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Diabetetic Women & Swollen Fingers

Diabetes can result in swelling of the joints. If you are suffering from diabetic kidney disease, this can result in protein leaking from your kidneys, which causes fluid retention and swelling. Diabetes can wreak havoc on your connective tissues and your joints. The medical community does not know why, only that those suffering from diabetes are more susceptible to joint and tissue maladies than those who are not stricken with this disease.

  1. Potential

    • A diabetic may suffer from a condition called diabetic cheiroarthropathy, which manifests in limited joint mobility, usually in the hands, but it can occur in the shoulders, knees, hips and wrists as well. When your fingers are affected, they will become thick, swollen, tight and waxy looking.

    Considerations

    • A condition called flexor tenosynovitis is also known as trigger finger and is the bane of many diabetics, according to Dr. Nathan Wei. The finger or fingers become stiff, swollen, painful and bent. A bump may crop up in the joint in the palm of the hand when trigger finger occurs. When you bend your fingers, the tendons in your fingers and hands glide backward and then forward. If the sheath that covers the tendons in your hands becomes inflamed, swelling results. This can cause thickening of the tendon as well as the development of a nodule. This nodule passes through the pulley as your finger bends but it can get stuck as you straighten your finger. This leads to more swelling and irritation. The finger can get locked into the bent, swollen position.

    Treatment

    • When a person is suffering from swollen fingers as the result of diabetes, withdrawal of fluid from the joint, called joint aspiration, can help relieve some of the pain and swelling. Sometimes complications arise post-joint aspiration, including loss of pigment in the skin where the needle was inserted or bleeding in the joint, but this is not common. It is however, although rare, possible to get septic arthritis or infection of the joint after joint aspiration has been done.

    Other Approaches

    • Treatment of trigger finger in a diabetic consists of taking ibuprofen or aspirin to reduce pain and swelling or steroid injections in the sheath of the tendon, which can prevent pain and the locking up of the finger for months. Surgery may be necessary to release the tendon in the finger so that movement is restored.

    Additional Consideration

    • Another condition that plagues diabetics is Dupuytren’s contracture, notes Diabetic-lifestyle.com. This condition occurs when the connective tissue in the palm of the hand shortens and thickens. Corticosteroid injections may help.

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