Why is my wife getting pain in her palms while doing heavy work?

Q: My wife gets pain in her right palm while doing heavy jobs like washing clothes. The pain increases during full moon and new moon. Sometimes she gets the pain in the soles of her feet, but the severity is less compared to the palms. My wife is asthmatic and is taking Rota Cap. She is taking Eltroxin (0.1 mg - 1 tablet). She is also taking Nucoxia (90 mg - 1 tablet). Please advise.

A:According to the symptoms described she is most likely to have carpal tunnel syndrome (a pressure build on the main nerve of the wrist i.e. median nerve while it passes through a narrow anatomical compartment at the wrist). You have mentioned that your wife is on thyroid medicine presumably due to hypothyroidism. In this condition carpal tunnel syndrome is quite common.I suggest that you see a rheumatologist who can get nerve conduction studies done and confirm the diagnosis. The treatment is quite simply with intra-lesional injection of depot-preparation of triamcinolone acetonide. Any rheumatologist can carry out this procedure and relieve the symptoms in your wife. But, it is necessary that the thyroid specialist looks into the degree of control of the thyroid problem. She may require re-adjustment of the thyroid dose.