Swelling Of Hands

[tsereteli]

Ok I am 16 years old and pretty much every morning that I wake up I find my hands swollen...there is no pain, but an uncomfortable feeling and the swelling goes back to "normal" within an hour or two. I mean I'm pretty sure that there is nothing wrong with my heart. Could anyone tell me why this happens and what it means?

Thank You

[Cleveland Clinic]

Isolated bilateral hand swelling is usually not related to the heart.  It is a sign called edema and us usually caused by leaky capillaries.  This may be related to increased salt intake, increased water intake, decreased protein intake and malnutrition, anemia, inflammatory conditions that affect the small arterioles, veins or capillaries (lupus, scleroderma, raynaud's disease), or kidney problems.  I would recommend seeing your primary doctor and getting some basic lab work.  This most likely is a benign and I wouldn't be alarmed about it, but some workup may be necessary to rule out the "bad" causes.      

[tsereteli]

Well that would make a lot of sense then, but is it unusual for a 16 year old boy to be experiencing this. And could this increase of salt intake be reduced by eating less sweets; like chocolate, ice cream, etc.?

Thank You

[Cleveland Clinic]

You can usually find out the salt (sodium) content of the foods you eat.  This is usually on the nutrition labels.  Any food that has greater than 20 to 30% of your daily food intake is considered high in salt.