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What Causes Pain And Swelling In Hands?
Question: HI over the last few weeks I have had pain in both my hands, my right hand has swelled up and the left is starting to do this as well, I am having trouble lifting, too many things to mention grasping things even sleeping. Pain is also going upto to my right elbow, currently I am having 2 panadol and 2 codine tablets every 8 hours. Im a diabetic and was wondering why my hands are so sore the medication that I am having helps a bit but the pain is there 24/7.
Brief Answer:
Hand swelling
Detailed Answer:
Sorry to hear about your medical problem. Diabetes does not directly cause hand pain and swelling. There is a condition called 'Cheiroarthropathy' which tends to occur in people with diabetes. It is detected by the ' Prayer sign' in which the palms of the two hands cannot be approximated flat against each other. This is due to diabetes related changes in the joints and soft tissues of the hands. However it is not associated with pain. When I see someone like you in my practice, I perform a thorough physical examination to rule out worrisome causes like stroke for example. I do not want you to panic but it is advisable for you to see your family physician / internist / endocrinologist. In general I wound order the following tests in addition to considering the possibility of stroke : 1 CBC. 2 CMP 3 TSH 4 Free T4 5 A1c 6 Lipids. Fasting is not necessary and these tests can be done at any time of the day or night. These tests assess functions of the liver kidney and thyroid that can potentially cause swelling in hands as well as other parts of the body
Hand swelling
Detailed Answer:
Sorry to hear about your medical problem. Diabetes does not directly cause hand pain and swelling. There is a condition called 'Cheiroarthropathy' which tends to occur in people with diabetes. It is detected by the ' Prayer sign' in which the palms of the two hands cannot be approximated flat against each other. This is due to diabetes related changes in the joints and soft tissues of the hands. However it is not associated with pain. When I see someone like you in my practice, I perform a thorough physical examination to rule out worrisome causes like stroke for example. I do not want you to panic but it is advisable for you to see your family physician / internist / endocrinologist. In general I wound order the following tests in addition to considering the possibility of stroke : 1 CBC. 2 CMP 3 TSH 4 Free T4 5 A1c 6 Lipids. Fasting is not necessary and these tests can be done at any time of the day or night. These tests assess functions of the liver kidney and thyroid that can potentially cause swelling in hands as well as other parts of the body
Note: For further follow-up, discuss your blood glucose reports with our diabetologist. Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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