Why Are My Fingers Swollen? (2024)

Written by Regina Boyle Wheeler

Your heart, lungs, and muscles need oxygen to fuel your workout. So, more blood goes to those places and less flows to your hands. Small blood vessels react to this change and expand, and that swells your fingers. Something similar happens when your body heats up in hot weather. To cool down, blood vessels in your skin swell to allow heat to leave the surface. This is totally normal.

You may have a torn a ligament or sprained your finger. Or injured a tendon, or dislocated or even broken a bone. If the injury isn’t too bad, ice, rest, and over-the counter pain medicine may be enough. See your doctor if you can’t straighten your finger, have a fever, or you’re in great pain.

This “rich man’s disease” largely used to afflict people who could afford lots of meat, seafood, and alcohol. Today, gout can hit people of all income levels. It causes extreme pain and swelling, usually in the big toe. But you can get it in any joint, including your fingers. It happens when too much uric acid in your blood forms crystals in the joint. Drugs can help ease the pain and prevent more attacks.

Your kidneys get rid of waste and extra fluid from your body. One of the first signs that something is wrong is puffiness in your fingers, feet, and around your eyes. You’re more likely to get kidney disease if you have diabetes or high blood pressure. Control these problems to protect your kidneys or stop the disease from getting worse. If your kidneys don’t work well enough, you’ll need a transplant or dialysis.

You can expect swollen fingers, ankles, and feet when you’re expecting. But sudden swelling, especially in the hands and face, can be a sign of preeclampsia. That’s dangerously high blood pressure that can happen in the second half of pregnancy. Rarely, it comes after childbirth and is called postpartum preeclampsia. The problem affects the kidneys, triggering swelling. You may also have a bad headache, belly pain, and trouble seeing.

Normal red blood cells look like doughnuts and are flexible. When you have sickle cell disease, the cells are stiff and crescent-shaped. These get stuck in small blood vessels and block blood flow. In the hands and feet, this causes painful swelling. Other problems include infections, anemia, stroke, and blindness. Sickle cell is a lifelong condition. In the U.S., it’s most common in African-Americans.

This swelling happens when fluid in the lymph system can’t drain well. It’s sometimes a side effect of cancer treatment. Women with breast cancer often have lymph nodes in their armpits removed to check for cancer. This upsets the flow of lymph and can lead to swelling in the arms and hands. Radiation can damage nodes and make the problem worse. Lymphedema can happen any time after treatment. It can’t be cured, but it can be managed.

Raynaud's Disease is a rare problemthat affects blood vessels in your fingers and toes. It causes them to narrow when you’re cold or stressed. Lack of blood flow makes your digits frosty and painful. They may turn white or blue. When the vessels open up and blood returns, your fingers can throb and swell. In serious cases, lack of blood flow can cause sores or even kill tissue.

This is an immune system disease that tricks your body into making too much of a protein called collagen. This thickens and hardens skin and can affect other body parts too. Your hands may become stiff and your fingers may puff up like sausages. Some people have mild symptoms. In more serious cases, organs can be injured. Scleroderma does not go away but can be treated.