What Can Cause Dizziness and Tingling in Your Hands and Feet, and When to See a Doctor

What causes dizziness and tingling in hands and feet

Co-occurring dizziness and tingling in your hands and feet can be caused by nerve damage, vertigo, anxiety or panic attacks, low blood sugar levels, and as a side effect of medications.

Peripheral neuropathy

Peripheral neuropathy, or nerve damage, can affect sensory nerves that send and receive signals related to touch, temperature, and proprioception (awareness of body position) from your hands and feet to your brain. When these nerves are affected, these signals can lead to tingling sensations or numbness.

This sensory loss can affect your sense of balance, making you more prone to feeling unsteady or dizzy.

Nerve damage in your hands and feet has many contributing factors, such as diabetes, alcohol use disorder, vitamin deficiencies, and autoimmune disorders.

Vertigo

Peripheral neuropathy can affect your autonomic nervous system (ANS), which regulates functions like blood pressure, heart rate, and balance. Dysfunction in this system can contribute to dizziness by causing orthostatic hypotension (a drop in blood pressure when you stand up), leading to lightheadedness or vertigo.

Anxiety or panic attacks

When you’re experiencing extreme anxiety or a panic attack, you may hyperventilate, which is breathing rapidly and shallowly. This can disrupt the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood, leading to a condition called respiratory alkalosis. Alkalosis can cause tingling sensations in the extremities, including your hands and feet.

Additionally, anxiety triggers your body’s fight-or-flight response, activating the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). This response can lead to increased heart rate, sweating, and tightening of blood vessels—which can reduce the blood flow to your hands and feet, causing tingling or numbness.

Intense anxiety or panic attacks can also trigger a vasovagal response, where blood pressure drops and heart rate slows down suddenly. This can lead to dizziness and lightheadedness, coupled with tingling sensations in the extremities due to reduced blood flow and oxygen supply.

Practicing relaxation techniques or deep breathing exercises, as well as cognitive behavioral therapy and stress management strategies, may help alleviate these symptoms.

Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia is when you have low blood sugar levels. When blood sugar levels drop too low, your brain may not receive enough glucose, its primary energy source. This can affect nerve function, leading to sensations like tingling or numbness, including in your hands and feet.

Low blood sugar levels can alter nerve function, affecting the transmission of signals between the nerves and the brain, like with peripheral neuropathy.

Hypoglycemia triggers the release of stress hormones, which can stimulate the ANS, leading to symptoms like dizziness, lightheadedness, and increased heart rate.

In response to low blood sugar levels, your blood vessels may narrow to help regulate blood pressure. Reduced blood flow to your hands and feet can contribute to tingling sensations.

As with extreme anxiety, hypoglycemia can lead to rapid breathing or hyperventilation. This can disrupt the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood, potentially causing tingling sensations.

Severe hypoglycemia can impact brain function, leading to symptoms like dizziness, confusion, and disorientation.

Keeping your blood sugar levels in a healthy range, especially if you have diabetes, is important for preventing hypoglycemia and its complications.

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)

TBIs are caused by damage to the brain resulting from a sudden trauma, such as a blow to the head, fall, or impact during a car crash.

TBIs can indirectly cause tingling sensations in the hands and feet, as well as dizziness, due to several factors, such as nerve damage or disruptions in nerve signaling pathways that run from your brain to various parts of the body.

Other reasons include sensory disturbances due to a concussion or from secondary injuries that occur due to the side effects of a TBI, such as brain swelling, migraine, or changes in blood flow and pressure.

Medical emergency

If you have struck your head or experienced whiplash, call emergency medical services (911 in the United States) or go to the nearest emergency room for evaluation. You can experience a TBI without striking your head, such as with whiplash.

As a side effect of medications

Medication types that can cause tingling in hands and feet, as well as dizziness, in some people include:

• Antidepressants: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) can cause these symptoms, though it usually occurs when you stop using them.
• Anticonvulsants: Gabapentin (Neurontin) and pregabalin (Lyrica) are known to cause peripheral-neuropathy-like symptoms.
• Antipsychotic medications: Older classes of medications in this category can cause tingling, as well as dizziness.
• Antibiotics: Certain antibiotics, such as metronidazole (Flagyl) or nitrofurantoin (Macrobid, Macrodantin), may result in peripheral neuropathy and dizziness.
• Cardiovascular medications: Some beta-blockers or calcium channel blockers can cause dizziness and symptoms that mimic peripheral neuropathy.
• Chemotherapy drugs: Chemotherapy drugs like vincristine (Oncovin, Vincasar PFS) and cisplatin (Platinol) can lead to peripheral neuropathy and dizziness.
• Diuretics: Certain diuretics used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure) or edema (swelling due to fluid retention) can lead to electrolyte imbalances, which may result in tingling sensations and dizziness.

If you experience tingling in the hands and feet, along with dizziness, tell your healthcare professional right away. They can evaluate your symptoms, assess potential medication-related side effects, and determine the appropriate course of action. This may include adjusting the dosage or switching medications.

Stroke

A stroke is a medical emergency that occurs when blood flow to a part of the brain is interrupted or reduced, leading to damage or death of brain cells.

Symptoms of a stroke include dizziness and tingling or numbness in the extremities, including your feet and hands. The tingling or numbness is usually felt in the right or left side of your body, not both.

Medical emergency

Go to the nearest emergency room or call emergency medical services, 911 in the United States, if you experience dizziness and tingling or numbness in your extremities, along with any of the following symptoms:

• numbness or weakness in your face
• confusion, trouble speaking, or difficulty understanding speech
• trouble seeing in one or of your both eyes
• difficulty walking or coordination
• severe headache

When to contact a doctor

A combination of tingling in your hands or feet, along with dizziness, can indicate underlying health issues that may require medical attention.

It’s best to contact your doctor if these symptoms begin suddenly or if they worsen over time.

Additionally, let your medical professional know if they begin after you start a new medication. They will be able to advise you on next steps.

If you experience these symptoms and have a prior diagnosis of chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, or high blood pressure, it’s important to tell your medical care professional right away, as they could indicate the disease has progressed.

If you’ve injured your neck or head and experience these symptoms, or are experiencing the symptoms of a stroke, you need to call emergency medical services or get to the closest emergency room right away.

Takeaway

Tingling in the hands or feet, along with dizziness, can be caused by several underlying conditions. It’s best to get a medical evaluation by a professional to determine the appropriate action.

A medical professional can conduct a thorough evaluation, order necessary tests, and provide guidance on managing your symptoms effectively.