Is this your symptom?
- Pain in the hand or wrist
- Includes minor muscle strains from hard work or sports (overuse)
- Pain is not caused by an injury
Causes of Hand or Wrist Pain
- Muscle Overuse(strained muscles). Repetitive hand and wrist movements at work or in other activities are a common cause. Resting the painful area will help reduce the pain. If possible, avoid the actions that caused the problem. Use of a wrist or hand brace can help limit movement.
- Tendinitis. Inflammation of tendons where they attach to the bone, caused by overuse. This causes tenderness in the area and pain when the limb is moved or used. Often needs a long period of rest from the activity that caused it. A steroid shot may be needed to reduce the pain. Repetitive movements of the thumb tendon often causes pain and swelling at the thumb side of the wrist. Sometimes a creaking feeling can be felt when the thumb is moved.
- Muscle Cramps. Brief pains that last 1 to 15 minutes are often due to muscle cramps. These often happen in the hand after too much writing or typing.
- Trapped Nerves. The nerves in the neck or arm can become trapped or squeezed where they pass through narrow spaces in the arm. This causes pain, numbness or tingling. Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by pressure on a nerve at the wrist. It causes tingling, pain and weakness in the fingers and hand. If symptoms do not calm down with rest or treatment, surgery may be needed.
- Joint Inflammation.
Examples are rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and gout. Some may affect just one joint. Others affect multiple joints at the same time. Early treatment may help prevent long-term damage to the joints involved.
- Osteoarthritis is due to wear and tear on the joints. It can cause pain, stiffness and loss of movement. The small joints of the hands may appear swollen.
- Rheumatoid arthritis usually affects the same joint(s) on both sides of the body. So, both hands and wrists may be affected as well as other joints. The knuckle joints are affected, so fingers and hands can become very misshapen.
- Septic Arthritis (serious). This is a bacterial infection of a joint space. Main symptoms are fever and severe pain with movement of the joint. It may not be possible to move the joint at all. This needs care right away.
- Viral Illness. Mild muscle aches and joint pain also occur with many viral illnesses.
Pain Scale
- Mild: you feel some pain, but it does not keep you from any normal activities. Work, activities and sleep are not changed.
- Moderate: the pain keeps you from doing some normal activities. It may wake you up from sleep.
- Severe: the pain is very bad. It keeps you from doing all normal activities.
When to Call for Hand or Wrist Pain
Go to ER Now
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
|
Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
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Self Care at Home
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Go to ER Now
- Fever and swollen or painful wrist
- Loss of blood flow to any part of the wrist or hand (looks pale)
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
- Muscles are weak (loss of strength)
- Loss of feeling lasts more than 1 hour
- Severe pain when wrist or hand is touched or moved
- Fever or chills; feeling hot or shivery
- Bright red area on skin with lines tracking out from the area
- You feel weak or very sick
- You think you need to be seen, and the problem is urgent
Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
- Can't use wrist or hand normally
- Pain gets worse over several days
- You have a cast that :
- is too tight or too loose
- feels uncomfortable
- has gotten wet
- You think you need to be seen, but the problem is not urgent
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
- Swollen wrist
- Pain lasts more than 7 days
- Pain keeps you from working or other activities
- Pain or stiffness happens often
- You have other questions or concerns
Self Care at Home
- Caused by overuse
- Mild hand or wrist pain
Care Advice for Stomach Pain
What You Should Know About Stomach Pain:
- Mild stomach pain can be caused by something simple. It could be from gas pains or eating too much.
- Sometimes, stomach pain signals the start of a viral infection. This will lead to vomiting or loose stools.
- Watching your child for 2 hours will help tell you the cause.
- Here is some care advice that should help.
Lie Down:
- Have your child lie down and rest until feeling better.
Clear Fluids:
- Offer clear fluids only (such as water, flat soft drinks or half-strength Gatorade).
- For mild pain, offer a regular diet.
Prepare for Vomiting:
- Keep a vomiting pan handy.
- Younger children often talk about stomach pain when they have nausea. Nausea is the sick stomach feeling that comes before they throw up.
Pass a Stool:
- Have your child sit on the toilet and try to pass a stool.
- This may help if the pain is from constipation or diarrhea.
- Note: for constipation, moving a warm wet cotton ball on the anus may help.
Do Not Give Medicines:
- Any drug (like ibuprofen) could upset the stomach and make the pain worse.
- Do not give any pain medicines or laxatives for stomach cramps.
- For fever higher than 102° F (39° C), acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) can be given.
What to Expect:
- With harmless causes, the pain is most often better or gone in 2 hours.
- With stomach flu, belly cramps may happen before each bout of vomiting or diarrhea. These cramps may come and go for a few days.
- With serious causes (such as appendicitis), the pain worsens and becomes constant.
Call Your Doctor If:
- Pain becomes severe
- Constant pain lasts more than 2 hours
- Mild pain that comes and goes lasts more than 24 hours
- You think your child needs to be seen
- Your child becomes worse
Extra Help - Worried Stomach:
- Help your child talk about events that trigger the stomach pain. Talk to your child about how to cope with these the next time around.
- Help your child worry less about things she can't control.
- To treat the pain, help your child get very relaxed. Lying down in a quiet place and taking slow deep breaths may help. Make the belly go up and down with each breath. Then try to relax all the muscles in the body. Think about something pleasant. Listening to audios that teach how to relax might also help.
- Make sure your child gets enough sleep.
- Make sure that your child doesn't miss any school because of stomach pains. Stressed children tend to want to stay home when the going gets rough.
- Caution: your child should see her doctor for an exam. Do this before concluding frequent stomach pains are from worrying too much.
