Fingers are swelling when driving in the car - a mystery (1 Viewer)

[b-snatchers]

Hi,

My daughter has a Honda CR-V and has it for a while.
Recently, she noticed that one finger had swelled after driving it. First she thought it was the heat hitting her finger on the steering wheel.
Next time she drove it, another finger swelled when the heat wasn't on. Maybe its something on the steering wheel?

I then cleaned it and another finger. This time she wore gloves but a finger (same one as previous swelled).

I changed the cabin filter in the middle of this to no avail.

Anyone know what could be causing this?

Thx

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

I'd say you could probably rule out some sort of surface contact allergy if it happened with and without gloves. Only when driving this car but not other cars? Or has that been tested?

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

Finger swelling: Causes and their treatments

Possible causes of finger swelling include injury, infection, arthritis, and other underlying conditions. The treatment options for swollen fingers will depend on the cause.

www.medicalnewstoday.com

 

[Osaurus]

Sausage fingers?

 

[ChiefD]

Maybe she is gripping the steering wheel tighter than she thinks. So depending on how she is holding the wheel maybe one finger gets all the pressure one time and another one another time.

If there has been inclement weather lately that could contribute too. I know I tend to grip the wheel tighter when there is snow or ice coming down.

 

[b-snatchers]

I'd say you could probably rule out some sort of surface contact allergy if it happened with and without gloves. Only when driving this car but not other cars? Or has that been tested?

She hasn't driven another car yet, but I have driven her car 1x and was fine

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Maybe she is gripping the steering wheel tighter than she thinks. So depending on how she is holding the wheel maybe one finger gets all the pressure one time and another one another time.

If there has been inclement weather lately that could contribute too. I know I tend to grip the wheel tighter when there is snow or ice coming down.

My fingers used to turn blue driving in cold or damp weather. Maybe a heated steering wheel could help.

 

[b-snatchers]

Maybe she is gripping the steering wheel tighter than she thinks. So depending on how she is holding the wheel maybe one finger gets all the pressure one time and another one another time.

If there has been inclement weather lately that could contribute too. I know I tend to grip the wheel tighter when there is snow or ice coming down.

My fingers used to turn blue driving in cold or damp weather. Maybe a heated steering wheel could help.

It hasn't been that cold here lately so not sure its that. Its interesting that its happening to different fingers on different hands

 

[QuizGuy66]

Guess I am going to start driving my CR-V hands free

-QG

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

I'd say you could probably rule out some sort of surface contact allergy if it happened with and without gloves. Only when driving this car but not other cars? Or has that been tested?

She hasn't driven another car yet, but I have driven her car 1x and was fine

Hmmm... Find something around the house around the same diameter as that wheel (flashlight maybe?) and have her grip it for a while and see if she gets any swelling. The different fingers thing seems odd. My guess is something medical.

 

[b-snatchers]

I'd say you could probably rule out some sort of surface contact allergy if it happened with and without gloves. Only when driving this car but not other cars? Or has that been tested?

She hasn't driven another car yet, but I have driven her car 1x and was fine

Hmmm... Find something around the house around the same diameter as that wheel (flashlight maybe?) and have her grip it for a while and see if she gets any swelling. The different fingers thing seems odd. My guess is something medical.

About a week ago she had a microdisectomy for her herniated disk. I can't think of any reason why that would be related to this......

 

[3C's]

Seems like driving another car would rule out the car. (it's not the car)

 

[AAABatteries]

Maybe she is gripping the steering wheel tighter than she thinks. So depending on how she is holding the wheel maybe one finger gets all the pressure one time and another one another time.

If there has been inclement weather lately that could contribute too. I know I tend to grip the wheel tighter when there is snow or ice coming down.

This would be my guess.

 

[fatness]

About a week ago she had a microdisectomy for her herniated disk. I can't think of any reason why that would be related to this......

I had spinal fusion done on 3 disks months ago. An unexpected effect of the surgery was that, for 5-6 days, the flesh on the outside of one leg felt like it was exploding, causing the worst pain I've ever felt. It wasn't a typical reaction to spinal fusion, but it happened. The finger sensations may be a non-typical reaction to her microdiscectomy.

 

[b-snatchers]

About a week ago she had a microdisectomy for her herniated disk. I can't think of any reason why that would be related to this......

I had spinal fusion done on 3 disks months ago. An unexpected effect of the surgery was that, for 5-6 days, the flesh on the outside of one leg felt like it was exploding, causing the worst pain I've ever felt. It wasn't a typical reaction to spinal fusion, but it happened. The finger sensations may be a non-typical reaction to her microdiscectomy.

Yes, thanks for that. I am kinda of thinking the same thing. Going to try and see if another car causes this as well and then maybe have her see her primary dr. Thx

 

[Psychopav]

Update?

 

[Chemical X]

I'd say you could probably rule out some sort of surface contact allergy if it happened with and without gloves. Only when driving this car but not other cars? Or has that been tested?

She hasn't driven another car yet, but I have driven her car 1x and was fine

Hmmm... Find something around the house around the same diameter as that wheel (flashlight maybe?) and have her grip it for a while and see if she gets any swelling. The different fingers thing seems odd. My guess is something medical.

About a week ago she had a microdisectomy for her herniated disk. I can't think of any reason why that would be related to this......

cervical?

 

[jobarules]

I doubt it's the car.

 

[b-snatchers]

So update is that its still a mystery. Its not the car as it happened in another car. It is looking more and more like its when her fingers contact something cold (or cool) to the touch. She mentioned yesterday that when she grabbed hummus out of the refrigerator she got one of her fingers swelling a little and hard. It does go down eventually. She saw her Dr and she is stumped too. She did bloodwork and then recommended a hand specialist which seems bizarre to me.

I still think it may be from her surgery but who knows....thought?

 

[belljr]

Chilblains?

 

[Hawks64]

So update is that its still a mystery. Its not the car as it happened in another car. It is looking more and more like its when her fingers contact something cold (or cool) to the touch. She mentioned yesterday that when she grabbed hummus out of the refrigerator she got one of her fingers swelling a little and hard. It does go down eventually. She saw her Dr and she is stumped too. She did bloodwork and then recommended a hand specialist which seems bizarre to me.

I still think it may be from her surgery but who knows....thought?

What part of the spine had the disectomy done?

 

[b-snatchers]

Chilblains?

I never heard of this....possible, although I don't think she has much pain but could be. thx

 

[b-snatchers]

So update is that its still a mystery. Its not the car as it happened in another car. It is looking more and more like its when her fingers contact something cold (or cool) to the touch. She mentioned yesterday that when she grabbed hummus out of the refrigerator she got one of her fingers swelling a little and hard. It does go down eventually. She saw her Dr and she is stumped too. She did bloodwork and then recommended a hand specialist which seems bizarre to me.

I still think it may be from her surgery but who knows....thought?

What part of the spine had the disectomy done?

L5-S1

 

[Hawks64]

So update is that its still a mystery. Its not the car as it happened in another car. It is looking more and more like its when her fingers contact something cold (or cool) to the touch. She mentioned yesterday that when she grabbed hummus out of the refrigerator she got one of her fingers swelling a little and hard. It does go down eventually. She saw her Dr and she is stumped too. She did bloodwork and then recommended a hand specialist which seems bizarre to me.

I still think it may be from her surgery but who knows....thought?

What part of the spine had the disectomy done?

L5-S1

Yeah probably not related since it's so far from the nerves where the arms come out.

 

[b-snatchers]

So update is that its still a mystery. Its not the car as it happened in another car. It is looking more and more like its when her fingers contact something cold (or cool) to the touch. She mentioned yesterday that when she grabbed hummus out of the refrigerator she got one of her fingers swelling a little and hard. It does go down eventually. She saw her Dr and she is stumped too. She did bloodwork and then recommended a hand specialist which seems bizarre to me.

I still think it may be from her surgery but who knows....thought?

What part of the spine had the disectomy done?

L5-S1

Yeah probably not related since it's so far from the nerves where the arms come out.

That is what I thought too. Its probably not related although it did start happening after the surgery....thx

 

[gianmarco]

So update is that its still a mystery. Its not the car as it happened in another car. It is looking more and more like its when her fingers contact something cold (or cool) to the touch. She mentioned yesterday that when she grabbed hummus out of the refrigerator she got one of her fingers swelling a little and hard. It does go down eventually. She saw her Dr and she is stumped too. She did bloodwork and then recommended a hand specialist which seems bizarre to me.

I still think it may be from her surgery but who knows....thought?

Sounds like Raynaud's.

 

[jobarules]

So update is that its still a mystery. Its not the car as it happened in another car. It is looking more and more like its when her fingers contact something cold (or cool) to the touch. She mentioned yesterday that when she grabbed hummus out of the refrigerator she got one of her fingers swelling a little and hard. It does go down eventually. She saw her Dr and she is stumped too. She did bloodwork and then recommended a hand specialist which seems bizarre to me.

I still think it may be from her surgery but who knows....thought?

This happens to my sister in law.

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

Wow. So I plugged this into ChatGPT just using the few answers you have given us in your posts. It came up with this:

The differential diagnosis (DDx) for a female patient who recently had L5-S1 spinal surgery and now has swelling fingers when she touches something cold could include:

1. Raynaud's phenomenon: a condition characterized by narrowing of blood vessels in the fingers and toes in response to cold temperatures or stress
2. Post-surgery complication such as injury to a nerve that supplies the hand
3. Rheumatoid arthritis: a chronic inflammatory disorder that can affect the joints and blood vessels
4. Cryoglobulinemia: a condition characterized by the presence of abnormal proteins in the blood that can cause blood vessel inflammation and narrowed blood vessels in response to cold temperatures
5. Lupus erythematosus: a chronic autoimmune disorder that can affect the joints, skin, and blood vessels It is important to note that this list is not exhaustive, and a proper diagnosis can only be made by a medical professional after a thorough examination.

 

[gianmarco]

Wow. So I plugged this into ChatGPT just using the few answers you have given us in your posts. It came up with this:

The differential diagnosis (DDx) for a female patient who recently had L5-S1 spinal surgery and now has swelling fingers when she touches something cold could include:

1. Raynaud's phenomenon: a condition characterized by narrowing of blood vessels in the fingers and toes in response to cold temperatures or stress
2. Post-surgery complication such as injury to a nerve that supplies the hand
3. Rheumatoid arthritis: a chronic inflammatory disorder that can affect the joints and blood vessels
4. Cryoglobulinemia: a condition characterized by the presence of abnormal proteins in the blood that can cause blood vessel inflammation and narrowed blood vessels in response to cold temperatures
5. Lupus erythematosus: a chronic autoimmune disorder that can affect the joints, skin, and blood vessels It is important to note that this list is not exhaustive, and a proper diagnosis can only be made by a medical professional after a thorough examination.

3 and 5 are very unlikely in the absence of other symptoms. 4 is a possibility, but usually is more purple lesions and not just swelling.

The surgery timeframe is suspicious but just doesn't make sense. Would need a neurologist to help tease that out.

#1 is most likely, IMO.

 

[gianmarco]

Wow. So I plugged this into ChatGPT just using the few answers you have given us in your posts. It came up with this:

The differential diagnosis (DDx) for a female patient who recently had L5-S1 spinal surgery and now has swelling fingers when she touches something cold could include:

1. Raynaud's phenomenon: a condition characterized by narrowing of blood vessels in the fingers and toes in response to cold temperatures or stress
2. Post-surgery complication such as injury to a nerve that supplies the hand
3. Rheumatoid arthritis: a chronic inflammatory disorder that can affect the joints and blood vessels
4. Cryoglobulinemia: a condition characterized by the presence of abnormal proteins in the blood that can cause blood vessel inflammation and narrowed blood vessels in response to cold temperatures
5. Lupus erythematosus: a chronic autoimmune disorder that can affect the joints, skin, and blood vessels It is important to note that this list is not exhaustive, and a proper diagnosis can only be made by a medical professional after a thorough examination.

I will say, though, that's an impressive differential that it came up with. I haven't looked at that ChatGPT thread yet but going to go check it out.

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

Wow. So I plugged this into ChatGPT just using the few answers you have given us in your posts. It came up with this:

The differential diagnosis (DDx) for a female patient who recently had L5-S1 spinal surgery and now has swelling fingers when she touches something cold could include:

1. Raynaud's phenomenon: a condition characterized by narrowing of blood vessels in the fingers and toes in response to cold temperatures or stress
2. Post-surgery complication such as injury to a nerve that supplies the hand
3. Rheumatoid arthritis: a chronic inflammatory disorder that can affect the joints and blood vessels
4. Cryoglobulinemia: a condition characterized by the presence of abnormal proteins in the blood that can cause blood vessel inflammation and narrowed blood vessels in response to cold temperatures
5. Lupus erythematosus: a chronic autoimmune disorder that can affect the joints, skin, and blood vessels It is important to note that this list is not exhaustive, and a proper diagnosis can only be made by a medical professional after a thorough examination.

I will say, though, that's an impressive differential that it came up with. I haven't looked at that ChatGPT thread yet but going to go check it out.

Dr. Jeremy Faust has a substack and he posted recently that he tried it out. It came up with some diagnoses and also wrote up an accurate patient chart, once it had the right input. Pretty impressive.

ETA: link: https://insidemedicine.substack.com/p/fun-with-openai-medical-charting

 

[b-snatchers]

Wow. So I plugged this into ChatGPT just using the few answers you have given us in your posts. It came up with this:

The differential diagnosis (DDx) for a female patient who recently had L5-S1 spinal surgery and now has swelling fingers when she touches something cold could include:

1. Raynaud's phenomenon: a condition characterized by narrowing of blood vessels in the fingers and toes in response to cold temperatures or stress
2. Post-surgery complication such as injury to a nerve that supplies the hand
3. Rheumatoid arthritis: a chronic inflammatory disorder that can affect the joints and blood vessels
4. Cryoglobulinemia: a condition characterized by the presence of abnormal proteins in the blood that can cause blood vessel inflammation and narrowed blood vessels in response to cold temperatures
5. Lupus erythematosus: a chronic autoimmune disorder that can affect the joints, skin, and blood vessels It is important to note that this list is not exhaustive, and a proper diagnosis can only be made by a medical professional after a thorough examination.

Wow! That is pretty impressive. My daughter did mention Raynaud's before. As I mentioned before, she saw her Dr and she didn't know. I wonder if she ruled out Raynauld's? I will have to ask my daughter. She did recommend a hand specialist that seems bizarre to me.

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

Wow. So I plugged this into ChatGPT just using the few answers you have given us in your posts. It came up with this:

The differential diagnosis (DDx) for a female patient who recently had L5-S1 spinal surgery and now has swelling fingers when she touches something cold could include:

1. Raynaud's phenomenon: a condition characterized by narrowing of blood vessels in the fingers and toes in response to cold temperatures or stress
2. Post-surgery complication such as injury to a nerve that supplies the hand
3. Rheumatoid arthritis: a chronic inflammatory disorder that can affect the joints and blood vessels
4. Cryoglobulinemia: a condition characterized by the presence of abnormal proteins in the blood that can cause blood vessel inflammation and narrowed blood vessels in response to cold temperatures
5. Lupus erythematosus: a chronic autoimmune disorder that can affect the joints, skin, and blood vessels It is important to note that this list is not exhaustive, and a proper diagnosis can only be made by a medical professional after a thorough examination.

Wow! That is pretty impressive. My daughter did mention Raynaud's before. As I mentioned before, she saw her Dr and she didn't know. I wonder if she ruled out Raynauld's? I will have to ask my daughter. She did recommend a hand specialist that seems bizarre to me.

It can get more specific perhaps if you/she gives it more input. I just went with the few things I could find here that you had provided us. I like that it says "see your physician" too. I just added the link to my above post about Dr. Faust and his interaction with it. Pretty accurate once he fine tuned what he was asking it.

 

[gianmarco]

Wow. So I plugged this into ChatGPT just using the few answers you have given us in your posts. It came up with this:

The differential diagnosis (DDx) for a female patient who recently had L5-S1 spinal surgery and now has swelling fingers when she touches something cold could include:

1. Raynaud's phenomenon: a condition characterized by narrowing of blood vessels in the fingers and toes in response to cold temperatures or stress
2. Post-surgery complication such as injury to a nerve that supplies the hand
3. Rheumatoid arthritis: a chronic inflammatory disorder that can affect the joints and blood vessels
4. Cryoglobulinemia: a condition characterized by the presence of abnormal proteins in the blood that can cause blood vessel inflammation and narrowed blood vessels in response to cold temperatures
5. Lupus erythematosus: a chronic autoimmune disorder that can affect the joints, skin, and blood vessels It is important to note that this list is not exhaustive, and a proper diagnosis can only be made by a medical professional after a thorough examination.

I will say, though, that's an impressive differential that it came up with. I haven't looked at that ChatGPT thread yet but going to go check it out.

Dr. Jeremy Faust has a substack and he posted recently that he tried it out. It came up with some diagnoses and also wrote up an accurate patient chart, once it had the right input. Pretty impressive.

ETA: link: https://insidemedicine.substack.com/p/fun-with-openai-medical-charting

Wow, that's impressive. That response looks legit.

 

[fatness]

So update is that its still a mystery. Its not the car as it happened in another car. It is looking more and more like its when her fingers contact something cold (or cool) to the touch. She mentioned yesterday that when she grabbed hummus out of the refrigerator she got one of her fingers swelling a little and hard. It does go down eventually. She saw her Dr and she is stumped too. She did bloodwork and then recommended a hand specialist which seems bizarre to me.

I still think it may be from her surgery but who knows....thought?

What part of the spine had the disectomy done?

L5-S1

My surgery was L4-L5-S1. At my last followup with one of my neurosurgeons I was told the bone healing will be done by 6 months after surgery, but that the nerve healing may take a full year after surgery to complete.

 

[GroveDiesel]

Wow. So I plugged this into ChatGPT just using the few answers you have given us in your posts. It came up with this:

The differential diagnosis (DDx) for a female patient who recently had L5-S1 spinal surgery and now has swelling fingers when she touches something cold could include:

1. Raynaud's phenomenon: a condition characterized by narrowing of blood vessels in the fingers and toes in response to cold temperatures or stress
2. Post-surgery complication such as injury to a nerve that supplies the hand
3. Rheumatoid arthritis: a chronic inflammatory disorder that can affect the joints and blood vessels
4. Cryoglobulinemia: a condition characterized by the presence of abnormal proteins in the blood that can cause blood vessel inflammation and narrowed blood vessels in response to cold temperatures
5. Lupus erythematosus: a chronic autoimmune disorder that can affect the joints, skin, and blood vessels It is important to note that this list is not exhaustive, and a proper diagnosis can only be made by a medical professional after a thorough examination.

3 and 5 are very unlikely in the absence of other symptoms. 4 is a possibility, but usually is more purple lesions and not just swelling.

The surgery timeframe is suspicious but just doesn't make sense. Would need a neurologist to help tease that out.

#1 is most likely, IMO.

That’s what sticks out to me the most as well. Maybe a hand specialist will be able to test the blood flow and nerve responses which would help with that diagnosis.

 

[SWC]

i dont know what it is but i do know that you have brought your issue to the right place there is no finer think tank in the world than the crack trained medical quasi professionals at the footballguys ffa take that to the bank bromigo

 

[Leroy Hoard]

i dont know what it is but i do know that you have brought your issue to the right place there is no finer think tank in the world than the crack trained medical quasi professionals at the footballguys ffa take that to the bank bromigo

I can vouch for this. Every Sunday the great medical minds of The Shark Pool gather in the game threads to provide instant expert injury prognosis from the convenience of their easy chairs.