Is Red Discoloration On The Fingertips A Sign Of Lupus?

Question: Hi there. I have had a phone call from my pcp asking about my annual urine test. My sample, taken early morning, was concentrated and yellow (as it oft is if I take a multivitamin before sleep). It also had elevated white blood cells and creatinine. The nurse asked whether I was well hydrated. Probably not. The color is normally light yellow later in the day, or even early if as usual, I have not taken a vitamin at night.

However, the past year or two I have had a red color to my fingernail beds below the white rim, a red color that extends halfway down the nail area toward the half-moon. I kept Googling it, because my mother had lupus, and I keep forgetting to ask my pcp or dermatologist to look at the nails, because the red color retracts often to just mimicing the white nail at the tip, as it was before it began to expand its territory. I finally decided it was external, because it happens more if i am doing a lot of manual labor around the home and gardening without gloves.

However, even though this unsatisfactory urine sample could be a sign of LN, especially combined with the red nail beds that might also point to lupus, normally the urine is light and I have no untoward symptoms about urination, and the red color ofo the beds comes and goes.

My question is: do these two characteristics have a possible common cause or not?

Was i supposed to include the information that I am in excellent health, slender, athletic, nonsmoking, and drinking only one or less serving of any alcohol per week, and my cbc results in December were all good?

Do these facts rule stuff out?
Thanks,
XXXXXXX

Thanks, Dr XXXXXXX

You have answered my question fully, and by the way it is consistent with my gut feeling:)

Of course I immediately did wonder about my kidneys, as I had kidney stones once about thirty years ago!

I think I shall do as you sugegst and test again when fully hydrated and not having had a multivitamin.

Happy New Year! I hope we all survive the next four years. In two years my Party will have the House back, and there will be the Winter Olympics, my oersonal fave as i love to xc ski and thus watch the Norwegians. This was a great reaource and i appreciate your help to allay my nerves.
XXXXXXX

So you will not have to wait until 2018 for your good year. We just hope to survive until 2018, which actually will probably be quite possible:)

Cheers XXXXXXX