What should you know about feet and hands feel swollen?

Compare both hands and feet in good light. Check for puffiness, shiny skin, tight jewellery, sock marks, warmth, tenderness, or reduced range of motion. A swollen feeling after heat, travel, standing, or repeated use may settle with rest and elevation. Numbness or tingling can instead suggest irritation or pressure on a nerve. Following a fall or wrist impact, hand swelling may accompany a distal radius fracture. Recurrent swelling with morning stiffness and several sore joints can occur with rheumatoid arthritis. These patterns do not identify the cause by themselves, so the change over time matters.

Take off rings and tight footwear early. Elevate the hands or feet and make slow finger, ankle, and toe movements within a comfortable range. Drink normally unless a clinician has given you different fluid advice. Keep a brief record of triggers, duration, side affected, pain, stiffness, and any new medicines. Avoid starting water tablets or using leftover prescription medicine for swelling. If the sensation continues, returns often, or interferes with walking, gripping, or sleep, book an assessment.

Call emergency services for swelling with breathing difficulty, chest pain, collapse, or sudden swelling of the lips, face, or tongue. Seek urgent assessment for a hot red limb, severe pain, fever, blue or pale skin, new weakness, marked numbness, or inability to move a joint. Get prompt help after an injury if the shape looks abnormal or normal use is not possible. Unexplained swelling affecting multiple limbs deserves timely medical review, especially when it is worsening.

Is this true tissue swelling or could stiffness or nerve irritation explain the feeling? Could my medicines, recent activity, or an injury be contributing? What changes should prompt an earlier review?