Trembling of the hands or fingers can have several causes; it can be a mild nervous complaint or a serious illness.
Parkinson's disease, a degenerative brain disorder, manifests itself, among other things, by severe, uncontrollable trembling of the hands. Other medical causes can be alcohol withdrawal, thyroid dysfunction or lithium poisoning. Hand tremor does not always have a medical cause, but can also be triggered by fatigue, stress, nervousness or anger. Hand tremor can also be a symptom of age, indicate low blood sugar, be a side effect of certain medications or too much caffeine. Depending on the cause, there are different ways to stop or reduce shaking.
If the hand tremor is triggered by stress and nervousness, relaxing treatments such as meditation and breathing techniques are a form of treatment. However, hand tremor is only a symptom of stress, so the stress-triggering factors should be largely eliminated. In order to relax permanently, one must get enough sleep and apply the learned breathing and relaxation exercises when restlessness is budding.
If the tremor is caused by a strong medication, you should talk to your doctor about an alternative. Often, just lowering the dose helps to significantly reduce the tremor.
Alcoholics or people with alcohol problems should seek treatment. Hand tremors are a symptom of alcohol withdrawal, yet it is essential that the person remains sober to stop the tremors.
Caffeine should be reduced. Excessive coffee consumption is often the trigger of nervous tremors. In this case, caffeine should be completely avoided for some time to see if the tremor improves.
Talking to the doctor can help, because there are medicines for hand tremors. Usually sedatives, beta-blockers or antispasmodics are prescribed.
In any case, you should go to the doctor if the tremor does not get better or even gets worse. You should watch out for other symptoms such as headaches, tongue twitching or involuntary muscle movements. In severe cases of hand tremor, surgery can help.
