Is your hand swollen after a bruise? What to do at home

Most often, traumatology patients complain of bruises to various parts of the body. My hand is bruised and swollen, what should I do? Perhaps every person asks this question at least once in his life. Bruises are usually called injuries to soft tissues without violating the integrity of the bone. They can occur as an independent phenomenon or accompany more severe injuries, such as dislocation and fracture.

You can get hit anywhere: while doing household chores, in your dachas or gardens, at work, or even just walking down the street in winter. Some get bruised during the fight. For example, if you give a strong blow with your fist, it is likely that your fingers will swell. Children and elderly people are often injured. While the former’s bruises go away quickly, the latter’s usually also suffer from the consequences of the injury.

What is a bruise?

A hand bruise is a common household injury characterized by damage to soft tissue without affecting the bone. When a bruise occurs, as a rule, when the hand or its separate part comes into contact with a hard surface, the muscle fibers and fat layer, as well as the blood vessels and nerve endings passing through these layers, are damaged. This explains the severe pain of the bruised area, its swelling and the appearance of a hematoma.

A hand bruise can be caused by:

an awkward fall;
practicing contact sports;
strong impact on a hard surface;
getting into an accident;
working in a dacha or garden plot;
performing construction or repair work;
fight, etc.

A certain proportion of household injuries to the upper extremities occur as a result of squeezing them on both sides or hitting them with a hard object. Children, athletes, working people and representatives of the older age category often suffer from soft tissue bruises.

Prevention

Basically, preventing bruises comes down to attentiveness and caution. All safety precautions should be followed at work. But in addition to this, it is also possible to take vitamins, which in case of injury will help the body quickly cope with unpleasant symptoms. Vitamins K and C, which are involved in the blood clotting process, are good. Bioflavonoids promote rapid wound healing and tissue restoration. Beta-carotene also stimulates rapid tissue healing. Antioxidants help relieve swelling and restore tissue.

It should be remembered that with any bruise you need to take action. But it's even better to prevent injuries whenever possible. Be careful and attentive. Take care of yourself and be healthy!

Clinical picture

A hand bruise has clear symptoms and is accompanied by severe pain. Its signs, in addition to severe pain, are:

Limb movement restrictions. Bruised fingers prevent you from forming your palm into a fist, an injury to the radius makes it impossible to turn your wrist, and if your shoulder is severely injured, it will be difficult to move your hand.
Bruises and hematomas. They do not appear on the skin immediately, but after some time, indicating the exact location of tissue damage. With proper treatment, cyanosis can be prevented; it is important to immediately provide adequate first aid.
Severe swelling of soft tissues. The reason for its appearance is damage to numerous blood vessels and nerve endings passing through the sites of injury.
Numbness. Damage to the nerve roots leads to loss of sensitivity. The appearance of this sign in the type of domestic injury we are considering is not mandatory.

It is important to distinguish soft tissue damage from a bone structure fracture, so a visit to the emergency room should be immediate.

First aid

Damage to the proximal part of the hand after some time can cause dystrophic changes in the bone structures of the wrist. This occurs as a result of the rapid spread of edema immediately after injury, causing disruption of the blood supply to the tissues. The severity of pain increases, congestion occurs, and small nerves are damaged. Therefore, timely first aid prevents the development of complications and significantly speeds up recovery. You can help the victim in the following ways:

fixation of a bruised hand . This part of the arm can be immobilized using a scarf or a medical elastic bandage of any degree of extensibility. The fixing bandage should not unduly compress the hand, disrupting blood circulation and increasing swelling;
cold compress . A plastic bag filled with ice cubes and wrapped in thick cloth should be applied to the site of the bruise. The procedure should not take more than 10 minutes, otherwise there is a risk of frostbite. Only after a 15-minute break can you start cooling the brush again. If ice is not available, you can use a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, meat or fish;
taking an antihistamine . It is advisable to give the victim a tablet of any antiallergic drug from the home medicine cabinet - Loratadine, Zyrtec, Zodak, Claritin. Antihistamines have a pronounced anti-edematous effect. When offering Suprastin, Diphenhydramine, Tavegil to a person, it is necessary to take into account the side effects of the drugs: drowsiness, decreased concentration.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in tablets, capsules, dragees, suspensions will help relieve pain: Nimesulide, Diclofenac, Ibuprofen, Meloxicam, Ketorolac. If the victim has acute or chronic pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, NSAIDs cannot be used. In this case, Analgin or Paracetamol (Efferalgan, Panadol) can be used to relieve pain.

The final stage of first aid is escorting the victim to the traumatology department. After the examination, the patient will be sent for x-rays, if necessary, the hand will be fixed with a splint or plaster bandage, and medications will be prescribed for further treatment at home.

To treat bruises, a physiotherapeutic procedure is used - cryotherapy with refrigerants (ether, ammonium nitrate, liquid nitrogen, chlorethyl). It reduces the excitability of nerve fibers and blocks their conduction. Myorelaxation occurs within 10-15 minutes after the start of the procedure, manifested by a decrease in pain as a result of a reflex muscle spasm at the site of a hand injury. Cryotherapy has not only an analgesic, but also an anti-edematous effect.

First aid

First aid for bruising the soft tissues of the upper limb should be immediate. You can provide it to yourself or ask the people around you for it. It does not require any special skills. So, if you hurt your shoulder, elbow, wrist or finger:

Apply a cold compress to the injured area. Its role can be played by frozen meat or what you find in the freezer, wrapped in a soft cloth to prevent frostbite of the skin.
Disinfect areas of skin damage, if any, using any antiseptic for these purposes - brilliant green, hydrogen peroxide, cefazolin or medical alcohol.
Provide secure support for the injured limb. The ideal option would be a bandage made of an elastic bandage; in its absence, you can use any material, for example, a piece of fabric or a regular bandage.
Take painkillers - Analgin, Pentalgin, Nurofen, etc.
Use special pharmaceutical gels or ointments for bruises that will relieve swelling and relieve pain. Choose those that additionally have an anti-inflammatory effect, for example Diclofenac.

If you suspect a fracture, immediately contact a nearby medical center. Do not leave an injury without being examined by a specialist.

Relieving symptoms with folk remedies

Compresses and lotions have proven themselves well in the fight against swelling and hematomas

Compresses to relieve swelling

onion or potato compress. Grind the selected vegetable into a paste and apply to the sore spot,
Mix aloe juice with honey. Apply at night to the site of swelling,
Mash the cabbage leaves to release the juice. Change frequently when dry
lotions of water, vegetable oil and vinegar in equal proportions also help relieve swelling

Read also: What to do if your eye is swollen

Compresses against hematoma

The most famous remedy for bruises is badyaga. To prepare a paste for a compress, mix 2 tbsp. l. powder and 1 tbsp. l. warm water. Apply to the injury site and wrap with a bandage. You can leave it overnight
Vishnevsky ointment will also be an excellent remedy against hematoma.

After a two-day period after bruising your hand, you can apply warm compresses and lotions. For this, herbs such as hop cones, coltsfoot with tricolor violet, angelica root, bay leaf with plantain, and wormwood are used. To prepare, mix 100 g of herbs with 400 g of alcohol or vodka. Let it brew for 2-3 days.

Treatment

A mild bruise does not require special medical care, but with severe swelling or severe hematoma, you need to contact a traumatologist. The first thing to remember is that you should never heat the bruised area on your arm; this will only worsen the swelling and delay recovery. The best option would be to purchase at the pharmacy special products for external use intended for the treatment of soft tissue injuries. An alternative to them will be time-tested recipes of traditional medicine. Below we will talk about all this in order.

Drug therapy

Most often, when a hand is bruised, medicinal treatment of the injury with means for external use is prescribed. They have a pronounced analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect, act quickly, eliminating swelling, resolving hematomas and restoring the limbs to their former mobility. Proven to be excellent:

Heparin ointment . Its active substance is heparin, which quickly eliminates the inflammatory process developing in soft tissues, due to which the hematoma quickly resolves.
Balm "Ambulance" . It is recommended for use in case of damage due to trauma to the skin. It promotes rapid healing of the skin and prevents infection.
Gevkamen ointment . Excellent for providing first aid for bruises, as it has a pronounced analgesic effect due to its cooling effect.
Gel Traumeel-S . This drug, intended for topical use, quickly relieves pain by relieving inflammation that develops in soft tissues due to their damage.
Capsicum ointment . This drug is recommended for severe swelling of the bruised limb. Acting locally, it normalizes lymphatic drainage and activates blood circulation, which not only relieves swelling, but also promotes rapid healing.

Any of the above medications is usually sufficient to treat a mild to moderate bruise of the upper limb.

Folk recipes

An alternative to the medical remedies listed in the previous section would be time-tested traditional medicine recipes. They can be used as part of complex therapy in the treatment of moderate and severe bruises, but only after consultation with the attending physician. As for mild bruises, the following are used to treat them:

Bodyaga compress . This remedy quickly relieves pain and relieves inflammation. A slurry is prepared from bodyaga at the rate of 2 tablespoons of powder to 1 tablespoon of water, which is applied to the injured area and fixed with a bandage. The compress should be changed twice a day until pain and discomfort disappear.
Compress from freshly picked plantain , which needs to be crushed, mixed with Vaseline or butter.
Ointment from the roots of the burdock plant , for the preparation of which you will need to boil 75 grams of prepared roots over low heat, poured in one glass of sunflower oil.
Aloe compress with honey . An aloe leaf cut lengthwise and smeared with honey is applied to the bruise.
Grated laundry soap mixed with egg yolk.
Garlic tincture, prepared from grated garlic, doused with 6% vinegar.
St. John's wort compress for external use and St. John's wort decoction for drinking.
Rubbing with essential oils .
Raw or boiled potatoes , grated.
Salt brine , you need to put your injured hand in it for at least forty minutes every day.

Bruises and bruises are quickly eliminated by a decoction prepared from arnica flowers, used in the form of compresses. To prepare it, you need to pour boiling water over the dry collection and let it brew.

What to do if you bruise your hand

What to do if your hand is swollen from a blow? First of all, it is important to determine the nature of the injury, and depending on this, choose a treatment method and decide how to relieve pain. It mainly comes down to first aid, further treatment and symptom relief, as well as rehabilitation (for severe injuries).

First aid

For any hand injury, it is important to provide first aid, since the most painful sensations occur immediately after the injury. If there is damage to the skin, the first step is to stop the bleeding. Then rinse and disinfect the wound. For this, hydrogen peroxide and chlorhexidine bigluconate are used.

If the injury is severe enough to prevent your arm from swelling, apply a cold compress. To do this, use ice or any cold object nearby. You can also run your hand under cold water. Cold not only relieves swelling, it also provokes a spasm of internal blood vessels, which stops internal hemorrhage.

In case of severe pain, you can take a painkiller (analgin, ketanov, ibuprofen). And in the future, be sure to take an x-ray to rule out fractures and dislocations.

Treatment

After providing first aid to the patient, it is necessary to continue his treatment. First of all, rest is indicated for the bruised limb. To reduce pain, you can use anti-inflammatory ointments and gels (Fastum-gel, Voltaren, Dolobene, Diclobene, Ketoprom and others).

If the injury is severe, the hand is blue and swollen, and the injured joint hurts when moving or touching, the doctor may prescribe anti-inflammatory pills or injections (Revmoxicam, Diclofenac and others). In a couple of days it will be possible to use UHF therapy. And when the swelling goes away, the hematoma and the site of the injury stops hurting, you can undergo a rehabilitation course with the help of massage and gymnastics.

Consequences

Mild bruises with adequate treatment disappear without consequences within 10-12 days. However, untimely first aid or incorrect assessment of the severity of the injury can lead to:

Suppuration of subcutaneous bruising;
Impaired blood flow in the limb;
The appearance of painful compaction in soft tissues;
Impaired motor activity of the injured hand;
Trauma to the nerve roots leading to numbness.

It will take several months to treat complications after a bruise. In particularly severe cases, surgery may be necessary. Do not ignore household injuries accompanied by severe pain, swelling and bruises.

Symptoms and nature of hand injury

Symptoms of a bruise directly depend on the nature of the injury received and how it was caused. There are 3 degrees of hand damage.

First degree of damage

A minor bruise in which only the skin is damaged. Accompanied mainly by scratches and abrasions. The pain is minor and goes away quite quickly even without any treatment. Such a bruise most often affects the finger or the hand itself.

Second degree damage

A much more painful bruise. It damages muscle tissue and subcutaneous fat. Particularly painful sensations occur if the periosteum (in this case, the elbow) is damaged. With this type of injury, swelling and hematoma occur within a few hours.

Third degree damage

Accompanied by sharp pain. In this case, the ligaments and tendons are damaged, severe swelling and subcutaneous hemorrhage occur. If there is an injury to the larger joints of the hand, it is better to consult a doctor, as negative consequences are possible.

Read also: The main causes of swelling of the fingers