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The cause of swelling of the hand, forearm and shoulder is excessive accumulation of interstitial fluid in the tissues of one or both hands. Pathology is not an independent disease. Rather, it is a symptom of various disorders of the liver and kidneys, which appears with heart disease, blockage of large veins, squeezing of the lymphatic vessels. In each specific case of dropsy of the hands, the doctor will have to carefully collect an anamnesis and conduct a multi-stage diagnosis to determine the cause of the edema.
Causes of dropsy of the hands
The most common causes of swelling of the upper extremities:
Heart failure. In case of malfunction of the heart muscle as a result of damage to the heart muscle, part of the venous blood does not return to the vessels of the lungs, stagnating in the veins of the extremities and causing edema. Myocardial infarction, amyloidosis, myocarditis, congenital and acquired heart defects, and toxic damage predispose to heart failure.
Edema of the hands appears when the pathological process has a pronounced character and has already caused swelling of the legs. They appear in the afternoon, when the heart muscle gets tired. Dropsy of the hands caused by heart failure is accompanied by shortness of breath, palpitations, pain in the heart, increased fatigue.
Decreased protein content in the blood. Albumin proteins synthesized in the liver directly affect the oncotic pressure of the blood, as they intensely bind water molecules. If the protein concentration is lowered, the osmotic pressure of the blood decreases. This causes the blood vessels to lose their ability to retain water. It penetrates through their walls, lingers in the tissues, causing dropsy of the hands. The reasons for the decrease in the amount of protein can be diseases such as liver pathologies, protein deficiency due to an unbalanced diet, diseases of the intestines and kidneys.
Parhon’s syndrome. The protein hormone vasopressin, produced by the pituitary gland, stimulates the absorption of large amounts of water and a minimal amount of sodium by the kidney cells. With excessive production of the hormone, the fluid lingers in the vascular bed and in the tissues of the body, causing edema. In addition to dropsy of the hands, this disease causes headache, convulsions, depression, weakness, abdominal pain and nausea.
Pancoast Cancer. A tumor formed at the top of the lung, upon reaching a significant size, compresses the subclavian vein, which leads to disruption of venous blood flow and accumulation of interstitial fluid, which causes edema. With Pancoast’s tumor, unilateral edema, atrophy of the muscles of the arm, headache, and fever occur.
Myxedema. Pathology occurs in diseases of the thyroid gland, when a violation of hormonal regulation leads to an imbalance of protein in the body and the appearance of edema. With myxidema, the hands usually swell, the patient feels apathy, depression, drowsiness, disruption of the normal functioning of the intestine, weakness, and headaches.
Lymph stasis. In violation of the patency of the vessels of the lymphatic system, hydrostatic pressure arises in them, which leads to a delay in the intercellular fluid in the tissues of the hands. Lymphostasis appears with filariasis (parasitic diseases), after removal of the mammary gland, with injuries and erysipelas, as a result of a congenital defect of the lymphatic vessels.
Allergy. When an allergen enters the body (medicines, drinks, pollen, room dust, chemical reagents), the body reacts with the appearance of edematous syndrome. Hands swell in the area of the hand, fingers, forearm, accompanied by itching and redness.
Syndrome of the superior vena cava. Pathology occurs as a symptom of aortic aneurysm, lung cancer, chest tumor, lung cyst, blockage of a vein by a thrombus. At the same time, venous blood flow is blocked, blood stagnation forms, interstitial fluid accumulates in the vessels and surrounding tissues, and swelling of the hands, neck, and face occurs. These negative manifestations are accompanied by cough, shortness of breath, varicose veins, weakness, drowsiness, suffocation.
Gestosis. With such a pathology of pregnancy as gestosis, an excessive amount of protein is excreted in the urine of a woman. As a result, blood pressure rises, swelling of the legs, arms, and face occurs. Edema syndrome is observed on the hands, fingers of both hands, accompanied by severe headaches, nausea, vomiting, convulsions. The occurrence of this pathology is greatly influenced by the action of hormones (adrenaline, renin, aldosterone), which increase the permeability of the walls of blood vessels.
Treatment methods for dropsy of the hands
The most common treatment for dropsy of the hands is medication. In addition, tight bandaging of the limbs, physiotherapy and surgical treatment aimed at removing tumors, cysts and other pathologies that cause edema are used.
Medication
The attending physician selects drugs from various pharmaceutical groups, focusing on the cause that caused the swelling.
Preparations for the treatment of dropsy:
Antibacterial agents – used to eliminate pathogenic microorganisms in the treatment of infections of the intestines, liver and kidneys, injuries of the extremities.
Anti-inflammatory drugs – reduce pain and swelling in pathologies of the liver and kidneys, intestinal diseases, erysipelas and inflammation of the lymphatic vessels, with allergies.
Anticoagulants – reduce blood viscosity and the ability to form clots in cardiac pathologies, vena cava syndrome, causing swelling of the hands.
Diuretics (diuretics) – used to remove excess fluid through the kidneys with preeclampsia, cardiac edema, lower oncotic pressure, vena cava syndrome.
Fibrinolytics – destroy blood clots in blood vessels in vena cava syndrome.
Antihypertensive drugs – lower the level of blood pressure in cardiovascular pathologies, preeclampsia, kidney disease.
Hormones – used for myxidema and diabetes.
Antihistamines are used to treat allergies.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapeutic procedures are used to reduce swelling and inflammation in the tissues of the hands, dilate blood vessels, and normalize lymph outflow.
Physiotherapy:
Electrophoresis – the introduction of drugs into tissues without violating the integrity of the skin, under the influence of an electromagnetic field, has a pronounced therapeutic effect.
Low frequency magnetic therapy – anesthetizes, relieves swelling, improves tissue trophism, stimulates the movement of blood and lymph, most often used to treat injuries to the limbs.
UHF therapy – restores vascular innervation, relieves inflammation, relaxes muscles, has a trophic effect.
UV exposure – ultraviolet waves relieve inflammation, destroy pathogenic bacteria, regulate local immunity.
CMV therapy – treats swelling of the hands caused by myxidema, stimulates the normal function of the thyroid gland.
Surgery
Radical surgery in the human body is not the main method of treating dropsy of the hands. It is used when other methods of treatment are ineffective and useless. With the help of the operation, tumors and cysts of the spine, liver, kidneys, squeezing blood and lymphatic vessels and their nerve endings are eliminated.
Indications for surgical intervention for swelling of the hands:
Heart diseases – implantation of a pacemaker, transplantation of the heart and blood vessels to eliminate heart failure.
Reducing the amount of protein in the blood – elimination of tumors, abscesses and cysts of the kidneys, liver, intestines.
Pancoast cancer – removal of a lung tumor.
Superior vena cava syndrome – thrombectomy to eliminate blockage of the vein by a thrombus.
Tight bandaging
Compression treatment of dropsy of the hands with an elastic bandage helps to remove the intercellular fluid from the edema zone into the venous and lymphatic vessels. The mechanism of action of this method is to squeeze the upper skin, where the main part of the interstitial fluid is located. Tight bandaging with elastic material creates a strong external resistance that water cannot overcome.
This method of treatment is most often used in violation of lymphatic drainage in trauma, damage to the lymphatic vessels, after mastectomy.
Treatment of dropsy of the hands is impossible without accurate diagnosis, scrupulous adherence to the recommendations of the attending physician.