Introduction
Swollen hands are a non-specific symptom and there are a variety of possible causes. Most often, however, they are harmless and the symptoms disappear by themselves. They are often caused by fluid accumulation in the tissue. In some cases, however, swollen hands can also be an indication of illness. In addition to connective tissue diseases, rheumatic diseases such as osteoarthritis (wear and tear of the joints) or arthritis (inflammatory disease of the joints) are often initially manifested by swollen hands.
Causes
Most commonly, fluid accumulation in the connective tissue leads to swollen hands. This in turn can have various causes. For example, blood return can be impaired, for example by wearing a backpack when hiking.
As a result, more fluid remains in the tissue. Such water retention is also known as oedema. The hands are particularly easily affected due to their sloping position or their distance from the heart.
A reduced blood return can also be caused by a weak pumping action of the heart (cardiac insufficiency), which leads to oedema. In addition to the hands, the feet and legs are usually also swollen. Typical of edema is that a dent can be pressed into the skin, which remains for a moment.
Even after operations on the hand, arm or shoulder, the backflow of blood and tissue fluid (lymph) is often reduced, resulting in a swollen hand. During pregnancy, more water can also be pressed into the tissue. However, the cause of the edema is an increased blood volume.
More water is pressed into the tissue as a result. Allergies can also cause swelling of the hands. Often the swelling occurs locally after an insect bite, but more rarely as a generalized reaction of the entire body to an allergen.
In the case of an allergy to an insect venom, the hand can swell acutely with itching and pain, in particularly severe cases even an anaphylactic reaction with breathing and circulation problems can occur. If the allergen is absorbed through the air or food, allergic swelling of the hands can also occur. Typically, the allergies can cause so-called “wheals” of the entire skin with small, sharply defined swellings and considerable itching.
Therapeutically, both locally on the skin and in tablet form, antiallergic drugs known as antihistamines with varying degrees of effectiveness can be used. The swelling that can occur after an insect bite on the hand is caused by an increased permeability of the blood vessels, which also leads to the storage of water in the tissue. Kidney weakness can also lead to water retention due to reduced urine excretion.
Furthermore, inflammatory diseases are a possible cause of swollen hands. Here, too, there are a number of different diseases that can cause the complaints. If the swelling of the hands is caused by the many small joints of the hand, a distinction is made between on the one hand wear and tear diseases called arthrosis and on the other hand inflammations, which are then called arthritis.
Both belong to the so-called rheumatic diseases. While these usually occur on both sides, an inflammation caused by bacteria usually only affects one hand and results in a severe swelling with pain. In such a case, a doctor should be consulted as soon as possible to prevent the destruction of tissue and bones through antibiotic treatment.
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