Dactylitis is a symptom that is most often seen in patients who have inflammatory Psoriatic or Rheumatoid arthritis, which are auto-immune diseases. It is also known as “Sausage Finger” or “Sausage Toe” because of the localized, painful swelling that causes digits to look like sausages.
Thus, when you develop so-called “sausage fingers,” it's usually not because there is actual sausage in your fingers, which would be a medical emergency. Rather, “sausage fingers” can result when there's swelling and potentially some fluid accumulation in your fingers.
Maybe you've noticed fat fingers after golf, walking or exercising outdoors on a hot day. That's a sign that your body is trying to cool itself down, just as sweating is. Our bodies try to maintain a body temperature of a normal 98.6 degrees.
Patients with macrodactyly have a finger or toe that is much larger than the others, due to the nerves, fat, and skin of the affected finger or toe growing faster than normal. Macrodactyly is present at birth (congenital), but it is not inherited. Hands are more often affected than feet.
What causes dactylitis, or sausage fingers? Dactylitis refers to swelling in the fingers and toes that can cause them to take on a sausage-like appearance. Dactylitis can be a symptom of several different medical conditions, including some forms of arthritis, tuberculosis (TB), and syphilis.
Arthritis and other autoimmune diseases are the most common causes of dactylitis. You can usually manage your symptoms with at-home treatments. Infections that cause dactylitis need to be treated immediately before they can spread.
Potential causes include arthritis, exercise, high salt levels, allergic reactions, medication side effects, and injury. Dehydration is not typically a cause of swollen fingers; rather, excess fluid intake can potentially lead to swelling.
Swelling-along with prickling or pain-occurs when circulation returns (as you warm up or your stress dissipates). The condition is common and more likely to occur in women than men, Dr Utset says.
Early signs of PsA include swelling in the fingers, eye inflammation, fatigue, nail changes, and joint stiffness. PsA usually occurs in people who already have psoriasis, but it can also develop independently. It causes joint pain and inflammation.
But when the cartilage starts to wear out, your bones don't fit together as easily. As cartilage breaks down, your body responds by growing new bone at the joint. The new bone growths are called nodes or spurs. When they appear at the finger's end joint, they are called Heberden's nodes.
After years, fingers and/or knuckles usually get bigger. It's best to have your ring resized while you can still take it off.
Best nail shape for chubby fingers
For chubby fingers, you can opt for these nail shapes: oval, round, almond, and coffin. These nail shapes will make your nails and fingers look longer as well as hide the chubby fingers underneath the tip of your nails.
Acromegaly is a rare condition where the body produces too much growth hormone, causing body tissues and bones to grow more quickly. Over time, this leads to abnormally large hands and feet, and a wide range of other symptoms. Acromegaly is usually diagnosed in adults aged 30 to 50, but it can affect people of any age.
You lose fat at the same rate all over, proportional to the size of the body part. Your fingers are smaller than your waist or your hips, so they will likely shed all of their excess fat first and you'll notice that your rings and gloves may fit better.
Of all your fingers, you might think your pinky is the most useless. But your little finger is particularly important in a strong grip and hand surgeons agree if you're going to lose one, the index finger is the best one to lose.
A psoriatic arthritis rash looks like red patches of skin with silvery scales (plaques). It typically appears on the scalp, elbows, knees, and around the ears. Sometimes psoriatic arthritis rashes will be localized in a few small patches, but sometimes they develop all over the body.
Color changes. White, yellow, or brown discoloration and/or reddish marks (aka splinter hemorrhages, which are caused by tiny burst blood vessels under the nails) are common among people with psoriatic arthritis.
What does psoriatic arthritis look like on the hands? Common symptoms include pain, swelling, and “sausage” fingers, which may appear shortened. An X-ray may show a “pencil-in-cup” deformity, where the middle of a finger bone becomes narrow while the end of the bone takes on a cup shape.
“Worsening joint pain and swelling, or new or worsening psoriatic lesions, are the most common red flags that someone is having a PsA flare,” says Yamen Homsi, M.D., the section chief of rheumatology at NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn, NY.