What is hand and foot syndrome?

Do you ever feel like your hands and feet are on fire? Not in a good way, mind you. The kind of heat that makes you squirm in discomfort while simultaneously feeling like an Olympic torchbearer. If so, my friend, then it’s possible that you’re suffering from Hand and Foot Syndrome.

Don’t worry if that sounds scary though – we’ve got the lowdown on all things related to this bizarre medical anomaly. So sit back (preferably with some ice packs) and read on!

Definition

Let’s start by defining what exactly hand and foot syndrome is (HFS for short). It’s also known as Palmar-Plantar Erythrodysesthesia or PPE (not like ‘pee’; more like P.P.E!). Basically, HFS occurs when certain cancer treatments or drugs affect the skin cells in our palms/soles by irritating them to such an extent they cause pain or redness.

  • Fun fact: Did you know HFS was first discovered in 1974 when doctors observed two soldiers being treated with chemotherapy for cancer? Ah yes! Science does have its perks sometimes…

Causes

As mentioned above, most incidences of HFS occur due to certain anti-cancer drugs administered during therapy. Some common culprits of these include:

  • Chemotherapy
  • Doxorubicin (Adriamycin)
  • Sorafenib (Nexavar)
  • Sunitinib (Sutent)

Basically any drug that targets rapidly dividing cells can potentially cause HFS. And since our palms/soles are literally made up of tons those very same types of cells…well…you do the math!

Sometimes people may also develop mild cases without chemo-induced causes e.g., physical labour that involves friction over the skin contact points leading inflammation causing this syndrome.

Symptoms

The symptoms generally manifest themselves between the space of 3-8 days post treatment. Symptoms for HFS may include:

  • Redness or a rash
  • Tingling, numbness and/or burning sensation in fingers and toes (anywhere within the affected area really)
  • Feelings of tightness, swelling or peeling skin
  • Hardened calluses at sites that are constantly rubbed e.g., shoes or clutching objects too tightly

You might also notice changes in fingerprints – strange as that sounds.

Types

At present there are two kinds of HFS:

Grade I

Grade one is mild erythema (fancy word for ‘reddening’) without any other clinical features i.e, they are not affecting your daily activities or actual functioning to do routine work, besides being annoying discomfort.

Grade II

This involves more pronounced erythema accompanied by moderate to severe pain in both hands/feet leading to symptoms like difficulty holding anything with grip strength eg spoon/fork/shaver etc.

The latter admittedly kind of sucks when you think about it; after all we need our hands almost every single minute right?

Risk Factors

For once obesity isn’t on this list! Sorry guys but some potential factors do include:

Dosage

Higher doses generally mean higher risk. So if someone’s being given highest possible dose what can be tolerated by them then chances are their body might react accordingly!

Treatment duration

Longer durations put patients at increased risk which means long term cancer treatments often come up while discussing its occurrence sigh

Diagnosis

If you find yourself experiencing above listed symptoms just pray it goes away on its own (kidding!) and get yourself evaluated by doctor ASAP. They’ll obviously quiz you about medical history/treatments existing plus looking out for any signs mentioned previously though somewhat easier said than done since these could basically stem from so many things sometimes..

Prevention

Few steps can help reduce the chances like using gloves, keeping a squeaky skin clean and dry. But honestly if you’re going through chemotherapy or some cancer treatment there’s likely nothing much you can do about it unfortunately!

There isn’t any complete “cure” other than switching treatments and hoping for the best.

Maybe try to become Superman so your hands emit ice rays instead of heat?

Treatment

Speaking of treats (ahem), let’s move onto how we treat HFS.

Topical Treatments

In mild cases one may use the likes of urea creams/botanical extracts/aloevera gels but under doctor supervision since these might react adversely.

Analgesic agents

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, stronger pain meds or even nerve blocks (!!) which are injected to control sensations from that specific region!

Again dosages might vary based on severity factors mentioned above 🙂

Conclusion

So folks there you have it –— all everything you never really wanted to know about Hand and Foot Syndrome wrapped in funny sarcasm ridden package (pun-ch intended). Now go forth with this newfound knowledge -– The next time someone asks you what HFS is , You’ll be ready!

Just remember: Stay cool, stay safe…and keep those palms up high(before they turn red)

Random Posts