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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Little Finger Become Deep Red, Numb, Warm. What Could It Be?

This is regarding the pinky finger of my right hand ... From the start of the last joint to the tip of the finger is deep-red in color, somewhat numb, but warm. It feels as though a rubber band has tied off the last joint. It makes it somewhat difficult to write or type for some reason. I certainly don t want to wake up one day and find it black or something. Any ideas as to what is wrong?
posted on Thu, 14 Feb 2013
Twitter Thu, 14 Feb 2013 Answered on
Twitter Fri, 15 Feb 2013 Last reviewed on
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General & Family Physician 's  Response
Hello,

Welcome and thanks for posting on HCM

This sounds to me like arthritis. This could be due to gout or an infection (particularly bacteria infection). Your doctor will need to do a scan to make sure that your bones are not affected.
Cellulitis needs to be ruled out by your doctor.
Some blood tests ( for signs of infection) and uric acid tests will need to be conducted to confirm or rule out septic arthritis or gout.
If infection then a course of antibiotics such as cloxacillin, azithromycin etc can be started combined with antiinflammatory drugs.
If gout, then antigout medications such as allopurinol and colchicine could be started to alleviate the symptoms. (NB gout is not very common on upper extremities).

Hope this was hepful
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Little Finger Become Deep Red, Numb, Warm. What Could It Be?

Hello, Welcome and thanks for posting on HCM This sounds to me like arthritis. This could be due to gout or an infection (particularly bacteria infection). Your doctor will need to do a scan to make sure that your bones are not affected. Cellulitis needs to be ruled out by your doctor. Some blood tests ( for signs of infection) and uric acid tests will need to be conducted to confirm or rule out septic arthritis or gout. If infection then a course of antibiotics such as cloxacillin, azithromycin etc can be started combined with antiinflammatory drugs. If gout, then antigout medications such as allopurinol and colchicine could be started to alleviate the symptoms. (NB gout is not very common on upper extremities). Hope this was hepful