Are you taking aspirin or any other blood thinners? Is there any chance you have high blood pressure? I would go to the doctor since it is painful.

No blood thinners...I've actually been cutting way back on my great mender tea pills which improve circulation among other things...they've been working great on my shoulder pain. And last time I checked my bp was fine...like 118/70. Right now, the pain is more tightness because the finger is so swollen.

Part of me just hates to go to the doc, waste my time and hers, and get that look that says, "Really?!? You're worried about this?!? I have patients who are dying and I'm wasting time on you?" as they politely smile and say, "It's nothing."

No idea, but I would definitely get it checked.

I just saw a good suggestion which is to take a photo of your finger to bring to show the doctor in case it resolves before you go in.

Are you feeling generally in good health otherwise, no fever or just feeling poorly all over? The reason I ask is sometimes a systematic infection can apparently cause this. Edited to add -- according to Doctor Google.

Robo - great idea to take a picture! Annie, how long since you've had a physical? It does seem like something small, although kind of strange. And if it's happened more than once. . . I also wondered about blood clots, but do people get those in a finger? I would definitely go and have it checked out. Would be great if the doctor could see it now.

If you are like me, even when you twist or bang something, you think nothing of it and move on. Hours or even a day later there are "unexplainable" symptoms.

I personally have never heard what has happened to you The fact that it happened twice a day apart would concern me.

Time for the doctor!

I have had the same exact thing with my fingers ... it happens every couple months, for no particular reason, and it hurts like the devil. I have no idea what it is or why it happens, so if you do go to the doc (and I probably would given that it happened twice in one day), I'd be curious to know what she says.

Here's my fickle finger of fate!

Wow - mine have never looked like that. I would definitely get that checked out -- I wonder if it could be a blood clot, not a burst vessel. Good luck - hope it feels better soon!

Thanks, all. Yes I'm in fine health. No other issues, fevers or anything else. Eating fine. Moving well.

This isn't an issue of I banged it and forgot. I do that a lot and will see unexplained bruises on my legs or arms for instance. But when a vessel bursts, it is painful and quite noticeable, and then it's followed by the swelling and discoloration. And I know I wasn't using the finger at the time at all.

I'm fine with it, so long as no one adds, "that exact same thing happened to my cousin and that's when she found out she had leukemia!"

(Gosh I hate how old my hands look...I definitely have my mother's hands!)

I just don't want to go to the doc and get a battery of tests, spend lots of $$ only to be told NPF: no problem found.

Some things it could be:

Spontaneous benign blue finger (really)

http://www.angiologist.com/uniquely-vascular-medicine/spontaneous-benign-blue-finger/

Achenbach Syndrome

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paroxysmal_hand_hematoma

And here's an expansive list of causes of finger swelling.

http://www.healthhype.com/finger-swelling-causes-and-other-symptoms-of-swollen-fingers.html

I so relate to your comment about having doc judge you for worrying about something trivial when rest of world is sick with hideous illnesses. But I'd rather be seen as as worrier than the opposite. I'd go see somebody and wish for you that it is nothing serious but knowing for sure.

I just called my sister, who had something similar happen last year, to refresh my memory on how things went with her.

She is a hair stylist and one day her pointer finger became very painful, swelled up & turned purple, as you described. Because of what she does, her co workers urged her to get it checked out ASAP. There was the idea that she might have a bacterial infection from a small cut, and she also wondered if it may have been from being too aggressive with clipping or filing during her manicure, etc.

She felt foolish going to urgent care, but she went and they even did x-rays and blood tests. The conclusion in her case was that it was a reaction from a pinched nerve. It resolved on its own without treatment. When I checked with her today she said it actually has happened again, in her thumb the second time, and went away on its own. She is 53 and was told it might also be a symptom of arthritis in her hands.

Your story sounded so familiar to how hers started, I'm adding it in hopes it may be a piece to the puzzle.

ETA I just saw your pic after posting. Hers looked like that, too. BUT if it were me, I'd get it checked for my peace of mind.

Nice nails! Can you email that to your physician and ask if you should come in?

Without knowing anything about your health history or other symptoms it looks like a broken blood vessel. It happens and usually doesn't signify a greater problem. If it helps DH had one a few months ago and that was his self diagnosis (he is a Hem/Onc doc).

Maire

I had a friend with an aneurism in her finger. It was easily corrected with minor surgery.

Donna

Check into this:

Raynaud's phenomenon occurs when the extremities of the body, usually the fingers and toes, change colour and may become painful. It is due to a narrowing (constriction) of the small blood vessels on exposure to the cold, or to a change in temperature, or to emotional stress.

More than likely you have a pinched ligament, not uncommon if you are using your fingers for rapid movement. My sister is in Tufts medical and she has a spontaneous vessel burst on her face the size of a half dollar. All the drs. said "not to worry". I have it happen as I have trigger finger and swelling, having surgery again this winter. Mine is very very painful.

Wow! You are all such a wonderful wealth of information! I like that spontaneous blue finger. I think that's what I've got...if not the Achenbach.

DH and my mother and a dear friend had Raynaud's so I'm familiar with that. This is not that. I'm sure it was a blood vessel burst and that's why the finger turned purple.

I'll see how quickly it resolves and if it happens again soon, then I'll get it checked out. Otherwise, I'll just enjoy the color...after all, I'm still in my purple phase! :)

Annie, my daughter has used Doctor on Demand a few times for minor things and has been really happy with the results. Maybe you can atleast consult with a doctor online, show them the pictures of your hands and see what they say. That is severe enough that I think you should at least get a medical opinion.

I think so too.

Adding I don't ever think you should ever apologize for going to the doctor and finding out it's nothing. Always better to be safe than sorry. (And assuming they bill your insurance, you're not wasting their time! You're easy money. ;-)

Lisa you are right, but I've gotten "the look". Once I went in for a rash and I got a lecture as to how OTC stuff would have been all I needed. Well, I didn't know as I'd never had a rash before and it was big and red. On another occasion DH went for a toenail to evaluate whether bruised or fungus. Turns out the particular podiatrist is well known for bunion surgeries and other major stuff. He really looked disappointed when hubby took off his sock and showed him the toe as it was only bruised, a bad bruise. You'd think they'd be happy about easy money, but we both got the funny feeling we were doing something wrong by taking up their time. No matter, my peace of mind is first when it comes to health. I do try to be reasonable and not go to the ER for paper cuts.......

Maybe the profit margin on serious stuff is larger than on minor stuff and hence the disappointment.

That happened to me this summer and I thought it was a bee sting or spider bite. I was fumbling around in the basement in the dark and never saw a spider, but I didn't have any other explanation so that was my best guess. It turned purple just like your photo, and the way the purple ended right at the joint seemed so odd.

It went away by the next day without any issue and I never thought about it until seeing your post. I don't have any advice to add, other than that nothing bad came of it. (that I know of!) :)

Hope you can get some peace of mind with whichever path you choose. Heal well!

Now that I see your photo, I have had something similar but not 2 in one day. If I recall correctly, I had been doing something, like working in the yard, to cause a broken vessel, and mine just felt tender and bruised. And looked ugly. Strange that it seems to end at the joint on one side and is swollen and dark on the other. That's how mine looked too.

I have had ruptured vessels in my fingers at the joints, you are right, they hurt, it seems to happen for no reason. The bruise & swelling usually go away by the next day. Let us know how it looks today.

Thank you all so much. OutsidePlaying, you may be on to something there I was doing a lot of raking that day and the rupture happened afterward.

The finger is still colorful but the swelling is going down, it hurts less and is bending better. So it's coming along nicely.

It has happened to me too with a little discoloration but not the whole finger. Wondering what causes it. I can say it has always happened after doing garden work.

I almost always wear garden gloves too and wonder if the pinching in certain locations might factor into it. Or sort of cut off circulation for a period of time without really being aware.

Yeah, I had my gloves on and didn't get any blisters so I figured my hands were well protected...but apparently not.

Bossy, I can't believe a doctor looked at you funny because of a rash. I went in a few years ago for a rash on my upper abdomen that was itching and hurting and no OTC ointment would help it. Come to find out it was Shingles. Thankfully it was only a couple of inches long and didn't get bad.

Annie, what's wrong with your shoulder? I hurt my shoulder and I think it may be serious, but I'm living with it so I don't have to get an MRI. :)

When it happened to me I also had just spent a full day gardening. Huh. Then again, I garden all the time, so that's not much of an indicator. IIRC, I was wearing a brand new pair of gloves and using unfamiliar tools, since I was working at my Mom's place.

Oakley, I have some arthritis in my shoulder which is pinching things and causing me pain. At the same time, I broke my ankle and my neighbor, who is into chinese medicine, suggested I take the "great mender teapills" by plum flower. I did and not only did my ankle seem to heal well, but the swelling went down in my other ankle which I'd broken 10 yrs earlier, and my shoulder pain went away. DH has arthritis in his thumb so I gave him the "solitary hermit" teapills and he's significantly improved.

How did you find out it was arthritis and not something else? Did it begin gradually or just hit you out of the blue?

I went to an orthopedic doc and his solution was to give me a cortisone shot which I declined.

Why are you continuing to take the great mender tea pills long term? They may be having an unintended impact on your circulation. This was only in your finger, thankfully.

I have been taking them as when I cut back, my shoulder would hurt again. I have cut back now to 4 pills every other day and so far so good. Down from 16 pills a day.

Finger looks normal now. Go figure.