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Swelling In The Thumb, Irregular Heartbeat. History Of Blood Disorder. Are These Related?
Question: Hi, my wife's thumb just swelled up for no apparent reason. She's 37, height/weight proportionate, in good health; however, she does have a blood clotting disorder (no meds prescribed except for when she flies). She doesn't think she touched anything unusual. There's no sign of any bite or puncture. The swelling has come down a bit, but the thumb now appears quite bruised. Any insights? Perhaps unrelated: she has also been complaining lately of a heart flutter or irregular heartbeat.
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
The sudden swelling of thumb without any history of injury or insect bite is likely to be due to the bleeding disorder your wife is suffering from.
You need to consult her physician to get a complete blood coagulation profile checked with APTT and platelet count to rule out other possible causes like thrombocytopenia.
This can also happen due to a viral infection in the recent past- decreases the synthesis of platelets from the bone marrow.
The treatment will depend on the cause.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Please accept my answer in case you do not have further queries.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
Thanks for posting your query.
The sudden swelling of thumb without any history of injury or insect bite is likely to be due to the bleeding disorder your wife is suffering from.
You need to consult her physician to get a complete blood coagulation profile checked with APTT and platelet count to rule out other possible causes like thrombocytopenia.
This can also happen due to a viral infection in the recent past- decreases the synthesis of platelets from the bone marrow.
The treatment will depend on the cause.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Please accept my answer in case you do not have further queries.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
Note: Do you have more questions on diagnosis or treatment of blood disorders? Ask An Expert/ Specialist Now
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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