Hand Tremor - Causes and Symptoms of Hand Tremor

A tremor is an involuntary movement or shaking of any body part (even your head or voice may be involved). It is often most noticeable in your hands. Essential tremor is common in older people. Essential tremor is rarely present when the hands are not being used. It becomes most apparent when the affected person is trying to do something, like reaching for an object or writing. It is not caused by an underlying disease.

Tremors can happen at any age but tend to be more common in older people.You can develop a tremor from fatigue, stress, anxiety, or even rage. However, an ongoing tremor that is not associated with a change in your emotional state may be a sign of an underlying medical condition and should be evaluated. You may learn, as many do, that your tremors are perfectly normal, but eliminating medical reasons for the shaking is important.

Difficulty in making precise finger movements will necessitate enlarged keypads with rests, key-guards or delayed activation. Selection of key operating pressure may be critical to the avoidance of muscular spasm. Both audible and displayed key feedback will be necessary to confirm correct actuation and avoidance of unwanted repeats. Speech-input keying may be desirable, but some conditions giving rise to hand tremor also cause hesitancy in speech.

Causes of Hand tremor

Environmental factors: People with unusual exposure to herbicides and pesticides are more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than are people who don't have this exposure. Researchers haven't yet been able to connect a specific herbicide or pesticide to the disease.

Hyperthyroidism or thyrotoxicosis occurs when the thyroid releases too many of its hormones over a short (acute) or long (chronic) period of time.

Tremors caused by stress, try relaxation techniques like meditation, deep relaxation, or breathing exercises. For tremors of any cause, avoid caffeine and get enough sleep.

Half of the cases are due to gene mutation and transmitted dominantly. There are two main loci: ETM1 and ETM2. The rest are idiopathic. No identifiable and consistent structural abnormality has yet been demonstrated to exist in the nervous system of every person with ET.

Essential tremor is the most common form of abnormal tremor. Although the cause is unknown, new research shows that the part of the brain called the cerebellum does not appear to work correctly in patients with essential tremor. The cerebellum is the part of the brain that coordinates muscle movements.

Symptoms of Hand tremor

Rigid muscles: Muscle stiffness (rigidity) often occurs in your limbs and neck. Sometimes the stiffness can be so severe that it limits the size of your movements and causes pain.

The signs and symptoms of withdrawal appear between six to 48 hours after the patient "stops" drinking alcohol. Some of the most common symptoms include tremors, mild headaches, cold sweat, vomiting, loss of appetite, insomnia, restlessness, rapid pulse, anxiety and auditory hallucinations.

However, some testing may be done to rule out other causes of tremors, such as excessive caffeine or tobacco use, alcohol withdrawal, use of certain medications (for example, asthma drugs, lithium, certain antidepressants and anti-seizure drugs)

Physiological Tremor: This is a very-low-amplitude fine tremor (between 6 Hz and 12 Hz) that is barely visible to the naked eye. It is present in every normal individual during maintaining a posture or movement. Neurologic examination results of patients with physiologic tremor are usually normal.

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