FINGER SWELLING PART 2 – COMMON ACUTE CAUSES

The accompanying photo shows severe finger swelling due to a wrist injury. Thankfully, the engagement ring was removed at the time of injury. A full recovery ensued and fingers are no longer swollen.

Sudden finger swelling may be caused by injury, allergy, bleeding, acute arthritis and tendonitis. It may also be caused by hormonal shifts (pregnancy, menstrual cycle, underactive thyroid etc.), heart or kidney problems (causing fluid retention), temperature changes, exercise, use of vibrating machinery, medications and airline travel.

Some of these causes are temporary and minor. Others may be more long lasting or severe. Safe to say that it is best to get to the root cause of the issue so that proper action and care can be started.

While the individual cause of finger swelling may be obvious in some cases (e.g. injury or pregnancy), in others it may not. Most people will know if they have had an injury, started new medication or undertaken unusual physical activity. Whereas, thyroid disorders, heart issues and kidney inflammation may develop over months to years and are best assessed with physical examination and laboratory tests.

That is a whirlwind trip around some of the causes of sudden finger swelling. As you can see the causes are many and varied.

Did you, or someone you know, ever suffer from finger swelling? If so, let us know how you/they got along.