4 Ways Your Hands Can Reveal Kidney Problems

Your hands can say a lot about you, but they say more about your health than you might think. One of the more notable is the link between your hands and kidney problems that might happen. Your hands could be a way to start looking for issues.

These aren’t limited to your kidneys, with some issues turning up in different extremities. Your hands are one of the more visible, since it’s easy to check them regularly. They could help you figure out if, and when, you need to see a doctor, especially with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

How Your Hands Could Highlight Kidney Problems

1. Swollen Fingers or Hands

Having puffy or swollen hands and fingers starts happening when your kidneys can’t get rid of excess fluid or sodium. That’s a major sign they’re not working properly. Usually called edema, this fluid buildup can happen in a few places, with your hands just being one.

Others include your legs, feet, and ankles. You could even notice some swelling around your face.

The fluid buildup everywhere else usually comes about when kidney disease is advanced or if there’s a lot of protein leaking into your urine. When this happens regularly, you’ll need to see your doctor.

2. Unusual Itchiness and Dryness

Persistent itching in your hands, especially when coupled with constantly dry hands, is a common sign of major kidney problems.

Waste starts building up in your body because your kidney isn’t working properly, leading to these issues. You could also notice your skin getting darker. There might also be other issues.

Some of the more common, and minor, are eczema, some medications, and some allergies. Getting these checked first helps rule out whether or not you need to worry about kidney issues.

3. Numbness and Tingling

Numbness and tingling in your hands are caused by different conditions, but kidney disease is one of the more serious. This is especially true in your fingers, which can go numb and then start tingling randomly. While a more minor issue could cause this every once in a while, it could be a kidney issue when it happens a lot.

4. Regular Muscle Cramps

Hand cramps can happen a lot when there are problems with your kidneys, since your body’s mineral and electrolyte balance is off. Muscle cramps are one of the more common signs of advanced CKD, as PMC notes, and these can often appear alongside leg cramps.

Occasional cramps are relatively common, though, with exercise and dehydration being some of the main causes of this. So, they shouldn’t be seen as a catch-all for kidney disease.

Your Next Steps When You See These

The biggest mistake you can make here is trying to diagnose kidney problems just because of your hands. Symptoms of early CKD usually don’t appear until it’s been there for a while, so waiting too long means you could end up getting diagnosed a lot later than anyone would like.

The CDC reports, for example, that nine in ten U.S. adults over 20 with CKD don’t realize they have the condition. Thankfully, testing for this is easy, and only needs a blood test (eGFR) and a urine test (ACR).

These might not be immediate. When taken alongside diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, or a family history of kidney disease, you could develop the condition.

See a medical professional soon to get a possible diagnosis and prevent any more damage.