Fatigue, Vitamin Deficiencies, and Diabetes: 7 Health Problems that Your Hands are Warning You About

4. Red Blotches on Palms

Known as palmar erythmia, red blotches on the palms of your hands can occur for many reasons.

Here are a few causes of the condition (4):

• rheumatoid arthritis
• pregnancy (caused by hormone changes and usually temporary)
• liver cirrhosis or other liver diseases
• thyroid disease
• brain neoplasm (tumor)
• diabetes
• syphilis
• certain medications
• smoking
• mercury poisoning
• heredity (rare)

Palmar erythmia is also known as “liver palms”, “red palms”, and “Lane’s disease”. (5) Cirrhosis causes the liver to send extra hormones in the body, dilating blood vessels and causing redness. In cirrhosis, alcohol, hepatitis, or fatty liver disease transforms normal liver tissue into scar tissue. The scar tissue impairs blood flow. In this case, your palms may bruise and bleed easily. Your skin and eye may also begin to turn yellow.

Palmar erythmia is not a disease unto itself but a symptom of an underlying cause.

What to do: Reduce or eliminate alcohol intake. Have your health care provider check your medications and see if you’re suffering from liver dysfunction. Plus, maintain a healthy weight and watch your carbohydrate intake, as the liver is responsible (among many other things) for metabolizing carbohydrates. (6)

×

Enter your email below to sign up.

We hate SPAM and will NEVER violate your privacy.

5. Tremors

Hand tremors can be an indication of something as simple as too much caffeine or nervousness. If chronic, however, they can be a sign of something more serious.

Possible reasons may include:

• Parkinson’s disease
• magnesium deficiency
• exposure to environmental toxins and heavy metals (7)
• ingestion of known toxins in food, including aspartame and ingredients in energy drinks (e.g., Red Bull, Monster)
• excessive alcohol consumption
• anti-depressant medications
• vitamin B12 deficiency (8)
• vitamin D deficiency (9, 10)
• drug withdrawal
• B1, B6, and E deficiency

Vitamin deficiency may also cause fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness, pale or yellow skin, irregular heartbeats, weight loss, or muscle weakness (11).