
Unless you've had a significant bump or injury, it's unusual to develop a bruise on your fingers without realising it, and it's often a signal for doctors to test for types of cancer. Leukaemia UK's Research Director Simon Ridley told the Express: "One of the common warning signs and symptoms of leukaemia is bruising."
"These bruises are different from the ones we all get occasionally as they can appear in strange or unexpected places, such as on the hands for adults."
Leukaemia takes the lives of nearly 5000 Brits each year and despite significant advancements in survival rates, it still has a 40 per cent fatality rate. Like all cancers, spotting early signs and reporting them to your GP is the best way to increase your chances of survival.
If your fingers have changed colour, without bruising, this could also be a sign of Raynaud's phenomenon, where blood stops flowing properly to the fingers and toes, causing discolouration.
This is often onset by stress but is frequently harmless. If it becomes painful or associated with other conditions, it can be an indicator of lupus, or Crohn's disease.
Other symptoms of lung cancer
Finger clubbing is one of the less common symptoms of lung cancer or mesothelioma, the more common symptoms are:
- A persistent cough that lasts three weeks or more
- Breathlessness
- Wheezing
- Frequent chest infections
- A cough that changes or gets worse
- Chest and/or shoulder pain
- Coughing up blood or blood in your phlegm
- Unexplained fatigue or lack of energy
- Hoarseness
- Swelling in the face or neck.
While these symptoms don't always mean you have lung cancer, you should speak to your GP if you have any concerns. According to the NHS, anyone diagnosed with lung cancer in its first stage have a 20 times higher chance of surviving for five years of more.
Other symptoms of heart disease
The most obvious sign of coronary heart disease is a heart attack, or angina, but there are a variety of symptoms that, if experienced continuously or together with other symptoms, could be a sign that there is something wrong with your heart. Those symptoms include:
- Chest pain
- Shortness of Breath
- Coughing or Wheezing
- Swelling in the legs, ankles, or feet
- Poor circulation
- Fatigue
- Palpitations
If you have any concerns about your health, you should always speak to your doctor about your symptoms as your first port of call.
