blood vessels popping in hands

[SARAHLCCC]

What a lot of posts on this subject. But I am relieved as for years I have had this thing happening to me. I am right handed and occasionally I get an itchy feeling from a vein in the palm side of my right hand followd by a bee sting feeling. When I look there is a blue bruise developing. I have never had any prior trauma to cause this. It just happens out of the blue. Once it happened inside the fleshy pad on my palm and it went very red then almost black - covered the whole fleshy bit. I showed it to a pharmacist and he said I should see my GP as it was so large. He asked the usual questions like had I knocked it. My GP said he had never heard of this. A dermatologist told me practically the same thing and told me to take a photo next time it happened and bring it to his clinic!! But my camera isn't that good so couldn't. Sometimes it happens just after I've gripped something - like a door handle - but mainly it comes out of the blue like when I'm watching TV! I'm 67 and had this for years and years. I get quite frustrated when even a dermatologist says he's never heard of it. My blood pressure is quite normal but I suffer with hypothyroid and take thyroxine. Incidently nine years ago I flew twice to Africa and developed a HUGE bruise on the inside of my upper arm after 8 hours flying. This happened twice. So obviously I don't take asprin before flying anywhere! When I flew to nearer locations I was ok.....But regards the hand briuses I only get them on the palm side of my right hand. I can't remember getting any on my left hand or anywhere else for that matter. Last night I noticed a small bruise under my fingernail but it didn't hurt. And I hadn't knocked it. Sometimes the hand blood bursts are a bit painful and sometimes they are VERY painful. I would love to know what causes this though. A year ago I developed a skin condition on my back called "granuloma annulare". It just appeared - itchy and unsightly - but again there is no known reason why people get this or no known cure.

[painfulsting]

I am 55 and get these painful bee sting type blood vessel pops on my fingers and now my toes lately. I have gotten them for years but it seems like when I take coQ10 supplements it increases. I haven't asked my doctor yet. I too have had thyroid issues. I had my thyroid removed due to hypothyroidism and thyroid nodules they thought were malignant, turned out benign after the surgery..

[painfulsting]

I am very healthy, very fit and usually notice it happens when I open the dishwasher or use pressure on my hand or foot.

[cityrose]

Google ACHENBACH'S SYNDROME !!!!!! You will see pictures and discussions and studies about it all over.   I am not a health care professional, but I love to do medical research.  These hematomas happen to me on my fingers and toes and my doctor told me he thought it was vasculitis.  Then I found all kinds of information about this syndrome and I really think that THIS is what I have. In fact, my guess would be that many docs have probably never even heard of Achenbach's syndrome (I had to tell my doc what I thought it was).  Here is a brief description of one study's abstract: "Achenbach's syndrome, also known as paroxysmal finger hematoma, is a rarely reported clinical disorder with recurring, sudden bruising of the volar part of a finger, appearing spontaneously or after minor trauma and resolving completely within days...and later the  CONCLUSION of the study: We stress the need for greater awareness among clinicians of the harmlessness of the condition in order to avoid misdiagnoses and dispensable diagnostic procedures."   I'm not saying that people here have this, but just wanted to pass along additional information for you to consider when speaking with your doctor.  

[Hygienist2]

I have the exact same condition as the first woman. I will just be sitting and watching TV and feel is if something stung my finger and it will turn black and blue. My doctor also said he never heard of it. I too have hypothyroidism and take nature throid .it's very frustrating because sometimes it'll happen while I'm playing golf or tennis and I have to stop because of the soreness in my finger. There doesn't seem to be any particular reason why it occurs

[andreatf]

I have had this happen when lifting something heavy as well as when not doing anything. As I posted earlier, this has been going on for 30 years. It has not gotten more frequent and no physician knows what I am talking about. Recently my grown daughter told me that she has just started experiencing the same thing.

[montrealaise]

I noticed small bruises on the back of my hands about a month ago, with no recollection of knocking anything and no pain.  Today, I was helping my husband move a piece of furniture and then I saw this big swelled up bruise on the back of my hand.  It's not painful unless I press on it, but looks like the largest vein on the back of the hand has burst and formed a hematoma.  I put an ace bandage on to keep the swelling down.  Has anyone else experienced this from lifting something heavy?

[Chrissie1654]

I am glad I'm not alone on this. It scared me at first as it feels like you have been stung  now all I have is a purple bruise on my finger. If there so many out there that get this then surely there is something that can be done or investigated. I take blood pressure tablets I wonder if this has anything to do with it.

[SARAH6842]

Yes I'm worried about this too - have been taking Rutin to strengthen blood vessels and I too eat a healthy diet. So many doctors just shake their heads and say they've never heard of it. I went to see a dermitologist some time ago at my local hosital about a totally different matter and I mentioned this sudden bruising to him. He looked totally perplexed and told me to take a photo of it next time it happened and bring it along to him. Its just so disheartening when people keep saying "are you sure you didn't knock yourself?". Haven't had another sudden bruise since I put this thread on here bit I do get what I call "itchy veins/capillaries" on my hands.

[andreatf]

have been having these popping bleeds for more than 30 years and this is the first time I have EVER had anyone even remotely understand what I am talking about. I am 68 years old, in good health, and of average weight.I eat a healthy diet a well as exercise. I find that I get many more incidences in the hot weather. It almost never happens in the winter. I have learned to raise the affected arm and put ice on it immediately. This keeps the finger or wrist from swelling but it still discolors for a few days. My friend who is a vascular surgeon said I had "fragile veins" and told me not to worry about it, I, too, was concered about strokes. I asked, "If it can happen in my fingers and wrist, what keeps it from happening in my brain?" He did not answer.

Thank you for sharing your experiences. It helps to know there are others out there:-)