What Causes Purple Discoloration On The Fingers While Suffering From Arthritis?

Posted on Fri, 24 Mar 2017

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 24 Mar 2017 Answered on

Fri, 14 Apr 2017 Last reviewed on

Question : I am a 70 female. I have arthritis in both forefingers to thumb in each hand. Question is why do I have this blue to purple black coloring between my forefingers and thumb...in that muscle/fatty area. Just a curiosity because sometimes it really gets swollen and discolored. I also break blood vessels in my fingers easily....any connection?

Answered by Dr. Rishi (-4 hours later)

Brief Answer:
It is because of the Arthritis and fragility of the small vessels.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Welcome to Health Care Magic and Thanks for your question.
The problems you are having are partly due to the Arthritis and partly due to age related fragility of vessels and coagulation disturbances. The swelling happens due to easy bleeding from the smallest of blood vessels called capillaries. Minor trauma can lead to this and if this happens then you should apply ice packs or cold compresses over the swollen part. There is nothing to worry about. I hope you are not on any blood thinning medicines like Aspirin or Clopidogrel. Do let me know if you are on any medication and I can then advice whether you should stop or decrease any medications.
Take care.
Do let me know if there are any queries on this issue.
Dr Rishi, New XXXXXXX XXXXXXX

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar