I have been a heavy drinker for the past 11 1/2 years i had a ultra sound done on Jan 1 this year and found that i had a fatty liver, i continued to drink on and off till May 1st this year, i have noticed that my hands and fingers get really red at times and red and blotchy at times, they also get really tight feeling and burning,when i close my hands into a tight fist and open them the color turns to normal were my fingers were pressing in and realy bright red were noting was touching this is not all the time but i do notice it a few times a day. and also my feet burning at times, but not all the time.
I had another ultra sound done 2 weeks ago and they said everything was now normal no more fatty liver, i had liver panel test, and a full blood count test, every thing was normal, i dont know if i tend to worry to much or should i take this another step foward.the doctor says i have nothig to worry about.that it is not chirosiss.
any suggestions or any one else wiith the same problem?
Re: Liver palms Red blotchy hands signs of chirosiss.
I see this post is from a while back, but wondering where things stand for you now? I am a 39 year old female with a pretty long history of drinking. I had blood work done in April 2011 and again last week. All was normal. I do have the red palms and they burn sometimes....my feet burn sometimes as well. My dr wants to recheck my blood in 3 months and possibly do an ultrasound then. I feel good, I am just crazy worried about the red palms! I am obsessing over it actually! Did you ever have any further testing done? Did the red palms go away? I only quit my nightly drinking habit 11 days ago....I'm sure my liver needs more time than that to heal if cirrhosis hasn't already set it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Re: Liver palms Red blotchy hands signs of chirosiss.
Hi M/J... A little something to take your mind off your red palms...
How 'bout looking for some other signs of alcoholic liver disease?
"Paper Money Skin" normally shows up on your face or chest and is named after the little red threads of silk rag used to make American paper dollars. Very small little blood vessels you can only see close up with good light. I've got one on my upper lip I only notice when I'm shaving, and a couple more just below my jaw line, again, not to noticeable unless I look close up under a bright light.
"Spider Nevus" AKA spider naevi and spider angioma or "liver stars"... Look for these mostly on the chest between the nipple line and collar bones. A little red blood vessel surrounded by little veins radiating out from it. I don't have any of these, but I do have a few irregular little blurry pinkish spots on my chest. Haven't been able to find anything about these little blurry spots in research I have done, but I've got 'em.
"Bier Spots" are small, pea sized areas that are lighter/whiter than the surrounding skin. Look for these on your shoulders, upper arms or chest.
Palmar Erythema, without any of these other vascular/cutaneous signs would seem to indicate either your problem is at a very early stage, which may resolve on its own, or perhaps it is something unrelated to alcohol or your liver.
Best not stress out too much over your rosy palms... Worry can make you sick too!
The Following User Says Thank You to BillinSD For This Useful Post: jaydm (01-19-2012)
Re: Liver palms Red blotchy hands signs of chirosiss.
When I asked my doctor about red palms and a couple of spider veins I have, this after a normal blood test and ultrasound, he looked at me perplexed and said "spider veins, red palms pale finger nails etc are all SECONDARY and can not be used to diagnose liver disease. Red palms are not clinical symptoms. An abnormal ultrasound, portal hypertension visible on ultrasound, abnormal bloods, those are the the primary diagnostic tools of Cirrhosis. When those labs results are normal, they dismiss any secondary symptoms.
I too doubt my doctor and worry, because like you I have a history of drinking. I think drinkers and especially alcoholics carry a lot of guilt about their past behavior and this is why we obsess over what me might have done. I try to remember this, even though I also worry.
Re: Liver palms Red blotchy hands signs of chirosiss.
The value of looking at red palms and spider veins as an early warning of liver disease is that it convinces a lot of people to stop drinking before they develop cirrhosis...
If you've been drinking heavily for 10 years or more, and suddenly develop these symptoms it would be unwise to ignore them and continue drinking.
Once you develop portal vein enlargement (positive ultrasound diagnosis for cirrhosis), have cirrhosis confirmed by biopsy, or reach Child Pugh class II symptoms, it is often too late to quit drinking and return to normal health.
I think it's a good idea to look at all possibilities when new symptoms arise out of the blue, and treat them with the respect they deserve. I would have LOVED to keep on drinking after my palmar erythema and spider veins appeared, but this was enough to put the fear of God in me, even though my ultrasound and labs were normal. Had I waited for a positive confirmation of cirrhosis before I quit, I might be in much worse shape today.
The Following User Says Thank You to BillinSD For This Useful Post: Hypochondriacyy (02-09-2012)
Re: Liver palms Red blotchy hands signs of chirosiss.
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As an alcoholic myself, I TOTALLY agree with you. Whatever it takes to stop is a good thing for us mentally and physically.
Im just pointing out that red palms and siders usually present itself with more advanced disease that would usually not be missed by ultrasound or labs, or at least thats what I thought.
I hope they are early manifestations
Last edited by Hypochondriacyy; 02-09-2012 at 08:27 AM.
Re: Liver palms Red blotchy hands signs of chirosiss.
The little red dots are "cherry angiomas" and are not a sign of anything bad that I know of.
Spider angiomas are little red cherry's with several/many small veins radiating out from them. If you press on the center cherry the veins around it disappear until you release it.
Google image will show you the difference.
Cherry's are nothing to be afraid of, but spiders are!
Last edited by BillinSD; 02-11-2012 at 08:50 PM.
Reason: addition
