swollen hands & feet combined w/itchy rash (Page 1)

Hi Carrie, about a year ago I had the same thing on my hands! it went away after a few days but my whole body itched but especially my hands that were glowing bright red!was so itchy at night i couldnt sleep! I put calamine lotion on which helped for 10 minutes and then they got itchy again! I have also got it a few times on my feet which became massive blisters on my entire heels as a result of my itching! A few months later i then woke up with tingly legs that were so painful i couldnt sleep and walk for a few days before mysteriously going away. I had an x-ray nothing was wrong with me the doctor said it might be that my cartillage was damaged in my hip joints and that i should stop playing so much sport although i had been off sport for 6 months due to injury. Very mysterious but it just dissapeared after a few days so i forgot about it and got on with my life. Im quite puzzled would love to know what it was. I might be some underlying problem that i should be aware of maybe. I was only 17/18 at the time so i think Rheumatiod Arthritis might be quite unlikely!

Thank you for your reply! I know rheumatoid arthritis is typically known as an "old people" affliction, but you can get it as early as your teens! I'm 36 currently. Anyways, i went to an internist last week and they took some blood samples to run various tests...i just found out the test for R. Arthritis was negative, and they also tested for Lupus, which also was negative-thankfully. Still waiting on the results of the Thyroid test. I haven't had anymore swelling in the hands and feet, that is still a mystery to me, but i do still get the tingly-numb pins and needles sensation in my right arm, hand, and right foot. Especially in my foot when i'm driving. It's irritating! And all this occured after the swelling & itchiness episode. I don't feel like i have any pinched nerves anywhere. Internist says he thinks i have carpal tunnel in my right hand...but why would i have matching symptoms in right leg and foot as well? I am also a stay at home Mom at this stage in my life and don't do anything tremendously repetitive, like working a cash register or typing on my keyboard 8 hrs. a day. Whatever is going on is still unsolved and ongoing. I'm wondering if i should be seeing a neurologist. As a side note, i wanted to add that i was on Yaz,(birth control), and after all this happened, i went off of it because i read too many reports where young women were getting blood clots in their legs (embolisms) that traveled to their lungs or brains and gave them strokes! I was so scared and paranoid that the numbness i've been experincing may be directly related to Yaz...so i dropped it. That was 2 weeks ago. If anyone else who happens to read this has any advice, please pass it on!

Actually RA is a disease that hits any age, children can have it. Osteo Arthritis is degenerative with age. RA is a disease of the immune system, The body attacks the joints thinking they are bad. I have RA and spend many nights awake with swollen and itching joints. You need to get a simple blood test. This test will tell the doctor if you have RA. There are many treatments available out there, so don't get discouraged.

I just experienced an AHA moment! As we speak I am itchy in my feet and legs and it's all symmetrical! Always in exactly the same places on the left and right leg. it is the most aweful feeling to not be able to relieve the itch. I sometimes get it on my hands and arms but it always starts on my feet. I have been trying to monitor what I eat. I thought maybe salt or something. I normally get it about 2 times a month but this month I have gotten it at least 4 times in 2 weeks.

Today i took my patch off for birth control because it was making me puke, and my stomach really hurt. And here i am at 4:04 AM with really itchy hands and feet, so i was wondering if it went a way? Because this is driving me CRAZY. Also, u said something about Thyroid test, while back i was on the pill, and i stoped because of the same reason and i became itchy ...but it was all over! And that was when my Doc put me on Synthoroid (life savor)

Carrie...just a thought but I have experienced swelling and itch in my hands and then remembered I had used a shovel! For some reason...anything that causes pressure on my skin...will result in swelling and itching! I horseback ride...my hands will itch and swell from gripping the reins...the balls of my feet itch and swell from pressure in the stirrups. If my waistband is too tight, I will have itching and swelling! It's just crazy and took me a while to figure out it's associated with "pressure". This morning my right wrist and forearm was tight, swollen and itching. I thought this "thing" was throwing me a new curve on symptoms but then I remembered: I had rested the weedeater pole with it's weight on top of my right forearm! There's always a reason for my itch & swell saga. I play the game of "What did I do yesterday that caused this to itch and swell". Next time you "itch & swell"...start trying to see if there was some activity you did that you can associate with it! Good Luck!

This is the exact same thing happening to me and the areas are red warm,and itchy. When they occur on my feet it is difficult to walk. Because of this I don't wear heels or even the same shoes for too long so that pressure points are changed. But just like you I used a shovel and right where my foot was pressing down and right where the most pressure was applied to my hand I had lumps that evening.This drives me crazy.

Did you ever find our what the issue is? I have the same problem and it drives me nuts, by the time I go to the Dr. it subsides.

Carrie. It's black mold. You probably dug it up please be careful. It's a killer. I got the same thing but I figured it out on my own. God bless you

Lyme disease.

Hello , I think you should def see a Neuro. Get checked for Cidp. Are you weak in the hands or legs? How is your balance?

Hello, I get this on my hands quite often too, I'm 17 at the time on writing. My hands (Palm only often, although sometimes my whole hand) becomes swollen, dry, red and irritable, I read around on some forums and it may be hand dermitis. Also some people are being refered to a page on Reynaud's disease or Reynaud's Sydrome, which you may want to check out. No idea if it is either of these, I am also very intruiged.

I do know Reynauds is characteristic of of your fingers turning white and getting ice cold to the touch. You usually have a low tolerance for cold temperatures with Reynauds. I'm pretty sure i have Reynauds...it's just never been officially diagnosed...because my fingers get that way alot!

Hi Carrie, I had the same exact thing happen to me for the past 4 days, only I couldn't even walk because it felt like I was walking on sharp rocks, very painful! My feet were also red, and swollen on the top and bottom and extremely itchy! The palm of my hands were red and itchy, and felt sore to the touch. I used an ice pack and finally woke this morning to the symptoms quite minimal. I had surgery on my neck (discs c5,6,7), but my neurologist says these do not seem like Neurological issues. I'm definately curious as to what it is, I am also an at home Mom due to other health issues... Will check in regularly. Hope you are feeling better! Marti

Hi Marti! Thanks for your reply and input. the swelling and itchiness probably isn't related to neurological issues, but i'm wondering if the tingling & pins and needles sensation is. It's so weird that you can wake up one day and "Bam!", have all this happen. Just like you, after the initial swelling, itchiness and burning, my feet were very painful to walk on...not so much like sharp rocks for me, but painful nonetheless. Most of that sensation has subsided, but i do have mild pain in my rt.hand all day. I still wake up with it stiff and sore-mainly the joints. That's why they tested for rheumatoid arthritis, but that was negative. What is still a mystery to me is why i've been having all these issues AFTER i woke up one day with the swollen feet and hands & accompanying itchiness. I've been told the swelling & redness, etc. was probably brought on by an allergic reaction to something i ate. I've never been allergic to any foods prior. But, i have also heard that your body chemistry changes every 7 years & you can become allergic to things you never used to have an aversion to. How much truth there is in that statement, i don't know! Do you know if you have any food allergies that could have brought on your episode? Hope to talk to you soon! Thanks! -Carrie

Carrie, My story is very similar. I woke up the day after drinking white wine with a friend to swollen lympf nodes in my neck, went to the Dr a week later because of this and pain in the area. She gave me an antibiotic. The next night I drank the same wine again and my feet started to swell (i thought it was because I was sitting on a stool with my feet hanging) then next morning I woke up to swollen hands and feet and every joint in my body hurt to the point I coule barely move. I went back to the Dr which then did blook work and gave me prednisone. RA has been ruled out but my monocytes and lymphocytes counts were low meaning there is an infection somewhere....still wainting to talk to Dr to see next steps.....BTW I started back on birth control around 4 months ago and believe I will stop taking it today....also getting more migraines than usual so the Dr gave me immetrex and I have taken 3 in 1 week.

Carrie, My story is very similar. I woke up the day after drinking white wine with a friend to swollen lympf nodes in my neck, went to the Dr a week later because of this and pain in the area. She gave me an antibiotic. The next night I drank the same wine again and my feet started to swell (i thought it was because I was sitting on a stool with my feet hanging) then next morning I woke up to swollen hands and feet and every joint in my body hurt to the point I coule barely move. I went back to the Dr which then did blook work and gave me prednisone. RA has been ruled out but my monocytes and lymphocytes counts were low meaning there is an infection somewhere....still wainting to talk to Dr to see next steps.....BTW I started back on birth control around 4 months ago and believe I will stop taking it today....also getting more migraines than usual so the Dr gave me immetrex and I have taken 3 in 1 week.

Go to WedMD.com and look up Gout or GoutInfo.com The swollen hand and foot and tingling are all symptoms that he has.
My husband has gout and all these symptoms are of purin overload so go to the site and get the list of things you should and shouldn't eat or should eat in moderation and see if this helps. And by the way I've had R.A. since a child (mild then but progressive now) and gout is a form of arthritis too.

Hi, carrie I been reading some of these stories and I have some of the same synmtoms, my hands are red itchy swollen hand & joint pain fingers are very dry and they crack open and bleed, I can hardly close my hands if I try to hold my hand/rub it it is very painful my bones in my hands and fingers are very painful also I have tryed all kinds of ointments and things and they help for a little while but then with in a half hour or so my hands go from soft to dry red itchy cracking burning and they rip open again and start to bleed, and then all of a sudden it goes away for a few days then it comes back again with the same synmtoms, My doctor not sure what it is but I know I do have arthritus/RA and I have alot of allergys so I have to be careful in what i eat or touch I have to wear laytex free gloves when I touch something that I am allergic to. any sugestions?
flowergirl 11

I have been experiencing these symptoms for 13 years. As you I woke up one day with swollen hands and as the day progressed it got to the point I itched so badly I thought I would scratch a hole in my flesh. I could no longer walk because the pain was intolerable. I went 5 years with multiple doctors testing me with anything they could think of. I found a doctor in my town that stated He thought I had something called leaky mast cell syndrome or mast cell disease. I account for an unusual patient as I do not have the brown skin lesions. My hands and feet swell and itch as well as other parts of my body I suffer from joint pain and bone pain.. I seem to have this pain where my body has swelled or itched for about a day or more. also where there is pain it is very hot to the touch. My heart rate also seems to increase when I am very itchy and when I am have a full blown attack my blood pressure goes very low. find an allergy specialist who can run something called a tryptase level. mine is very elevated so that how I was diagnosed with mast cell disease. This is a very tricky illness as people present alot of different symptoms. However the tryptase test can tell you if you have some form of this illness. There is no cure and the only thing they can say is take double the antihistamines and avoid triggers. Hope this helps, I waited years for some type of diagnosis and this is as close as I got.

Before I moved to TX, I've never experienced this? Never had allergies either? Symptoms arrived 2 weeks after I arrived here. How it began- I realized my R palm (in just a little spot) had redness. It was after I went outside and moved some rocks. An hour later that spot itched. That eve I went to bed, and woke up around 4 am, with 2 itchy palms. It had moved to my L palm. Next day I noticed my L index finger was swollen- and itchy. Next day after that, R index finger was swollen. Meanwhile BOTH palms still swollen/ itchy. This continued for about 4 days, until pain in my elbow (L), in my joint began to throb. Went to a local er clinic (thinking I must've been bitten by something?). Before going to er clinic, symptoms got worse. Itchy rash, swollen on L sole of my foot, rotating fingers swollen on both hands, and I was very lethargic. No fever. They took 2 blood tests for Rcky Mtn Tick and Lymes Disease- both came back negative. Went home with low dose of steroids, and antibiotics. For the rest of that week, symptoms went away. All symptoms came back full force that next week. Itching progressed on palms, and red hives (coin size) appeared on wrist and arm. Rotating fingers swelled. Palms itched and burned painfully declining. Woke up one day with L EYE swollen, and L EAR. itchy and red. 2 days later, it was the R eye. 2 days later, my stomach began hurting??wha? this is so strange? Felt like intense heart burn; I've never had that before either? then ceased a day later. Last week, it was in the joint of my L knee, then R wrist. Each day I wake up, is a new surprise? It disappears only to reoccur somewhere else? and nighttime is when it's the worst. What could this be? I have no health insurance, and can't afford the testing it will take. Desperate. I'm only 29 yrs old, and have always been healthy. Please help me

Hi, I am having almost the same symptom, My palms and soles are itchy and swollen, It paints when i walk. One day i woke up with swollen lips, I am not understanding whats happening, The couple of doctors i met suggested its a food allergy, and gave me medicines which didnt help. One doctor gave me steroid tablets which gave me temp relief. But the problem still persist, does anyone have any idea what is it ?

One night my lower lip and inside my mouth near the lip kind of tingled and buzzed ever so slightly then I looked in the mirror and my lip had swelled up so much I looked deformed. I put cold water on it and an ice pack. My hands were splotchy red and itchy in the palm and heel of the hand. Then my tongue started to swell and it got so swollen it was to big for my mouth and sticking out a little and starting to block off the back of my palette and throat. I was really scared, afraid to sleep, afraid I'd suffocate and choke on my own tongue. After sitting up propped up on pillows all night, the swelling had gone way down, but I called my doctor and he sent me to allergy medicine as an emergency referral. I have rheumatoid arthritis (autoimmune disease) and self-inject one of the newer biologic medicines, Enbrel and was worried I was developing an allergy to my meds. The allergy doctor told me to bring one of my shots with me so they could inject it under the skin and check me in the office for a reaction. After sitting there for 2 hours, nothing, not even a little bump. I take various vitamins including daily doses of Vitamin C and she told me to stop all the vitamins for a while. The only other thing I could think of was that I had eaten steamed mussels for dinner the night before, and that's sort of an exotic food, but I'd never had a reaction to them before.

The allergy doctor said what i had was called IDIOPATHIC ANGIOEDEMA. She said that's a fancy name for swelling that they don't know the cause of. Some people have an inherited variety and usually have episodes from the time they're children and have relatives who have it as well but others develop it for no apparent reason later in life.You can read about it at this web site: http://www.allergyclinic.co.uk/angioedema. htm

I've had a dozen or so episodes over the past year or two mostly with my lip or cheek swelling up but my tongue and throat never swelled up again. Lately I've been having the itchy hands thing almost every night and a new thing,I've been getting these hard, pea sized lumps under my skin in random places that are hard and itchy then go away in a few days. Sometimes they're like spider bites, several close together, sometimes they're singles. In the last week I've had them on my wrists, buttock, thigh, The allergy doctor told me that an epi-pen was of no use if the throat starts to close, the only thing that can be done is to be intubated, a tube put down the throat to hold open the airway so it can't close up completely. In the case of the tongue/throat swelling up it absolutely a medical emergency and 911 should be called because it can happen very fast. Since I didn't know all that when it happened the first time I just patiently waited it out assuming all would be well ad it turned ot to be true.

Wow, those are also my exact symtoms that have occurred on and off... my heals with little lumps under the skin, red and itchy and painful, my wrists and palm of my hand... and the worst, the day before Christmas of this year, my lips, followed by my jaw and cheeks! ( I also live in Texas and remember noticing this in my early 30's?) but very infrequently. However, I am not sure of "the why",now I do suspect a food or spice allergy ( possibly cinnamon?)
Thank you for your infomation!

this sounds much like my sister. (swollen tongue &nasuia upset stomic nervisness panic like attacks)so what your,e trying to say is the doctor is stumped, no swelling of any other part , just the tongue , & sinus like pressure near the back of the head.


could it be vitamin c?? (up till june that,s all se takes)
for her it started last june, by july it stopped then started janurary.

been to the hospital tons of times, i don,t get it. the doc put her on predizone,anti anxiety meds & a stomic med.
been to a ent head&neck speciealest, & algerest.
they,ve drawn so much blood ya think theyd cloned her,
she cant work, & was ordered to see a shrink.

everyone keeps saying alergy, no, it,s something else.
but what

Hi Frustratd,

What you just described are EXACTLY the same symptom, to the 'T'. I was wondering if you have had any progress on pinpointing what exactly was causing the symptoms. I'm currently on a candida yeast diet, hoping it will help, and it has, some, but the symptoms come back full force, and when they do it's bad. Coincidentally, we roughly the same age, I'm 31 AND..I live in Texas, what are the odds. All I can say is I'm quite frustrated because the symptoms are incredibly annoying and painful.

Hello...I have been having exactly what you just described for the last 10 months and it is getting more and more frequent (the flare ups I mean). First I only had painful swelling in the hands but now it spreads to the wrists and I also have it in the feet (especially the toes). What I have also noticed in the past couple of months is that when I get the swelling I also have a rash which appears around my knees (side and/or back of knees)...The rash goes when the swelling goes. Both just seem to come on randomly and the severity is getting worse. yesterday I thought that one of my toes was going to burst that is how swollen it was...The swellings are also very hot, painful and then itchy. Like you, I have also noticed that I get very bad heart burn, or what feels a little like heart burn but it seems somewhat a little different too...All very strange. Have been to a neurologist (nothing found), to an endocrinologist (nothing found), was tested for Lymes (nothing found)...So I am getting quite desperate now...Am 34 years old and just about to got back to University in September but worried that this is going to get in the way of my being able to study. I wake up in the night with heart burn and numbness at times too. I excercise regularly etc...but stopped a couple of weeks ago as I feel more and more tired all the time...Don't know what road to go down next. Have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow and I just don't know what to say anymore because I am getting quite self-conscious about sounding like a lunatic. The worse thing is that usually when I got the doctor or specialists I have no swelling/symptoms which I can show...I think they are going to say I am a hypercondriact or something! Oh well, I do hope we all found solutions to our strange bodily reactions...or learn to manage them. Point is there seems to be no particular trigger...that's what's worse in a way. Good luck everyone.

I have had these symptoms for years it started when I was 20 and now when I'm 50. The closest thing I have been diagnosed with is Reynauld's, but I noticed that when I eat stuff that could have red dye in it I get itchy. I recently ate a red velvet cake and I have the itching all over and red splotches (not rash). Another good thing to check into is your hormones, if too out of balance your thyroid (adrenal glands) stress out and symptoms of thyroid problems happen but blood tests don't always pick it up because the "normal" ratings are so broad. Check with a doctor and pharmacist who deal primarily with hormone imbalance.

Frustrated
I would love to know if you had any vaccines anytime before that? My husband experienced all this last winter and we have been researching the symptoms of the flu shot and it can cause severe arthritis and immune issues. do yourself a favor and research the ingredients and their symptoms if you had any vaccines even if they were several months before.

SDS

Lyme disease and RMSF usually produce false negative tests around 45-55% of the time. Sounds like one of those, but treatment should actually be for longer duration for antibiotics, sometimes years, yes years!!! Watch the movie "Under our skin" to get a better idea if this fits your symptoms.

The rock had black mold. I get the same thing. Please be careful and stay away from wet and mold areas and the swelling will quit

I have been suffering with this "illness" for approximately 12 years. Parts of my body (mostly the hands and sometimes feet and legs) start getting red, and itchy and a bit swollen and also feels warm to hot. It's usually worse in the evenings and lasts about 15 minutes to an hour and then goes away. Sometimes I also get welts (bumps) on my skin that eventually go away.

After years of experiencing this, I notice sometimes it just happens without anything triggering it, but a lot of times it will be triggered if 1) I'm under a lot of stress and 2) I eat bad or excessive seafood or beef.

Benadryl will always take care of the problem. Symptoms will subside within 15 minutes of taking Benadryl, but they will come back every so often.

I REALLY want to know what this is. Please help!

Wow! I thought I was going crazy. After reading all of these blogs, I am experiencing the same exact symptoms. I woke up one morning after excercising the day before and had a rash that started at my feet and ankles and was extremely itchy. The rash moved to my elbows and forearms, and I felt weak and numb in my hands. The next day, I still had the rash and felt numbness in my hands and my feet and hands were both red and swollen. The bottoms of my feet and backs of my ankles were extremely itchy to the point that I have given myself scratches. I went to the doctor who was unable to give a diagnosis-other than the Rheumatoid arthritis, but could not figure out why I would have it. I was given blood tests and was also given a steroid shot to take down the selling, but a day or two later and I am experiencing the same symptoms and can barely type due to the swelling in my hands. The only things that I can think of that I have done in the past month are that I drank a half of a glass of Kendall Jackson cabernet savignon and awoke the next day with the worst hangover I have ever had, I was pulling weeds one day, and the other thing is that the last thing I did was to excercise with weights where I was somewhat over exerted. Otherwise, I am relatively healthy, excercise pretty regularly and do have some allergies but not to explain these sudden symptoms that came back after treatment. I have not received any response about the results of my blood test, but based on these blogs that I have read, I am thinking this is a strange anomaly.

Also, I have experienced the same issue with the numbness and tingling in my hands. I have noticed this problem in the last several years and have not really done anything about it. The appearance of this condition I would not have made a connection except that the swelling in my hands came the next day after the rash and the numbnes in both my hands. It is extremely itchy and since the shot wore off, I can barely feel my hands and my feet hurt when I walk and are both swollen and red.

I was devastated when I started reading that this might be some type of autoimmune disorder. Lupus did not make sense as the rash usually appears somewhere on the face. The doctor thought of rheumatoid athritis, but since I did not have a family history or some type of virus, he did not make the connection as to how I would get it. I did read somewhere that sometimes RA can come on rather suddenly as a result of an injury or physical exertion. I also read somewhere about allergic reactions coming on after exposure to extreme cold or heat, which in my case happened after being overexerted during excercise.

to the red hands and feet people
For about the past year I have had - intense pain and swelling (sometimes stabbing pain) in ball of foot (both feet but one worse), swelling (no real itch, more of a scratchy feeling), blotchiness, and red "flushing" in hands (palms) and red burning soles of feet along with some joint pain and other strange things.
Like most of you I have seen doc after doc and had many of tests. I have been dianosed with Erythromelalgia which can be Primary or secondary (caused by something else). I felt mine was secondary as prior to this my health was excellent. It SEEMS as if mine is caused by lyme disease. I had negative tests but medical practioners who treat lyme (called LLMD for Lyme Literate MD) know how to look at specifics of the test and also do some other tests, however, it is a clinical diagnosis. Suggest you may want to do some research on lyme; there are tons of helpful sites on internet- that's how after 10 docs I figured out to look into it. Good luck!

I am a 36 year old female. I was on Vacation last week. The Thursday before I had a fever. I think, but am not sure. this is where my troubles started. I started with minor aggrivating headaches and a red rash on my arms and legs, that was very itchy. I ignored it and thought it was sun poison. By the 4th day I found it hard to get out of bed. Very painful from shoulders to feet. When I got home on the 6th day, returned to work for a 15 HR shift. When I crawled back into bed, could hardly walk. After sleeping for 3 Hrs., Could not walk at all due to so much knee pain. After being helped to the bathroom, and 5 more hours of sleep I was able to walk again with pain. I had been taking Advil on a regular bases for this pain. Now on the 2nd week still feeling pain in my legs, exspecialy when trying to relax. I am very close to seeing my doctor, but I believe they will tell me it is nothing,and put me on an useless med. I think it may be viral? Symptoms...early fever that lasted less then 24 hrs, headaches, itchy rash, fatigue, joint pain and swelling.

I am 20 years old and also experience these symptoms. Today at around 2 am I began to feel my hands start to swell and it is now 1:30 pm and i still have slight swelling but now i can bend my fingers. I have no idea what this is either but would like to know badly. I have had a family member who is a doctor look at it and they didn't know either. I have to admit I am shocked by how many people have the same problem as me!

I have RA and have experinced my times itching around my joints-I have scratched these areas sometime to the point of breaking the skin, the itch is deep and annoying and unrelenting-it seems to be more so when I have more swelling in these areas-it happens in my feet and hands, shoulders, knees, hips, ankles, wrists, elbows anywhere a joint may be bothering me-I asked my massage therapist if I was crazy and I was told that it is a nerve response to the swelling and inflammation involved with RA it can actually cause swelling to point of decreasing blood flow to the nerves which can cause the nerve to respond with an itching sensation. Hope this helps!

I am a 53yr old female who experienced this sudden onset of red, itchy swollen hands yesterday around noon. I had eaten at a breakfast bar and assumed I must have eaten something I was allergic to. After about 1/2 hour it subsided. This morning after I got out of bed, before taking any meds (or water for that matter) the same thing happened again. This time the redness and swelling was much more intense. I alerted my husband as the symptoms began and we both watched in horror as my palms turned blood red and swelled. I tried cold water, topical cortisone creme and after 10 minutes took a 25mg Benadryl. After 30 minutes they began to subside and withnin an hour they had returned to normal. I had done nothing but gotten out of bed, used the bathroom, brushed my teeth and walked out into the kitchen when I was suddenly hit with the symptoms. My sister-in-law suggested Parvo virus (Fifth's Disease). Parvo ususally affects children (fever, red rash on hands and feet) and since I'm a teacher I could have been exposed. If it occurs again, I'll get blood work done...this is scarey not knowing.

VickiiI have all the exact same systems only my rash started on the side my bottom which was so itchy that I made it  red & sore, then a day later both my feet where itchy & red as well as my ankles, then the next day the palms of my hands, that has gone away but now my ankles & hand & rists are all swollen and sore joints I have a thyroid conditions so doctor checked that and is normal to my surprise so now they are doing more test & get the results tomorrow, I have been just been taking some pain medication which is doing nothing as the doctor didn't want to give me anything as he doesn't now what the problem is as yet. I will update the results tomorrow after I see the doctor...

OK. I spoke with my brother who is an internal medicine doctor. His first question was " What is your latest thyroid level? Above or below one?" He went on to explain that the normal TSH level done when you get your thyroid tested is actually a normal range (around 1.0), and that doctors have historically under prescribed thyroid medications to their patients, thinking everyone near 1,0 has a "normal" thyroid level. Well...he further explained that when people are under stress (emotional and physical...recent surgery or medical procedures included) that the thyroid hormone readily binds to globulins (proteins) that increase during that stressful period, thereby affectivly lowering the blood thyroid levels. Low levels cause neuropathy, and especially extreme reactions to temperatures!!!! In my case, I had arthroscopic surgery on my knee 4 weeks ago, and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 6 weeks ago. My TSH level was checked the day before my surgery and I was told it was normal(I was on 0.05mg thyroxin by then). My sudden onset of fire red hands occurred 2weeks after the surgery upon waking and washing my face with cold water. I have since experienced the red, itchy reaction on my feet (touching cold bathroom tiles) and face, as well as my hands. I got in a cold saltwater swimming pool this weekend and had to get out and get in a hot tub to relieve my EXTREMELY itchy palms!! So...I'm calling my doctor tomorrow, relaying this info, and hopefully with his blessings increasing my thyroid medication levels. I'll keep you informed of any changes.

I don't have anything new to reply, only to add weight that we're not crazy! I have it, too, it seems. Lately I've had sudden unexplained deep intense itching and swelling and redness in my fingers and hands. Sometimes one hand, sometimes the other one, sometimes just fingers.

I can say that I AM having a seriously stressful life right now, and that's all that's different. I know my sister's on thyroid meds, and maybe I need to be, too. She and I have lots of the same problems...

Good luck, everyone!!!!

Try the "ice-cube test"....My doctor diagnosed my red, itchy hands and feet as COLD URTICARIA. He did the "ice cube test" on forearm and within 1 minute of removing it, the area where the ice cube had been turned BRIGHT RED, raised, bumpy and ITCHED like crazy!! He does not believe it is related to my thyroid nor does he think my surgery and anesthesia triggered it. He said it is an AUTOIMMUNE syndrome and can last a few months or FOREVER!!! My thyroid (TSH) was rechecked and was still within "normal" range (2.55). I contacted another doctor who believes my TSH should be 1.0 and I am increasing my thyroid medication (levothyroxin) in an effort to bring my value down closer to 1.0 (The normal range is between 0.2 to 4.5 )Neither doctor had an explanation for my COLD URTICARIA but one gave me an antihistamine and a prescription for a medrol-dose pack (cortisone) if it gets worse. I'll keep you up to date....so far no cause for the COLD URTICARIA...just the diagnosis.

I can't remember when my symptoms started but the first time I ignored them, this time I grew concerned. My palms and wrist started off itchy and the soles of my feet! They burn after you scrach them and like some of you, It seems symetrical, right side or left side. I have found cortizone to relive the itching.

I don't know if I should call my allergist or general practice doctor for these symptoms. I have had problems with allergies over the years and for many years I took a daily dose of allegra but have stopped b/c I found the neti pot to be natural and just as effective.

It seems like doctors are taking a stab at the diagnosis as several possible diagnoses were thrown out in these posts.