My left pinky and ring finger are numb, why? ?

Question

My left hand has been feeling weak, often tingling as if it were sleep. When it is not tingling, my little finger is numb from the tip to the palm. My ring finger is numb from the tip to the knuckle. I have not injured my hand recently, and there is no pain when I move it. I do have a slight (pinprick) pain in my wrist (base of the thumb), but its not pain from movement. I have been having this feeling from about a week.

I work 2 jobs and neither offer health insurance, so a visit to the Dr. is not an option, unless I might die! What could this be?

Answer 1

The "funny bone".

Most likely your putting pressure on the ulnar nerve at the point that it passes over the elbow area. People often refer to this as the funny bone because if you hit that area just wright it will make your hand feel funny.

Try straightening your arm out as much as possible. This will relieve the stretching and pressing of the nerve where it passes along the back side of the elbow. At night try to keep your arm straight instead of in complete flexsion. In other words don't sleep with your hand up close to your face.

There is another nerve that controls the other side of your hand. When it is pinched the most likely area would be in the carpal tunnel area. That doesn't sound like your problem though.

Answer 2

It sounds like ulnar nerve entrapment, whcih is very similar to carpal tunnel syndrome, but involves a different nerve, and it can happen either at the elbow or wrist.   If the problem is isolated to your hand, you can get a wrist immobilizer at just about any pharmacy, and use an anti inflammatory such as ibuprofen or Alleve to clear it up.  

Answer 3

it sound like carpal tunnel syndrome.

Try taking 200 mg a day of Vitamin B12 for about 6 weeks.  You MUST go for 4-6 weeks, as it take this long to have an effect.