What may increase your risk for problems from your finger, hand, or wrist symptoms?

Many conditions, lifestyle choices, medications, and diseases interfere with your ability to heal or fight infection. You may be at risk for a more serious problem from your symptoms if you have any of the following. Be sure to tell your health professional.

Conditions

• Age-related risks. Older adults have an increased risk for falls, which could cause finger, hand, or wrist injuries.
• A problem or condition present since birth (congenital defect)
• Previous similar injury
• Previous surgery to injured area
• Surgery to remove the spleen

Lifestyle choices

• Alcohol abuse or withdrawal
• Drug abuse or withdrawal
• Smoking or other tobacco use

Medications

• Blood-thinning medications, such as warfarin, heparin, and aspirin
• Chemotherapy or radiation therapy
• Corticosteroids, such as prednisone
• Medications to prevent organ transplant rejection

Diseases

• Cancer
• Diabetes
• Gout
• Hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis)
• Hemophilia
• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
• Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
• Infectious arthritis
• Infectious bursitis
• Inherited bone disease
• Kidney disease
• Lupus
• Lyme disease
• Malnutrition or an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa
• Multiple sclerosis
• Osteoarthritis
• Osteomyelitis
• Osteoporosis
• Peripheral arterial disease
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Sickle cell disease