Thanks BC for your reply. Furphy now that's a word! I had to look it up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furphy.
I too found the concept of CTS being communicable, very doubtful and wondered why such an idea would be only be mentioned in America. However, it's more than the timing with my mother's symptoms, that gives a hint of truth to the idea.
Although I have found out a little about the subject, I didn't know that part of the ring finger was 'wired by the same harness'. So, next flare-up I will be more critical in my observations of the symptoms reaching past the first three fingers. (in pianist's terms )
The very term ‘flare-up' seems to point to more than just reaction to hard work. I did heavy building work when I wasn't flying, and dug foundations out by hand...all without a trace of a problem. Then, one day, just the use of a drill or some such tool would leave me shaking my hands every few minutes to relieve the tingling. Night times are often bad, and I suspect that it wakes me up sometimes. It lasts a month or so, then can vanish for a year.
I accept that at my age things are going to go wrong, and am not unduly worried...more curious. But it is the main reason that I gave up playing the piano, which I loved. It all pales into insignificance compared to a lower back problem that I have, and there is a link here. The way the back flares often seems unrelated to work done, so agin I'm trying to think laterally to see if there is a ‘global' cause.
The main reason that I suspect there may be another factor is that I would have thought that a nerve routing, that was partially closed up, would cause a chronic condition. Furthermore, I have another odd disorder. What I thought was a simple reaction to washing up liquid, became so bad that my hands become slightly swollen and very itchy if I use the wrong stuff. One day this became so severe I was unable to drive. Withing a few minutes, I was on a 999 call shouting for help. I later gathered that I had gone into full anaphylactic shock. This was never truly diagnosed, and as I was not flying anymore, let the whole thing fade into the past. I was however given an epipen to carry on my travels.
Some years ago I went to an Essex Hospital and saw a surgeon...who then preceded to brutalize my right arm with electric shocks for what seemed an eternity. I got the feeling that he was doing a private study into how much pain certain types of people can take. ("Electricians are the worst." he said, enthusiastically.) He injected cortisone into the nerve area, which did not help. The reading, ( which was done on an old oscilloscope that looked as though it had been left over from the war.) showed a slight reduction in electrical transmission. It was not conclusive.
Going to the doctor has become something of a problem, my doctor being 5,000 miles away, but so often, just communicating with someone that has happened across a similar thing will point towards the answer.
nota bene The doctor that gave me the epipen was somewhat sympathetic. His dad exploded from both ends outside a Chinese restaurant, and looked as though he was going to die. It was diagnosed as anaphylactic shock, which like me he had never had a hint of before. His dad was also a GP.