Hi doctor, I am a 16 yr old female with a lot of health issues. I have Hasimotos, chronic migraines, severe chronic sinusitis, sho grins disease, leaky guy syndrome, and plenty of others. And sometimes when I get horrible sinus headaches, my arms will go completly numb. But this time, it was just my right thumb. It is swelling and I can t feel anything but pressure, what do I do?
Hi, Thanks for writing in. The thumb is supplied by branches of the median nerve in the Palmer area and radial nerve dorsally. The nerves originate in the neck region and then the nerve roots join to form nerves that again branch and supply the smaller areas. Since there is swelling also, an inflammation of the small muscles in the hand might be a cause. This happens more in those doing activities requiring over use of thumb and fingers as in musicians and those working on the computer. If you are among those who use your thumb and fingers frequently at your job then please take rest from work every 30 minutes and do hand relaxation exercises. If there is no overuse of fingers then you should consult a neurologist and get conically examined.  Therefore, if your numbness in the thumb and arms then a nerve conduction study on the region might help. If required and MRI of cervical spine might help understand your problem. Use anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxants for a sore thumb. Please do not worry.