Swollen Hands after shooting

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marklbucla

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I went shooting yesterday with the AR and ran about 300 rounds of .22LR Golden bullets and then 100 rounds of Wolf 9mm. All the mags were loaded with push down style mag loaders, like those found on handguns. The grip and stock are the standard plastic ones found on any bone stock M4 style AR.

About 4 hours after shooting my strong hand really swelled up and my weak hand too just a little and there was a bit of a tingling sensation. This morning, my strong hand is still swollen and the pain in the weak hand is limited to where it contacted the mag loader.

Does it sound like this is arthritis related? I'm only 29, though I do shoot on almost a weekly basis. I would think that something's going wrong, I just don't know what. I have never heard of anyone complaining about problems after shooting .22lr and 9mm in an AR!
 
I'd check with an orthopaedic surgeon. Even if one is a member here it's impossible to diagnose via the internet.
 
GRIZ22 said:
I'd check with an orthopaedic surgeon. Even if one is a member here it's impossible to diagnose via the internet.
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Oh I don't know about that. People here get plenty of legal advice from members who aren't licensed to practice law all the time on this forum!

Scott
 
It does sound like it's out of the ordinary. I used to play a lot of handball and beginners were told to soak their hands under running hot water - as hot as you could stand it for about as long as you could stand it - before playing and immediately after playing. It worked and helped a lot to cut down the swelling and bruising. (Note: handball gloves are thin and offer no padding at all.)

The thing is, I never recall anybody having any swelling 4 hours later. It seemed to happen within an hour or less, not later on.

John
 
Too many variables to say why it happened. It could have been positional and not related to the gun. E.g. - the way you contorted yourself to hold the rifle, whether sitting or prone, too, could have exacerbated blood flow and caused pooling. Or it could have been nerve impingement.

Take a therapeutic dose of Ibuprofen - like 600mg every four hours until the swelling is down. If it happens again, then the next time, take a dose of it 1/2 hour or more before shooting and then again four hours later.
 
Well, my father always told me I would go blind but in your case only your hands are swelling .... Seriously though ... There could be many reasons for your hands swelling. I am not a physician so no diagnosis from me. However I would see your family doctor for his or her professional opinion.
 
who would an elephant see if it was in your home town?

you need to see one of his golfing buddies
 
OK, disclaimer: I am a paramedic, not a doctor. I have not examined you, and I am going on almost no information here, but here are my thoughts:

1 You are pretty young to be worried about arthritis. This would not be my first thought, or even my second.

2 Shooting and loading 300 round of ammo in a day is not usually enough for any sort of repetitive motion injury.

3 The ammo you were shooting and the weapon you were shooting it through are not that powerful. Not suspecting stress injury, wither.

4 The first place I would look is to see if you are allergic to something you came in contact with. Whether it was something associated with the ammo, the gun, the products you used to clean the gun, or something at the range, or even whether it was something you ate that day, that is where I would start.

Swelling, tingling, and pain are all common for contact allergic reactions.

If you want to test the theory out, take 25 mg of benedryl. If the symptoms go away within an hour or so, that was probably your culprit. Then all you have to do is figure out what the allergen was. As always, see a doctor.
 
As someone who's been living with rheumatoid arthritis for a lot of years....

...go see your doctor. It may be nothing at all. May be arthritis. But the person who has himself as a doctor has a fool for a patient, so go see somebody who can do the real job.

Jan
 
2 Shooting and loading 300 round of ammo in a day is not usually enough for any sort of repetitive motion injury.
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He does this every week though.

Still, you're likely right in that it could be something causing an allergic reaction.
 
I would add that fluid retention typically begins in the ankles and feet. Again, people in their 20's rarely see this. If this were related to RA, the swelling would have started around the joints, and there would in all likelihood been symptoms before the swelling.

Gouty arthritis, another possible culprit, usually begins in the great toe before spreading to other joints, so that probably isn't it either.
 
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See a doctor, as mentioned it is impossible to diagnose over the internet and especially with the limited amount of data presented. Best case would be some sort of allergic reaction. Worse case would be ruptured blood vessels from the recoil. While RA is a possibility unless you have had prior problems with joint pains it's unlikely. I will stress again-see a doctor!!!!!
 
i'm telling myself not to do this, but here goes. when i was a young teen my grandmother came for a visit. she came away convinced that i needed a new pillow for my bed, so she sent me one. long story short, my right hand would swell up like softball. it took a while, but taking the pillow away solved the problem. you could be allergic to something in the ammo, lubricants, etc. hope this helps.
 
I was playing golf once, we were trying to get through a hole fast, as he had just played through, I hit a shot and literally stowed the club and jumped into the cart before the ball had even stopped rolling. Anyway, I jumped into the cart, clamped my hands down on the wheel and hit the "gas". Had been going maybe 5 seconds when I noticed my hand really hurt. I was thinking to myself, why does my hand hurt? So I lifted my hand up and out flew a hornet.

Basically, the hornet was on the wheel when I jumped in and grabbed it. Fluke, 100 to 1.

What's my point? Maybe it isn't serious, maybe one hand hurts from loading the other was stung / bit by something. Stranger things have happened.
 
OK, disclaimer: I am a paramedic, not a doctor. I have not examined you, and I am going on almost no information here, but here are my thoughts:

4 The first place I would look is to see if you are allergic to something you came in contact with. Whether it was something associated with the ammo, the gun, the products you used to clean the gun, or something at the range, or even whether it was something you ate that day, that is where I would start.

Swelling, tingling, and pain are all common for contact allergic reactions.

If you want to test the theory out, take 25 mg of benedryl. If the symptoms go away within an hour or so, that was probably your culprit. Then all you have to do is figure out what the allergen was. As always, see a doctor.
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This was my first thought too, not enough info, what type of job do you have? It might also be the manifestation of carpal tunnel or a ganglionic cyst. Just go get checked out.
 
Allergy related, try Zyrtec. To reduce swelling take Tylenol or similar drug. Assuming it goes away soon, pay close attention what you do when handling gun related materials (solvents and so forth) and any new tingling in your hands. If it comes back and you can't reasonably explain it, go to a doctor. The doctor will probably perscribe something like Prednisone (steriod) for swelling and he will want to see how you react.
 
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