When a person's hands swell, this may indicate serious diseases of internal organs, such as the liver, heart and kidneys. As soon as this symptom has been identified, you should immediately seek qualified help from a doctor. Edema can occur at any time of the day, but most often it is in the morning. The fact is that the liquid that a person drinks during the day does not have time to leave the body and remains in soft tissues, and also negatively affects the functioning of internal organs. In fact, there are many reasons why this symptom may appear, so it is worth dwelling on each of them separately. After identifying the disease and diagnosing, treatment will definitely be required to help get rid of swelling and, of course, improve the general condition and he alth of the sick person.
How to recognize hand swelling?
The main symptom of swollen hands is an increase in the size of the fingers. you can sometimes notice such changes with the naked eye, just compare your hand withanother person's hand. To check how swollen the hands are, you can lightly press your finger on the swollen tissues where the brush is located, and when the finger is removed, a depression will remain that will not go away quickly.
It also happens that swelling occurs temporarily and quickly disappears after sleep, without affecting a person’s he alth in any way, but even in this case, in order to exclude serious diseases, you should consult your doctor. Everything is much more difficult if the swelling does not go away from morning until evening, as this indicates that the internal organs cannot cope with their work. If the work of the internal organs is not carried out correctly, then the hands swell from morning until evening.
Causes of swollen hands
There are actually many reasons for swollen hands, but in any case, this indicates that there are problems with human he alth. If a person drinks a lot of liquid before going to bed, then in the morning he may have swelling of the hands. Particular attention should be paid to nutrition. For example, if a person consumes a lot of s alty foods or alcohol, then this affects the functioning of internal organs. In this case, swelling can go away a few hours after sleep. It happens that when the hands swell, the reason is hidden in serious deviations that occur in the body. A "permanent symptom" of swollen hands indicates that the person has a serious illness or is beginning to experience an exacerbation of an illness that was previously identified. Consider each cause of puffiness separately:
- Often, swelling of the hands occurs in women in position, especially when the third trimester comes, and before childbirth. The fact is that the body of the expectant mother may be too weakened, and even through a small wound various microbes and bacteria penetrate, which affect the upper layer of the skin. In addition to swelling of the hands, the body temperature may rise and the head may hurt. In this case, puffiness is a dangerous symptom, so a woman should take care of the he alth of her child and herself.
- Another reason why hands swell is a bruise or injury to the hand. In this case, the inflammatory process in the soft tissues is easily explained.
- When the hands swell, the cause may be hiding in an allergy that a person did not know about before. For example, often an allergic reaction occurs to different detergents. In this case, the irritant should be identified as soon as possible and eliminated. If it is not possible not to use products that cause an allergic reaction, then you need to work with them in a respirator and rubber gloves.
- Swelling of the hands appears if a person has problems with blood circulation, for example, there is a blockage of blood vessels.
- If the hand and fingers on the left are swollen, and the swelling does not go away for a long time, then you should consult a doctor who will prescribe an examination of such organs as the kidneys, liver and heart.
- Changes in the shape of fingers and hands may indicate thyroid disease. In this case, you should contact an endocrinologist and conduct an examination of the body.
- Another one of the mosta common factor that causes swelling of the hands is continuous work in a sitting position. The main recommendation on how to avoid edema in this case would be to review the mode of operation.
- Edema occurs if a person works physically for a long time.
It is almost impossible to list all the causes of swelling of the hands, since there are many of them, and for each person they can be individual. In no case is it worth solving the problem on your own, it would be best to seek help from a specialist.
Why do my hands swell in the morning?
If the hands are very swollen in the morning after sleep, then most likely the causes may be associated with a bruise or injury to the hand. In the case when the injury was received in the evening, then its result can be seen only in the morning. Also, a person who takes medication at night may notice swelling of the hands in the morning. Many medications have side effects, so before taking it, you should carefully read the instructions, and if swelling occurs, consult your doctor. The specialist can replace one drug with another similar one.
When in the morning not only the fingers and hands swell, but also the eyelids, then most likely the person has serious problems with the liver. The fact is that damaged liver cells do not cope well with their functions of removing harmful toxins from the body, as a result of which swelling of soft tissues and skin cells occurs. The cause of puffiness in the morning can bea problem with the kidneys, then swelling can be seen not only on the hands, but also under the eyes.
A person with a heart disease in the morning can see that his hands are swollen and reddened, but during the day the swelling in the upper limbs disappears and moves to the lower ones. Often, swelling is accompanied by severe soreness, in which case it is worth getting a doctor's consultation to exclude the possibility of developing rheumatism and arthritis. It is these diseases that are accompanied by severe swelling, which does not go away for a long time. Sometimes a person can stay in this state for more than two months. Lung diseases can also be accompanied by swelling of the upper limbs, in parallel, the lymph nodes in the armpits may still increase.
Do not rule out other causes that are accompanied by swelling of the hands, for example, it can be obesity, frequent stress, chronic fatigue.
Why do my hands get swollen at night?
For the most part, the hands swell at night. The fact is that while a person sleeps, his body continues to work. During this period of time, excess fluid begins to accumulate in the soft tissues, in the morning it should be excreted naturally, but if this does not happen due to diseases in the internal organs, then edema appears. If the swelling does not go away in the morning after waking up for half an hour, then you need to go to the hospital, since, most likely, there are pathologies in the work of the internal organs.
When puffiness often occurs in the morning, it canbe a consequence of a serious illness, so a person should definitely seek help from a qualified specialist.
What to do with severe swelling of the hands?
If there are any disorders in the body, fluid may not be properly excreted from the body, so it is recommended to know simple rules that will help get rid of it:
- If the hands are swollen and hurt, then initially it is worth removing all objects that squeeze the wrists. Such actions will help improve blood flow in the hand.
- In the case when the fingers swell quite often, you should stop eating s alty foods, alcoholic beverages and foods that may not be excreted from the body for a long time.
- When the hands swell constantly, then in hot weather it is necessary to limit the use of large amounts of liquid. Avoid drinking water two hours before bedtime.
- The human menu should have more products such as kefir, watermelon, cottage cheese, cucumbers, viburnum and rowan juices.
- With the help of simple physical exercises, you can significantly improve water metabolism and tone your muscles. Every morning a person should start with a small charge for ten minutes.
- If your hands are very swollen and hurt, you can take a contrast shower. The fact is that a sharp change in temperature improves blood circulation.
- Effective are baths that are taken with a small amount of s alt, but it is only important to remember that the water temperature should not be more than 37 degrees.
In no case should you self-medicate, as there isthe risk of further harm to your he alth.
What is the treatment for puffiness?
Often, swelling of the hands makes it impossible to do your daily activities, so it is important to establish the root cause of this phenomenon. It is not recommended to take any treatment actions on your own, so it would be best to consult a doctor. Before going to the doctor, you can improve your condition a little. To do this, just do the following:
- First of all, you can organize contrasting hand baths.
- If the joints of the hand are swollen, then painkillers such as Voltaren or Diclofenac can be applied.
Sports are recommended, preferably swimming, running and cycling
It is important to remember that without medical treatment, the problem is unlikely to go away on its own.
Diagnostics and treatments
First of all, after the patient goes to the doctor with a problem, he will prescribe a complete diagnosis of the whole organism. A prerequisite is the delivery of a urine and blood test, if they are not normal, then the patient will be checked for allergies, a cardiogram and ultrasound will be prescribed. As soon as the reason why the hands are swollen is identified, drug treatment will begin:
- To increase blood circulation, antibiotics, diuretics and antihistamines are prescribed by the doctor. Diuretics can perfectly relieve puffiness due to the fact that they will remove all excess fluid from the body. Most often, specialists"Trifas" is prescribed, which can be used at any time, and the result from taking this remedy can be seen in two days. Such a drug is prescribed even when the child's hands swell, as it does not affect the loss of calcium and magnesium in the body.
- Anti-allergenic drugs can be prescribed in the complex, of course, they are used if there is a suspicion of an allergy.
- If the disease is due to an infection in the body, antibiotics cannot be dispensed with.
- The doctor may prescribe additional use of various ointments and gels that will help get rid of swelling and relieve the inflammatory process.
- If a child's hand is swollen from a bruise, it is best to apply bandaging. The injured limb must be rewound with an elastic bandage. This method can be considered effective in combating lymphatic drainage problems.
- Surgery is rare as a treatment for swelling. It is used only when other methods have failed.
In order not to bring the body to a deplorable state, it is recommended to seek help from doctors in time, who can not only eliminate the symptom, but also cure another, more serious disease.
Help of traditional medicine
When the hands swell and the joints ache, some traditional methods of treatment can be applied:
- Instead of water, it is recommended to drink cucumber pickle, it is advisable to drink two glasses of this drink inday.
- Pumpkin juice will be an excellent remedy in the fight against swelling of the hands, only it should be fresh and without sugar.
- Helps relieve swelling and pine decoction. To do this, pine buds are poured with a glass of water and insisted for a couple of hours. After that, the decoction can be drunk throughout the day in small portions.
- An ointment for edema can be prepared at home by mixing milk and honey. In order for it to have a pleasant smell, you can add sage or lavender to it. Apply the product on your hands for 15 minutes, after which it can be washed off with warm water.
It is important to consider that traditional methods are considered only auxiliary to the main treatment and are more suitable for temporarily removing a symptom, but not curing the source of the problem itself, so you need to contact a specialist.
What are the physiotherapy procedures for treatment?
Physiotherapy is an additional treatment for patients with swollen hands. Procedures can only be used during medical or surgical treatment. The main direction of such procedures is that they allow you to dilate blood vessels, accelerate and improve the outflow of lymphatic fluid. In the treatment of swelling of the hands, the following physiotherapy is used:
- Electrophoresis is that drugs are injected into the affected tissue under the influence of an electric field. The method has many advantages. For example, drugs may have a better healing effect. But this method is not suitable if a person has diseased internal organs, sinceit acts locally.
- Low-frequency magnetotherapy is carried out using magnetic waves and allows you to remove soreness and swelling. If the right hand is swollen and the reason is hidden in the lymphatic drainage, then the method will be simply irreplaceable. Also, magnetotherapy can be used for injuries of the upper limbs.
- UHF-therapy allows you to achieve an anti-inflammatory effect, relax muscles and improve tissue nutrition.
- SUV - irradiation is caused by ultraviolet waves, which have an average length. If a child's hand is swollen due to an injury, then this method may be indispensable, since it has a bactericidal effect.
- Low-intensity CMW - therapy is used when there are problems with the thyroid gland or cervical osteochondrosis.
Physiotherapy can be carried out as an additional method of treatment to medication. After the doctor determines the cause of swelling, he prescribes medications and procedures that will help eliminate the problem.
Surgical treatment
Only a specialist can determine why the hands swell. After a complete diagnosis, it will not be difficult at all to identify serious diseases that are accompanied by this unpleasant symptom. It should be noted that surgery is not the only method of getting rid of puffiness. Such measures can be applied only if doctors cannot find any other alternative. Surgery is used toeliminate tumors that have formed on the internal organs, for example, it can be a cyst of the kidneys, liver, spine or lungs. The fact is that neoplasms can compress blood vessels, which negatively affects the work of all organs. For example, if the left hand is swollen, then a person may have problems with the lungs and mediastinal organs. Surgical treatment may be needed in the following cases:
- If there is a heart pathology, then surgery is indispensable. For diseases such as heart disease, heart attack and endocarditis that cause blood stasis, only surgical methods are used to restore normal heart function.
- Reducing the amount of protein in the blood, of course, indicates problems with the liver, kidneys and intestines. The doctor will be able to detect pathological processes in these organs and remove them through surgery.
- Paget-Schretter syndrome is also treated with surgery. The most commonly used thrombolytic therapy, which is carried out by introducing drugs into a vein through a special tube, which have a destructive effect on the formed blood clot.
- Pancoast's cancer is treated only by surgery. In this case, there is nothing left but to remove the tumor, which is located in the area of the lung and other tissues.
- Superior vena cava syndrome is removed with an operation that removes the blockage of venous blood in this vein. Doctors perform direct removal of a blood clot from a vein and shunting of the venous trunk. Cause of this syndromemay be hidden in the external compression of the pathological formation. In this case, it is removed surgically.
Whatever the treatment, it must be taken seriously, as it is necessary in order to avoid further complications. Each person should know if the hands are swollen, what to do and how to prevent such an unpleasant symptom in advance. There are certain preventive measures that you should learn more about:
- First of all, watch the amount of s alt in cooked dishes, it is best to eat low-s alt food.
- It is advisable to get rid of bad habits and not to use alcohol and tobacco.
- Don't drink too much liquid before bed.
- Reconsider the diet, make sure that it is balanced and includes a large amount of vitamin.
- It will be right to do some kind of sport that will allow you to lead an active lifestyle. If this is not possible, then morning exercises will be enough.
- No matter how difficult the work is, one must be able to alternate both physical activity and rest. Get enough sleep.
Given the fact that edema is just a symptom behind which more complex diseases can be hidden, self-treatment in this case is absolutely excluded. At the first appearance of swelling in the area of the hand, you should seek help from a therapist who will diagnose, determine the disease and, of course, prescribe an effective treatment.
