unexplained sudden brusing/redness at base of finger with swelling & numbness

This is the same thing I have found out by comparing my bruises to pics online of the Achenbach syndrome or Paraoxysmal Hand Bruising.....this is the only way I found out what this is....it was identical to the pics. I did read this is a sking problem, not vascular....and it is benign......has to be or some of us would be dead. It is disturbing because of the pain and wondering if it could happen internally. A lot of folks on here have Raynauds or other autoimmune problems.....My episodes often occur sponanteously. Thanks for the post.....I am convinced it is the same thing.....Another thing....it happens mostly when my hands are cold or I am in a flare.....

I totally agree...I have fibro too.....most of us have some kind of chronic thing going on or autoiummune disease but it is disburbing but apparently we would be dead if it were serious!!! It happens mostly if I am not feeling well or am in a flare.....

g123beck wrote:

Jen wrote:

I have something similiar.  It has happened to me three times in the past 6 months.  One time I picked up a bathroom rug and the base of my pinky finger started having a sharp burning feeling.  I looked down and the inside all the way to the back is a bruise the size of a large pea, bigger than a pea, but it is round like that.  Felt like I broke my finger, but impossible.  I just picked up a small rug.  Tonight I picked up a tin with a few spools of thread and it happened again.  The third time, again it was something light weight I picked up.  I told my doctor the first time it happened and she said it was part of Fibromyalgia, but I never heard bruising was a symptom.  I also have this weird place on my other had in between two knuckles.  It always looks and feels bruised.  If I put that hand in a pocket brings the pain on.  Curious if anyone has something similiar and a diagnosis. 

I totally agree...I have fibro too.....most of us have some kind of chronic thing going on or autoiummune disease but it is disburbing but apparently we would be dead if it were serious!!! It happens mostly if I am not feeling well or am in a flare.....

This is happening to me too. The middle finger of my left hand, the inside (palm side) on the middle finger joint. A sudden very intense pain begins, and then bruises although I have not injured it. The pain lasts about 10-15 minutes and really hurts. Then as the pain subsides so does the bruise. Although I am still seeing a small bruise on my finger now from yesterday's incident. Apparently this is common since all of you have posted.. Why haven't I heard about this, and why is there so little information on the web??

Look up Achenbach's syndrome. This syndrome is most comonly found in patients with Raynaud's. Google both of these syndromes and you will probably see why there is a correlation. As a medical professional I had not heard of Achenbach's syndrome (I knew I had Raynaud's) until it happened to me 1 week after having a hysterectomy. I was concerned it was a blood clot, but it soon became evident it was something different when only the base of my finger turned blue and not the entire finger. Heat does help the bruise dissapate more so than cold. In fact, cold can make the bruise last several days longer. It is not a matter of bleeding into the tissues. It is merely a vasoconstriction of the arteries in that area of the finger. That is why it is often associated with a burning and then numbing sensation. Many people do not realize they have Raynaud's, so I suggest looking up Raynaud's and seeing if you fit the syptoms described. As far as I can tell Achenbach's does not cause any permanent damage, but I have taken the precaution of taking a baby aspirin each day to see if thinner blood might make it easier for the blood to pass through during any vasoconstrictive episode.

I think everyone is on the right track. I am not a medical professional, however i know how to tell if one is coming on. When you get that itch/pain in the finger and you just want to bite or scratch it for relief......... in my experience the best thing to do is to scratch it with something pointy (I use my little screw driver at work).

I have not had a finger bruise in ages now, but i have gotten the early symptoms. The worst one i ever got was when i irritated it by rubbing/scratching/biting it for relief and it just makes things a whole lot more swollen.

Has anyone considered Vitamin K deficiency?   - or overuse of NSAIDS?  My doctor told me that even a very small dose can be too much if taken consistently.  I take a fairly high dose of vitamin D (which thins the blood) and I have episodes where a vein will itch painfully and then bleed into the tissues (a dark purple, itchy bump), and it usually starts where there has been a slight bump or pressure on my hands.  It seems to get worse when I have to take NSAIDs for headache, although extremely small doses.  When I started using chia seed (which also thins blood), it got much worse and I even had excessive bleeding from such things as hangnails.  If I take Vitamin K3 it improves considerably.

 

I also have this problem, i get a sudden pain in the joint of my fingers and then a purple bruise under the skin and painful to touch, sometimes it appears on only one joint in the finger and other times 2 joints, i have had blood tests and nothing shows regarding this problem

As far as I can tell, Achenbach's syndrome or paroxysmal finger hematoma IS a bursting of a blood vessel. This is an important point because Raynaud's is not. Raynauds is a constriction and should not result in a "black and blue" area, as a burst blood vessel would.

Vitamin K seems to aid clotting. Interesting about the Vitamin D. I've been taking that and also having increased bruising. Got two on my fingers today!!

This just happened to me over the weekend, I didn't notice any numbness though. The odd thing is that the pain quickly disappeared and bruising practically disappeared over night and my finger is back to normal.

its not something that most people would go to the doctor about, so probably more common that we think. I would like to know how to prevent this happening again though or the underlying causes?

Just an addendum. Some quick research does not show any support for the contention that Vit D increases bleeding.

The same happens to me and by the next day no bruise nothing just gone like it never happened. My doctor thinks I am crazy. today it happened i was at a spin class, i was leaving the room and my finger at the knuckle suddenly felt sore i rubbed it and bam, it turned purple and swelled so much. so I put pressure on it all the way to my car . by the time i got home it was only red and i am sure it will be gone by tonight. This does not happen with any consistency. last time this happened it was about 3 months ago.

I am 48 and have been diagnosed with Raynauds. I hate to disappoint you, but it does sound like you have Raynauds. Get a second opinion. I have very similiar symptoms and do have it.

I am so happy to find this thread!  I've had the hardest time finding any information that really sounds like what I have. 

I'm a female age 57, normal height & weight, non-smoker and otherwise pretty healthy.  I've always had the cold hands & feet, which got better after menopause, but is still there.  I've always bruised easily, which got worse when I began an aspirin regimine several years ago. 

Two weeks ago, I was completing my second weekend of interior painting at my house, with my husband.  It was clean-up time and I put on a pair of old rubber gloves to do the job.  Pretty quickly I realized my left middle finger was starting to swell.  I took off the gloves, and just that finger looked bruised, on the back side at the top joint.  I'd done a lot of painting, so lots of movements & use of my hands ... but I had not injured it that I knew of.  It then started to itch like mad, for about 20 mins., then the itching pretty much subsided.  I thought maybe there'd been a spider or something that bit me in the gloves, so I threw them out.  I was unable to find any actual puncture in my skin, except for two very small scratches, barely noticable, no blood or anything.  I took a Benedryl anyway, as the symptoms seemed like those I'd had when bit by bees several times in my late 20's.  The finger felt as if it would explode from swelling, and the bruising now started to fill down to the next joint on the back side.  I was quite tired from my day, and just sat down to rest.  By that evening the bruising was more intense looking, filling the whole back side of the finger and approaching the front side, but the swelling became less intense.  By the next morning the whole finger was bruised, but it never left that finger.  The finger was still swollen but not so intensely, and I never lost the ability to close the finger.  Through it all there was a slight sensitivity at the back side of the top joint, but I wouldn't call it pain.  The bruised appearance stayed well seated for several days, then subsided, and was gone completely by the end of that week.  I chaulked it up to my somewhat wierd body and strange reactions to various things, which my mom had too.

Three days ago, I was housecleaning, wearing a pair of nitrile gloves.  That finger started to itch again!  I immediately took that glove off, and started googling nitrile & latex allergies ... didn't sound right.  I continued my cleaning but didn't put a glove back on the left hand, and got thru that day with minor itching.

This morning, I did nothing more than get out of bed, rinse my teeth with water, put the kettle on for tea, and was preping vegetables for crock pot dinner ... I'd touched nothing besides my bathroom towel, just laundered yesterday, and my kitchen dishcloth, also clean.  Here comes the itching again!  This time it was quite obviously coming directly from the back side of the top joint of the left finger.  The bruising & swelling began immediately, and I see another very minor scratch at that joint.  That was 6 hours ago.  Now the bruise is less intense looking, back of finger only, between the top & second joints.  I've been applying cold to it intermittantly all morning, and it seems to make it feel better.

For those of you who've had similar things, what the heck is this???  Is it serious?  Should I see my doctor?  What can I do to prevent this happening in the future.  Anyone's experiences would be helpful.  Thank you!

This seems to be quite different to how mine comes on.. mine normally starts from me doing something using my hands but nothing strenuous.. like sweeping or mopping to which there is pressure put on fingers and a tight grip.. i never get any itching but normally where the initial bruising starts there is a small hard lump.. little bit of pain, which subsides then bruising from knuckle to knuckle normally on the inside if finger..

This is exactly what i had, but i have not had it in a long time. All 3 times it happened to me i was wearing gloves at work. I thought it was a spider bit at first also as it was itching, and once i scratced it thats when the swelling starts.

I def think having the gloves on, which were fairly well fitted gloves had something to do with my cases. I have and always have had very warm hands, although my cases were in winter.

I can only suggest when it happens that you scratch the itch with something like a small screw driver for relief, rather that just scratching it like mad with your finger nails, as that brings on swelling bad.

If its like mine it wont stop til it fully heals, and it will reccur more easily if it has happened recently. Good luck