Disorder/Illness of hand

The hand of a man is one of most active organs of the body. It consists of various parts such as bones, muscles, fingers, thumbs, nerves and skin all of which can be affected by different forms of ailments. Common disorders in the hands include injuries, ganglia, and infections, ailments of the nerves, blood vessels, skin, osteoarthritis and tendonitis. Injuries can result to fractures on part of the bone, rupturing of ligaments and even dislocations (David, 2004). The largest part of the hand is composed of fingers.

Disorders in this part of the hand may occur on the joints as a result of strained activity or due an infection of arthritis. The curling of the fingertip which leads to failure of the fingertip to straighten is known as the mallet finger. In most cases, this disorder results from an injury which leads to tearing of the tendon from the bone. This condition is treated by placing the affected finger in a straight position and maintaining it for some time to let the condition heal. Button-hole deformity is a disorder which affects the joint of the middle finger.

The finger bends in a fixed position in the direction of the palm. In addition the outermost finger tends to portray an excessive bending in the direction away from the palm. This disorder is caused by the rheumatoid arthritis infection. The swelling on the finger joints forming cysts is known as osteoarthritis of the hand causes painful swellings on affected the part of the hand (David, 2004). Ganglion is another disorder which presents itself in form of gelatinous swellings which appear on the back of the palm or wrist.

They develop into firm shaped swellings which protrude above the surface of the skin. Even though they are painless, ganglia causes a lot of discomfort on the patient which limits efficient use of hands. Infection disorders may be related to bacterial and viral infections. Common bacterial infections on the hand cause abscess or swellings. These may occur on parts with injured cells such as wounds and bites. Application of antibiotic prevents the possibilities of getting these kinds of infections. Infections of the soft pulp tissue of the fingertip are known as felon.

This causes swelling leading to death of surrounding tissues. The common viral infection on hand results in Herpetic Whitlow which is caused by the infection of herpes which spreads to hands forming fluid-filled blisters on the skin of the fingers. This disorder however disappears with treatment of herpes infection. Osteoarthritis presents itself through the extension of the bones over the outermost joints. This leads to formation of painful swelling on the finger joints. Joints between the fingers are not affected by the condition.

The affected joints may be misaligned forming a crooked hand. Erosive osteoarthritis forms a swelling around the affected tissues. Sometimes the bands of the fibrous tissue (tendons) along the palms may tighten forming a claw like hand. This is known as palmar fibromatosis. It is treated trough injection of corticosteroid into the tendons. Severe cases may require a corrective surgery. This condition has been found to have hereditary characteristics and in most cases it affects men over the age of 45 years (Taylor, 2008).

Numbness on hand is caused by the cutting of supply of blood or compression of the nerves at the wrist due to the bending of the wrist. This mostly happens when one is sleeping. Numbness as a result of compression of the nerves is referred to as Carpal Turner Syndrome (David, 2004). One is advised to keep the hand straight to prevent the development of this condition. Concisely, most of the ailments of the hands lead to a restriction on the use of the affected hands. Seeking of proper medical attention is necessary to rectify any condition in time.