Symptoms and Causes
Symptoms
Dupuytren's may affect one or both hands. It progresses slowly over time. The first sign you may notice may be lumps in the palm of your hand. These lumps are small, hard, and tender. As the condition progresses, the lumps will no longer be painful. Thick bands may begin to form under your skin. In more severe cases, all your fingers can curl into the palm of your hand.
Causes
The cause of Dupuytren’s is unknown. It is speculated that the disease may be genetic. Your risk is higher if a relative has it. Other risk factors include being over the age 40, alcoholism, smoking, thyroid problems, liver disease, diabetes, previous hand injury, and epilepsy.
Did you know...
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- There are many factors that contribute to your body odor, but one of the strongest links is our diet. This may be some bad news for meat-lovers because many studies have shown that those who refrained from or ate less red meat were judged as being more pleasant smelling. The meat sweats are real, and they don’t smell great!
- Do you know what the strongest muscle in your body is? No, it’s not your biceps or your thighs. It’s actually in your head. The masseter is a muscle in the jaw that is used when chewing. When all of the muscles of the jaw work together, they can exert a force as strong as 200 pounds on the molars. That’s some serious pressure.
- Does your job make you stressed? We all know that stress is psychologically bad for you, but it also has an effect on…your allergies? A Harvard Medical School study has shown that stress causes your allergies to become worse because your body's defense response loses efficacy when repeatedly triggered by stress. Then, when you really need to physically fight something off, you're less able to!