What should you know about numb fingers fever chills?

Numbness by itself can come from pressure on a nerve in the wrist, elbow, shoulder, or neck. Fever or chills add a whole-body or local warning sign. Infection in the skin, hand, joint, or deeper tissues may cause warmth, redness, swelling, drainage, or increasing pain, although these features are not always present.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Cervical Radiculopathy, Cubital Tunnel Syndrome, and Thoracic Outlet Syndrome can cause hand symptoms, but they do not explain every episode of fever or chills. A clinician needs the full history and examination to separate a nerve problem from infection or another cause.

Arrange same-day medical advice, especially if symptoms are new, worsening, or follow a wound, bite, injection, operation, or injury. Check your temperature if you can, note when the numbness and chills began, and list medicines and medical conditions. Keep any wound clean and covered according to prior instructions; do not squeeze a swollen area or apply unapproved creams.

Go to urgent care for rapidly spreading redness, severe hand pain, marked swelling, pus, a blue or cold finger, confusion, fainting, severe weakness, or trouble breathing. Sudden one-sided weakness, speech difficulty, or facial drooping is an emergency. Do not wait for numbness to resolve when these signs are present.

Could this be an infection or a circulation problem? Is there a wound, bite, procedure, or medicine that changes the risk? What examination or tests are needed? What changes should send me directly to emergency care?