Swollen, stiff, fairly painful index finger

I have had this for over a week, and it seems to be getting worse.  I am 33 and in very good health.

The 1st knuckle on my index finger is pretty swollen, stiff and has a fair amount of pain when I bend or touch it.  I have already been to urgent care, and was told it was not infected due to no heat or redness.  I was given Ibuprofen and a splint, told to follow up tomorrow if no improvement.  They sugest bloodwork to test for uric acid or arthritis.  he said possibly gout, but that is usually more painful.  I do eat a high red meat diet, with higher purine foods- ie aspargus and beans.

I do not recall injuring it enough to cause anything like this.  i do crick my knuckles- old habit I am slowly breaking- but that has never given me problems either.  I have started cold compress today and occasional war, Ill see what that does.

Just looking for ideas on what this could be :).

[carolanivey]

Did they take an xray? If so, what did they say about it?

Is the swollen joint in your dominant hand? My mother has trouble with that joint from a lifetime of sewing, so I'm wondering if it's a repetitive stress injury. Pain and swelling in a single joint isn't always typical of RA, which is autoimmune, but very typical of OA, which is caused by wear-and-tear or injury.

When you say "first joint", do you mean the one closest to your fingertip, or the joint that connect your finger to your palm?

[SOTM]

I mean the biggest knuckle on my actua finger, not the one that connects it to my hand.

It is my dominant hand, and I am very rough on my hands....however, none of my other knuckles have a ny soreness or pain.

The Urgent Care told me to follow up this week- whick I am doing Thursday- with my primary Dr if the pain has not gone away.  They said xrays would happen and blood work to look for Uric acid and i think RA as well.

The swelling grew on Sunday but has since gone down.  The pain is still very much there, a sharp pain between my joints.  It hurts like anything if I press in that area, but does not hurt too bad as I use it, although  I cannot close it fully without pain or the swelling preventing that.

If it were OA, would it normally come on that quickly?

[carolanivey]

Hm. I'm wondering if you have a bone spur on on that finger. I had one that didn't really bother me until all of a sudden one day. A simple surgery to remove the spur will help, if that's what it is. These things build up slowly over time and like I said, can randomly start bugging you out of the blue.

In any case, your primary care doctor, after xrays and bloodwork, might inject a bit of steroid into that joint to quiet it down and give you some temporary relief until it's determined what the underlying problem is. Good luck!.

[carolanivey]

Oh, and go to the drug store and look in the first aid section for little finger sleeves made of an elastic material like an Ace bandage. Several sizes come in a package. You select the size to fit your finger so it's not too tight or too loose. The material will help keep the joint warm, and the elastic will support the joint and compress some of the swelling out.

[SOTM]

Thank you, Carol, for the suggestions.  I am going to try that finger brace....as my work is pretty cool and the finger hurts more when cold.

Went to the DR today....Xrays were taken.  She ordered bloodwork for antibodies, uric acid, and a lyme disease test.  She gave me an antibiotic as well as an anti inflammatory, so I'll see what happens over the next week.  

It seems to be fairly steady- not getting worse or better- in terms of pain or swelling.  I cannot close the finger, proabably only halfway.  The more active i am with it, the less it seems to bother me....when i wear the splint, within a couple hours the whole joint bind up and I need to saok in hot water to free up the tightness.

[lucygirl159]

Are you a nurse? Or Dr.? You seem to have such a wide range of Medical knowledge.
Just wondering. I've been reading some of the reaponses you have been giving.
always sounds great. so thanks again for your response to my question.
lucygirl159

P.S. wish they had a spell check on the site. ( I'm a terriable speller.) Ha Ha