Swollen, stiff, fairly painful index finger

[SOTM]

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 :).

[Lcray214]

I've been seeing a rhematologist for over a year. This last month has been the toughest because of increased swelling and pain in my non-dominant index finger. It happens out of no where and gets to the point where it becomes dis colored and is totally useless!  Diagonosis is RA and Psoriatic Arthritis. I have tried multiple medications which have provided little help. I start embrel tomorrow, adding it to methotrexate that I am already on.

I thought I was crazy but it's comforting to know I'm not alone. Good luck all

[johnbh]

You sound like you have the same problem I have. Mind is definitely arthritis it's the knuckle of my index knuckle at Palm. I am 62 yrs old played sports most my life. I also worked a job using hands. .. I have flare ups about every 7 or 8 mos.. I get an injection into the joint works really well. But when it flares up I can relate with you. The injection help a lot. I would go see a hand specialist.

[johnbh]

You sound like you have the same problem I have. Mind is definitely arthritis it's the knuckle of my index knuckle at Palm. I am 62 yrs old played sports most my life. I also worked a job using hands. .. I have flare ups about every 7 or 8 mos.. I get an injection into the joint works really well. But when it flares up I can relate with you. The injection help a lot. I would go see a hand specialist.

[aletruama]

Did you get any diagnosis? Seems a bunch of us have the same thing and it is not a one time thing.

[aletruama]

I have the same thing. few days ago my index finger (right hand) started feeling weird. Some pain was felt on top of it in the middle phalanx. Then i noticed by comparing with my other index finger it was a little bit swollen. I can bend it, but with work it closes all the way. It is the second time this happens to me.
First time it happened lasted for a few days. I thought i had some bug bite or a bad move that swollen my finger a bit and gave me that pain. Now that this has happened again and hurts a bit in the same place i am looking for answers. If there are some people like us there must be something that triggers it or a symptom for another thing.

[gkvale]

The right index finger knuckle swells and hurts in the evenings and by mid morning it subsides. The pain radiates through the right shoulder into the mid section of my back. Can anyone suggest a treatment? As I have no insurance, I was wondering if there is a over the counter medication that would help. This happens only from Mid fall through March. I do yoga and am quite active otherwise.