The hand and wrist have multiple small joints that work together to produce motion, including the fine motion needed to thread a needle or tie a shoelace. When the joints are affected by arthritis, activities of daily living can be difficult. Arthritis can occur in many areas of the hand and wrist and can have more than one cause.

Winter weather can range from moderate snow cover falling in a few hours to blizzards with blinding, wind-driven snow that lasts for several days. Winter weather can bring forth periodic storms that are accompanied by dangerously low temperatures and sometimes wind, ice and freezing rain.

Insomniacs who take longer than 14 minutes to fall asleep face a greater risk of hypertension, according to new research in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension. The study, conducted at West China Hospital, is the first to test whether insomnia with physiological hyperarousal, defined as a longer time to fall asleep, is linked to hypertension.

At one time or another, everyone has had a minor injury to a finger, hand, or wrist that caused pain or swelling. Most of the time our body movements do not cause problems, but it's not surprising that symptoms develop from every day wear and tear, overuse, or an injury. Finger, hand, or wrist injuries most commonly occur during:

When Mother Nature whips up a wicked winter wind-chill factor it creates a real health risk for outdoor workers if they don’t take precautions against what OSHA calls “cold stress”: hypothermia, frostbite, and trench foot—a nonfreezing injury to wet, cold feet.

Frostbite is an injury caused by freezing of the skin and underlying tissues. First your skin becomes very cold and red, then numb, hard and pale. Frostbite is most common on the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin.

Having cold hands even when you're not in a cold environment is common. Often, having cold hands is a part of your body's natural response to regulate your body temperature and shouldn't be cause for concern.

A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) says irgent government action is needed reduce the burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and prevent the annual toll of 16 million people dying prematurely – before the age of 70 – from heart and lung diseases, stroke, cancer and diabetes.

The controversy over the potential health benefits of e-cigarettes has ramped up with the publication of a study in the New England Journal of Medicine showing that people who use the devices on a high-voltage setting could be inhaling large amounts of formaldehyde.

Children with favorable psychosocial experiences may have better cardiovascular health in adulthood, according to new research in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. Positive psychosocial factors include growing up in a family that practices healthy habits, is financially secured, is a stable emotional environment, and where children learn to control aggressiveness and impulsiveness and fit in socially.