Odd swelling in fingers

[mandie25]

Hello to all!

I'm not very fond of scouring the net for medical info, as I find a lot of the results I get are vague, and can lead to panic over nothing, so I'm very pleased to have found an actual forum to be able to ask opinions of people, not dusty old websites. Anyway, here is my question:

For the past two years or so, my fingers have been swelling whenever they get chilled. Either it's from rinsing things in cold water, or handling a cold beverage or frozen food for even a few minutes, my fingertips and hand will swell up and turn bright red for up to 30 minutes after I've stopped touching the cold things I've handled. Not really painful, just itchy and uncomfortable during the swelling. I was never this sensitive to cold before, so it worries me, but even as I don't want to panic, I would also like an opinion as to what may be wrong so that when I go to the doctor I can ask the proper questions.

Thanks for any opinions or help!

[crabbyroad]

Just fingers and on both hands? No where else, example cold water when in shower to legs, feet, or washing face, etc.?

[mandie25]

Originally Posted by crabbyroad

Just fingers and on both hands? No where else, example cold water when in shower to legs, feet, or washing face, etc.?

Yes whichever hand touches it [cold object] gets the swelling. No other part of me reacts that way.

[Marie55]

Some people are allergic to cold temperatures. It is called "cold urticaria".
Taking an anahistimine sometimes will help.

[removed]

[quincy]

It could also be Raynaud's syndrome or the start of it. Not everyone gets the blanching.

Check that as well when you're searching.

quincy