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Read Dr. Elena Krasnov's Weekly Column in the Health & Fitness section of the 24 Hours Magazine. Look for new articles every week!

Monday, January 05, 2009

Maintaining Healthy Circulation

Q: Dear Elena: I am a 70 year-old male. I was diagnosed with kidney stones over 10 years ago. Recently I have been getting numbing in my finger tips every night.

Has this something to do with the kidney stones? How can I prevent this from happening?

A: Numbness in the fingertips can be caused by a variety of different things. Most often, it is due to lack of circulation. It is possible that you may have some muscle spasms somewhere in the neck or shoulder area that is pinching your circulation or a nerve bundle and that is what's causing your symptoms. To test it out, you should try rubbing your hands together and see if the motion makes your fingertips less numb. If it helps then you could be sure it is a localized problem and is not related to your neck or shoulder area. If your fingers get numb from being cold, you could have a disorder known as Raynaud's phenomenon. Keeping you hands warm would solve that problem. May be at night you are less mobile and so you have decreased circulation in your extremities and that could also make them cold thus precipitating your symptoms.

I don't think your symptoms have anything to do your kidney stones. However, drinking lots of pure water would be good for your overall health, help your kidney drainage and improve your circulation as well. Exercise is also very good especially when you are in your 70's. Most people slow down as they age but keeping up an exercise routine would do wonders for your fingertips and for the rest of your body.

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Dr. Elena Krasnov is a registered Naturopathic Doctor and Clinic Director of the Toronto Naturopathic Clinic. Submit your questions online at 24hrs.ca

Co-written by Miranda Tallon-Malisani Holistic Nutritionist