Posted: 6/17/2017 7:18:40 AM EDT
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On Tuesday afternoon the metacarpophalangeal joint on my right hand, index finger was extremely painful and within 2-3 hours was swollen to the point that I was unable to move my finger and hand. My hand and adjoining fingers swelled a bit. I had 2 small reddish areas on the joint that were the epicenter of the pain. Looked too "wide" to be the fangs of a spider, but maybe a spider double-tap...
Finger/hand was a slight pink, but not red/hot. By Thursday evening most of the swelling pain was gone. Joint is still tender if I push on the original painful area. Yesterday (Friday) evening the middle joint of the adjoining middle finger swelled within 2-3 hours and by this a.m. it is 50%-75% swollen, painful and I can only flex it 5%. Hand and other fingers a little swollen too (same hand). Other hand is fine. No history of RA or arthritis but auto-immune issues runs in my family. I have minor psoriasis on my hands. Age is 46, white male. Very physically fit with an exercise routine. Thanks in advance. Forgot to add; ice, heat and acetaminophen had almost no effect on reducing the swelling/pain. |
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Look up psoriatic arthritis, go see a rheumatologist. Doesn't sound like an infection since it improved in the index, but get to the ER if symptoms worsen. Septic joints and flexor tenosynovitis would be down the list on the differential, but the sequelae of missing these infections can be catastrophic.
When in doubt, get it checked ASAP. |
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Quoted:
Look up psoriatic arthritis, go see a rheumatologist. Doesn't sound like an infection since it improved in the index, but get to the ER if symptoms worsen. Septic joints and flexor tenosynovitis would be down the list on the differential, but the sequelae of missing these infections can be catastrophic. When in doubt, get it checked ASAP. |
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Sounds like a poly-arthritis, and not the infectious kind. Gout could act like that, but usually shows up in the feet first... and is much more common in the winter (the increased temp in the summer helps the solubility of the uric acid in the synovial fluid... decreased temp makes it more likely to precipitate/crystalize out of solution)
Rheumatology is where I'd go first. I can understand thinking it's an infected/hot joint, but there usually is an entry point for the infection (a splinter, dog/cat-bite, etc)... and a single septic joint doesn't spontaneously spread to an adjacent joint... it just doesn't act like that. I've seen Gonorrhea produce a weird, asymmetric polyarthritis/tenosynovitis like that... but that's the exception. Most guys just have painful urination, and/or pus dripping out of the end of their penis. |
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Quoted:
On Tuesday afternoon the metacarpophalangeal joint on my right hand, index finger was extremely painful and within 2-3 hours was swollen to the point that I was unable to move my finger and hand. My hand and adjoining fingers swelled a bit. I had 2 small reddish areas on the joint that were the epicenter of the pain. Looked too "wide" to be the fangs of a spider, but maybe a spider double-tap... Finger/hand was a slight pink, but not red/hot. By Thursday evening most of the swelling pain was gone. Joint is still tender if I push on the original painful area. Yesterday (Friday) evening the middle joint of the adjoining middle finger swelled within 2-3 hours and by this a.m. it is 50%-75% swollen, painful and I can only flex it 5%. Hand and other fingers a little swollen too (same hand). Other hand is fine. No history of RA or arthritis but auto-immune issues runs in my family. I have minor psoriasis on my hands. Age is 46, white male. Very physically fit with an exercise routine. Thanks in advance. Forgot to add; ice, heat and acetaminophen had almost no effect on reducing the swelling/pain. According to WebMD you're going to die. |
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Nobody called dibs, so I am burying my stash in a secret location in the event of my death. In the event of my death this secret will be posted on GD by my significant other. I will use a series of mathematical problems (planes/treadmills, etc.), general logic questions and a moral aptitude test (including pressure washer scenarios) to reveal the location. Once at the location, a robust obstacle course must be completed in order to access the arms and ammo.
I assume my stash will remain hidden for the next 800 years. 
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