Swollen fingers

[Segguy]

The tops of my index and pinky fingers on my right hand are swollen between the nail and first joint, and this appears to be spreading to the other fingers. They are red, very tender, and occasionally itch. I had this condition about a year ago, and it eventually spread to my left hand, then to several toes. I believe it lasted a month or so, and my doctor never determined a cause. I have also had Reynauds for about a decade, but the two conditions haven't occurred together. I've seen my doctor again, and had blood tests, but he still has no ideas. I'm a 67 year old male.

[Segguy]

Thank you Bhupinder. My doctor put me on Prednisone for five days - something I remember from when I had this a year or so ago, and the swelling and tenderness slowly went away, although the discoloring is still there. My doctor also did some blood tests, but they were normal, and he doesn't know what this was. Thanks again for your help.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Three possibilities are coming to my mind from your symptoms. These include paronychia or nail infection, peripheral vascular disease, exaggeration of Raynaud;s disease. Paronychia results from a breakdown of the protective barrier between the nail and the nail fold. Diagnosed by gram staining and KOH wet mounts from the skin and nail scrapings.

My sincere advice would be to consult a dermatologist and get these three conditions evaluated. It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your dermatologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.