Swollen fingers in certain situations

Swollen fingers can occur in certain situations, for example depending on temperature, time of day or posture. A list of typical situations that trigger or increase swelling of the fingers is given below. Swollen fingers and hands often occur in summer.

This is due to the fact that the fingers and hands are increasingly supplied with blood to keep the body temperature constant. We deliberately lose heat through our fingers. The increased blood circulation also causes the blood circulation to change and more fluid to accumulate in the tissues, resulting in a tense feeling in the hands and swelling of the fingers.

In order to counteract swollen fingers, care should be taken to drink enough in summer to support the circulation of blood. Furthermore, activating exercises, such as opening and closing a fist or other gripping exercises, can improve the backflow from the blood to the heart. People who already have problems with their veins or suffer from circulatory problems should avoid long periods of sitting or standing in hot weather and can counteract the symptoms by wearing compression stockings (against swelling on the feet).

This topic might also be of interest to you: Venous weaknessSwelling of the fingers can also occur in cold weather. Actually, the body reduces the blood flow in fingers and feet when it is cold in order to lose as little heat as possible to the outside world. The narrowing of the vessels leads to a kind of reduced supply of the tissue.

If the vessels close too tightly under strong cold stimuli, a so-called reactive hyperemia occurs. The body then places the vessels wide to supply the tissue with sufficient oxygen again and a lot of blood flows into the fingers. This leads to warming and reddening.

The fingers can swell painfully. If the symptoms are very pronounced, one speaks of a Raynaud’s syndrome. Here the fingers first become white (no circulation) then bluish due to the lack of oxygen.

The reactive hyperemia finally manifests itself by a strong redness. Raynaud’s syndrome can also be triggered by stress. If painful swellings in the area of the fingers already occur in the morning after getting up without any other known cause, rheumatoid arthritis should be excluded.

The swelling is limited here to the basic joints and middle joints of the fingers, is relatively strong and painful and the skin can be easily pressed in. The symptoms persist over a longer period of time or recur in relapses. They may be accompanied by swelling in other joints, for example in the foot area.

After a certain time after getting up, the swelling decreases and the mobility in the finger joints increases again. However, patients often experience severe stress as painful and unpleasant. In addition to the swelling, a rheumatic attack can also be accompanied by fever, tiredness and loss of appetite.

After a cold or an infection the symptoms occur frequently. The arthritis can be clarified by a blood count, in which attention is paid to certain antibodies. It is rather unusual for fingers to swell, especially at night.

Since the most common cause of swollen fingers is an increased accumulation of fluid in the tissue and this usually improves when lying down, it is rather rare for fingers to be swollen, especially at night. However, the fingers of one hand and possibly both hands can swell up due to an unnatural sleeping position, for example when lying on one arm for a long time. Then the blood backflow back to the heart can be squeezed out of the hand and arm and water can accumulate in the affected fingers.

If this is the cause, the swelling should subside soon after getting up. If you wake up because of the swollen and possibly painful fingers, you should hold them up and move them for some time. During longer walks, some people notice an unpleasant feeling of tension and swelling in their fingers after a certain time.

This is due to the fact that when we go hiking, we let our arms hang down swinging on the body.We may also carry a backpack. The weight of the rucksack on the shoulders as well as the gravity that acts on the arms are the reasons why the blood does not flow out of the hands as well and gets stuck there. Fluid can seep into the tissue and the fingers swell, similar to the feet after standing for a long time.

To reduce the swelling, alternately opening and closing the fist and holding the hand up can be helpful. The fit of the rucksack should be checked to make sure that the weight does not damage vessels or nerves. The swelling of the fingers can be a first sign of compression of the blood vessels.

The use of walking sticks can improve the symptomatology, because holding the sticks activates the hand muscles and promotes the return flow of blood and lymph. During pregnancy not only the hormonal balance of the woman changes, but also the circulatory situation and the nature of the blood. As the blood requirement increases, the blood becomes more “viscous” and the flow characteristics change.

More fluid leaks into the tissue and the typical pregnancy edema develops. In order to improve electrolyte and protein balance, care should be taken during pregnancy to eat a protein-rich diet and consume a healthy amount of salts. Salts and proteins ensure that the fluid is retained in the vascular system and does not pass into the tissue.

The formation of edema can thus be reduced. The pregnant woman should also ensure that she maintains a sufficiently high water supply. In order to meet the increased circulatory requirements, enough water should be supplied, which has an effect on the condition of the blood.

To counteract existing edema, exercise is the remedy of choice. The activated muscles pump the fluid from the tissue into the vascular system and reduce the swelling in the fingers. After pregnancy, the circulation changes again.

The increased blood volume during pregnancy is now once again available to the woman alone. This amount is no longer necessary and more fluid is released into the tissue. Swelling of the fingers and feet can occur. During the course of the postpartum period, the circulation returns to normal and the edema decreases more and more.