physician - I Have Symptoms of Pain and Swelling in My Hands and Feet - What Could It Be?

Hair Loss Vitamins Supplements - physician - I Have Symptoms of Pain and Swelling in My Hands and Feet - What Could It Be?

While there are manifold causes of swelling and pain in the hands and feet, arthritis is probably the most coarse cause.

The term "arthritis" is derived from the Greek and means "joint inflammation". It refers to more than 100 dissimilar diseases that can cause pain, swelling, and stiffness in the joints. Joints are where the ends of long bones associate and interact. The end of each bone inside a joint has a thin layer of cartilage and is held in place by ligaments, tendons, and muscles. A joint is lined with synovial tissue (synovium) that helps to nourish the joint. It is the synovium that often becomes inflamed in arthritis.

physician - I Have Symptoms of Pain and Swelling in My Hands and Feet - What Could It Be?

Arthritis may also sway other supporting structures colse to joints such as the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones. Some serious forms of arthritis can sway internal organs.

physician - I Have Symptoms of Pain and Swelling in My Hands and Feet - What Could It Be?

The coarse symptoms of arthritis are due to inflammation (swelling, heat, redness, pain):

o Swelling in one or more joints

o Stiffness in the joints in the morning or with continued inactivity

o Joint pain or tenderness

o Restricted mobility in the joints

o Warmth or redness

Diagnosing arthritis can be difficult because some symptoms are often coarse to many dissimilar diseases. A rheumatologist will first do a perfect bodily exam, finding for clues. The eyes, ears, nose, throat, heart, lungs, and other parts of the body will be examined along with the joints. Lab tests and imaging procedures such as x-ray, ultrasound, or magnetic resonance imaging (Mri) may also be ordered.

The most coarse forms of arthritis are:

Osteoarthritis (Oa) is also referred to as degenerative joint disease. This is the most coarse type of arthritis. When it affects the hands, it can cause painful swelling in the last row (Heberden's nodes) and middle row (Bouchards nodes) of finger joints. In the feet it will sway the toe joints as well as the mid-foot. This disease affects cartilage, the tissue that cushions and protects the ends of bones in a joint. With osteoarthritis, the cartilage starts to wear away prematurely. The swelling of the fingers and toes may lead to bony deformity.

Rheumatoid arthritis (Ra) is an autoimmune disease; the body's immune ideas (defense mechanism against infection) attacks normal tissues. This autoimmune reaction causes inflammation of the synovium. Ra symptoms include pain, stiffness, swelling, rapid loss of joint function, and crippling. When severe, rheumatoid arthritis can also sway internal organs. This is the type of arthritis that most generally causes severe inflammation in the hands and feet.

Rheumatoid arthritis tends to be symmetric- one side of the bodt being affected just like the other.

Fibromyalgia is a lasting disease characterized by generalized aches and pains. The pain is accompanied by stiffness that is worst in the morning but tends to last all day long. Patients may have localized tender points occurring in the muscles and tendons, particularly in the neck, spine, shoulders, and hips. These tender points are called trigger points. Fatigue and sleep disturbances may also occur. There is subjective swelling along with pain in the hands and feet.

Gout and pseudogout are inflammatory forms of arthritis due to deposits of crystals in joints and other body tissues. Uric acid is the culprit in gout and calcium pyrophosphate is the villain in pseudogout. Both diseases cause painful attacks of arthritis affecting the hands and feet.

Infectious arthritis is a type of arthritis caused by either bacteria or viruses. A relatively coarse form of infectious arthritis is Lyme disease. Infectious forms of arthritis can cause swelling and pain in the hands and feet. A diagnosis is often difficult to establish. Antibiotics will often be used to treat bacterial infectious arthritis.

Reactive arthritis is an autoimmune arthritis that develops after a person has an infection in the urinary tract or intestine. This qoute is often referred to as Reiter's disease. People who have this disease often have eye inflammation (iritis), rashes, and mouth sores. Inflammatory arthritis spirited the hands and feet foremost to a toe or finger that looks like a sausage (dactylitis) is common.

Psoriatic arthritis. Some People who have psoriasis also have arthritis. This disease often affects the hands and feet. It is commonly asymmetric. It also causes deformity of the fingernails and toenails (onycholysis) that is often misdiagnosed as a fungal problem. Sometimes the spine- neck and low back-can be affected. As with Reiter's disease, dactylitis often occurs.

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