29.03.2024

Why swollen fingers and how to treat it

Swelling in the fingers and hands may develop due to excessive fluid accumulation in the tissues of the hands. Similar phenomena occur in diseases and physiological conditions, which significantly disturbed water-salt metabolism, changes in hormonal composition or decreases the speed of blood flow.

In cases where there is a regular swelling of the fingers of the upper extremities, as soon as possible to go to the doctor.

Sometimes, this symptom indicates the development of serious diseases requiring urgent treatment.

Causes of oedema of the fingers

The main reason for such phenomena is often a violation of microcirculation in the body fluids of blood and lymph, or excessive fluid accumulation.

To happen this situation in the following cases:

  • cardiovascular disease;
  • stagnation of lymph;
  • diseases of the joints (arthritis, arthrosis, gout, etc.);
  • unhealthy lifestyle;
  • allergic reaction;
  • premenstrual syndrome and premenopausal women;
  • the decrease in the level of protein in the blood and illnesses that are provoked by this factor (pathology of the kidney, liver, small intestine);
  • syndrome Parana;
  • syndrome superior Vena cava;
  • cancer Pancoast;
  • preeclampsia;
  • myxedema.

These pathologies develop very slowly. In order to accurately isolate the cause of the flow off the fingers need to conduct a thorough diagnosis of the organism.

Pathology of heart and vessels

Diseases of cardiovascular system, accompanied by conduction disorders in the veins and capillaries. Most often swelling of the fingers begin to disturb the patient, when the disturbed activity of the right chamber of the heart responsible for pumping blood from the veins into the vessels of the respiratory system and ensuring gas exchange in the blood. If the heart muscle cannot surpass the required amount of blood into the lungs, the venous content begins to accumulate in various tissues, including those that are located inside the upper extremities. Such as cardiologists call “heart failure.”

Provoked, it may be damage of internal or external layer of the heart muscle. Heart failure often develops as a result of myocardial infarction, poisoning, heart diseases, myocarditis, and other pathologies associated with muscle tissue of the body. Usually there is a uniform, gradually increasing swelling of both hands. Swelling to the touch dense enough, cold, with pressure from a finger, a small hole, after which gradually smoothes and disappears. Veins of hands dilated, intensely blue hue.

Most often swelling in heart failure affect the extremities and then gradually move into the area of the face and neck.

In addition to swelling of the fingers, the patient may complain of shortness of breath, fatigue, pain in the heart area.

Stagnation of lymph

The lymphatic system plays an important role in metabolic processes, removal of interstitial fluid and to maintain normal water-salt balance in the body. In those cases, when the lymph flow is disturbed due to abnormalities of lymphatic vessels within them produced excessive pressure. It does not give interstitial fluid to enter lymph outflow and holds it in the fingers of the upper extremities that eventually leads to the development of edema.

Stagnant lymph can be caused by the following factors:

  • parasitic disease, causing inflammation and zakustarennye walls of the lymphatic ducts;
  • the consequences of a mastectomy, which was removed lymph nodes armpit, which subsequently can be through the transfer of cancer cells throughout the body;
  • conduction of the current of lymph as a result of surgery on the hands;
  • narrowed or shortened the lymphatic vessels due to abnormal development, inherited;
  • bacterial inflammation of the upper layer of the skin, provoking the hardening and narrowing of the lymphatic ducts in the hands and fingers;
  • minor and major injuries of the fingers. Such mechanical action in most cases lead to swelling of damaged phalanges.

Sometimes lymph can occur as a result of aggravation of chronic pathologies in the body.

Diseases of the joints

Inflammatory processes in the fingers, and salt deposits in the joints is the primary symptom of gout can provoke not only a distinctive crunch and stiffness in the movements. Sometimes the pathology begins with minor pripuhanie phalanx. Then gradually the disease progresses, causing pain, discomfort, redness swelling.

Gout over time on areas of swelling under the skin formed well palpable dense bubbles.

Unhealthy lifestyle

Before you go to the doctor, you should pay attention to the overall condition of the body. If there is no reason to worry, except for swollen fingers, maybe the problem is the wrong lifestyle of the patient. A large amount of water you drink before bed, eaten salty foods and alcohol can provoke the stagnation of body fluids and the subsequent swelling of the upper extremities. Most often this phenomenon occurs in the morning.

Swelling of the fingers can be caused by excessive physical activity, prolonged washing by hand or monotonous rhythmic work for a computer keyboard when your fingers are unnaturally long, almost curled position, with their muscles perform the active work.

Allergic reaction

Swelling of the fingers can occur in response to ingested substances causes increased immune activity. Swelling as a result of such a reaction can occur not only on fingers but also on the neck, in the armpits, face, etc. They develop due to increased permeability of blood and lymphatic vessels so what happens to local extravasation (exit) intravascular content in the tissue of the fingers.

If you are allergic fingers swell asymmetrically, unevenly. Swelling is accompanied by severe itching, sometimes a rash.

Very often there is a direct relationship with swelling of the fingers and that is an allergic reaction. Perhaps the reason in contact the top layer of the skin with a substance that provokes the defense mechanisms to act.

Less allergies occur when hit the component with irritating food, or by inhalation.

Preparing the female body for menstruation provokes a large number of processes and reactions that affect health. One of the manifestations of premenstrual syndrome is the formation of a painless, irregular swelling of the fingers and toes, accompanied by porozoveyut skin. Such swelling are temporary and disappear after the onset of menstruation.

Swelling occurs due to the lowering of the level of the hormone progesterone that control the volume of fluid in the female body and regulating the water exchange with organs of the excretory system.

The decrease in the level of protein in the blood

Protein molecules of albumin have a greater role in the content of blood vessels of the human body. They help to keep normal oncotic pressure of blood. Albumins are formed in the liver cells come from the bloodstream, where they begin to perform their special functions: help oncotic pressure to keep the normal fluid inside of the blood vessel.

Lowering the oncotic pressure leading to fluid retention in the vessels and create obstruction in the tissues. Swelling resulting from such a reaction, called giponatriemii. The skin over them is pale pink. Themselves geoanalitika edema completely painless, but are symptoms of the dangerous disorders, which result in a protein deficiency.

It can be:

  • pathology of the liver;
  • deficiency of protein intake;
  • kidney disease;
  • diseases of the small intestine;

Gradually, the imbalance leads to loss of necessary protein through the urinary system and the deterioration of the General condition of the patient.

Syndrome Parana

Parhon syndrome is a disease that is triggered by the release of excessive amounts of the hormone vasopressin in the blood. It helps the kidney cells to absorb large quantities of liquid, without reducing the amount of sodium in the body.

Excessive production of vasopressin can lead to fluid retention, first in blood, then in the tissues of the internal organs and extremities. Sometimes in this condition the fingers, suffused uniform, pinkish, painless swelling.

The syndrome of superior Vena cava

In violation of the patency of the superior Vena cava the first symptom is a characteristic formation of edema of the hands and fingers. Syndrome superior Vena cava is the result of a more serious pathological condition and is not a separate disease. Such a reaction can cause lung cancer, thoracic aortic aneurysm, cystic growths in the respiratory tract and other diseases.

Swelling accompanied by bruising of the skin due to the filling of the venous blood. In addition, the syndrome of the superior Vena cava accompanied by headache, cough, bleeding from the nose, shortness of breath and hoarseness.

Cancer Pancoast

Some malignant tumors, such as cancer Pancoast, can rotirovatsya on the respiratory system. They can not only destroy the tissue of the lung and pleura, but also to exert mechanical pressure on brachiocephalic or subclavian vein. This is accompanied by stagnation in the blood stream, lowering the outflow of venous blood from the upper extremities and the inability of removing interstitial fluid from the hands and fingers. The accumulation of a large, fiziologichno amount of liquid leads to the characteristic unilateral swelling on the fingers. Swelling occurs in the hand that need a vein pinched tumor cancer Pancoast.

Gradually swelling and edema do not occur only in the fingers, but throughout the course of the vein, up to the face and neck.

Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia doctors call the period of late toxicosis in pregnant women, when the kidneys begin to excrete excess protein from the blood, which leads to disruption of the binding of blood fluid, decreasing oncotic pressure and formation of edema of the fingers of the expectant mother.

Swollen usually in the case of preeclampsia, and only the fingers of both hands evenly, rarely swelling affects the whole upper limb. Swelling itself loose, displace very soft when pressed. Often this state is accompanied not only edema, but also by the increase in body weight, headaches, nausea.

Myxedema

Myxedema is a severe, difficult to treat pathology of the thyroid gland. It is a form of hypothyroidism – lack of thyroid hormones, which often develop swelling of the fingers and toes.

Myxedema is formed and develops in tumors of the thyroid gland, an autoimmune thyroiditis, the pathologies associated with iodine deficiency in the patient. Any pathology of a thyroid gland lead to delays of fluids in the tissues, lowering the oncotic pressure and subsequent swelling.

When myxedema swelling is quite typical: cold, pale, symmetrical and uniform. The skin covering the place of pripuhanie, can cause peeling, even cracking. Gradually changes and reaches the nails, making them thin and brittle and gradually deforming.

Treatment of swelling of the fingers

Before you start the treatment of edema, it is necessary with a thorough diagnosis to determine what causes the fingers to regularly pripuhnut. The doctor must exclude the possibility of this phenomenon resulting from the abuse of salty food and drinking too much water at night.

Depending on the cause of the edema, the doctor may prescribe the following therapies:

  1. Medication. Determination of species and type of pathology will allow you to resolve a course of pharmacological drugs from the groups:
    • antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs (inflammatory diseases of any etiology);
    • antihistamines (for allergies);
    • anticoagulants and fibrinolytic (to normalize the blood );
    • diuretics (to remove excess fluid from the tissues and cells);
    • hypotensive (to reduce blood pressure in diseases of the heart, kidneys and preeclampsia);
    • blockers of receptors of vasopressin;
    • hormonal drugs for thyroid disease and metabolic disorders due to excessive or insufficient activity of female sex hormones;
    • cardiac glycosides (for heart failure of any origin).
  2. Physiotherapy treatment:
    • electrophoresis;
    • low-frequency magnetic resonance therapy;
    • ultrahigh-frequency therapy;
    • radiation waves of medium length;
    • santimetrovuyu therapy.
  3. Surgical intervention for heart abnormalities, the syndrome of the superior Vena cava and cancer Pancoast.

These techniques help fast enough to not only get rid of swelling in the fingers, but also to eliminate or correct the root cause of their formation.

In case cancer tumor tumors used standard chemotherapy or radiation therapy. These methods are capable of stopping the activity of cancer cells and significantly reduce the intensity of symptoms provoked by cancer.

If the swelling of the fingers caused by an unhealthy lifestyle, the main recommendations of the doctor are:

  1. the transition to a gentle, salt-free diet;
  2. complete cessation of alcohol use;
  3. physical activity, exercise therapy;
  4. the monotonic decrease physical activity, leading to static stress of the fingers and mechanical stress on the joints;
  5. the exclusion of external irritants that can cause allergic swelling. stop use decorative cosmetics or detergents with fragrances.

It is important to remember that regular swelling fingers often indicates serious violations of the internal organs and body systems. If swelling appears regularly, you should contact a doctor for advice. In some cases, it helps to prevent serious illness.

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