By symptom
Cold, pale or blue fingers
Colour change, or fingers that go white in the cold
Get seen urgently if
a finger or hand is cold, pale, blue or numb after an injury; there is a deep cut with loss of movement or feeling; the hand is increasingly painful, swollen and tight; or a wound was caused by a bite or a high-pressure injection, however small it looks. These need same-day assessment.
What can cause this
More than one condition can produce cold, pale or blue fingers, and the pattern matters as much as the symptom itself — when it happens, what brings it on, and what makes it settle. The conditions below are the ones most often responsible. This page is not a diagnosis.
Other symptoms
- Numbness & tinglingPins and needles, or a hand that feels dead or asleep
- Pain & achingAching, sharp pain, or pain that wakes you at night
- WeaknessA weak grip, or dropping things without meaning to
- Locking or catchingA finger that clicks, catches, or locks bent
- SwellingA swollen hand, wrist or finger
- StiffnessA joint that will not move as far as it used to
- A lump or massA new lump on the hand or wrist
- Difficulty moving a fingerTrouble straightening or bending a finger
- Change in shapeA finger or wrist that looks bent or out of line
- A recent injuryA fall, a cut, a crush or a blow to the hand
- Cold, pale or blue fingersColour change, or fingers that go white in the cold
Working out which of these it is usually takes a history and an examination rather than a test.
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