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What Causes Swelling In Hands And Feet?

Posted on Mon, 5 May 2014

Question: For about the past ten years my hands and feet swell. My fingers and toes turn bright red and get really hot. Sometimes my leg get blotchy. I can't stand for very long before my feet swell and turn red. It seems to be worse and happens more often when I'm hot but can also happen when I'm cold. Sometimes just one finger will swell, turn red, and get hot while the one next to it is normal looking and cold. I just turned 26, I have had hypothyroidism since I was 11 but it is controlled. It doesn't ever hurt but sometimes they get so swollen they are shiny and feel like they are going to bursts open. It's embarrassing to wear heals or flip flops because I get so many questions about it. I've been to a couple Doctors but no one can figure it out..please help

Answered by Dr. Johny Chacko (9 hours later)

Brief Answer: Angioedema Detailed Answer: Hello, Welcome to healthcare magic, You could be having a condition called angioedema. It is an allergic swelling of subcutaneous tissue. People with hypothyroidism have a higher incidence of urticaria and angioedema. It can be diagnosed by taking a deep biopsy from the swelling when you have it. In such patients I usually try long acting antihistamines like cetrizine 10 mg or levocetrizine 5 mg once per day. Monteleukast 10 mg once a day also is beneficial. Combination tablet containing 5mg Levocetrizine and 10 mg Monteleukast is also available. Hope this helped, I will be happy to clarify further queries, Take care.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Johny Chacko (9 hours later)

The angiodema would cause my hands and feet to get hot and worse when it's warm? Well, I shouldn't say hands because the swelling stops at the base of my fingers. Is this something that gets worse with time? Could it cause future problems if I don't get on medicine? How would they do a biopsy if there is nothing specific to biopsy? Does that effect me in others ways besides just being annoying..it's hard for me to differentiate between thyroid issues and other problems. Thanks

Answered by Dr. Johny Chacko (36 hours later)

Brief Answer: Angioedema Detailed Answer: Hello, Welcome back, Angioedema can make your hands and feet feel hot. There is a subset of angioedema called physically induced angioedema where physical stimuli like cold, warmth, pressure, vibration etc can cause an episode of angioedema. It is not something which gets worse with time. In some it disappears with time. Angioedema of eyelids, lips, tongue and larynx are dangerous. But if it is limited only to hands and feet then I don't think it is a cause of worry and you won't be affected in any other ways. When you have that localized swelling, before it disappears if a deep biopsy is taken it will show features of angioedema. Usually angioedema is a clinical diagnosis and there is no need for biopsy, but in your case you have mentioned that for 10 years doctors couldn't diagnose it. That is why I am recommending a biopsy. Hope this helped, Take care.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar