Hi, I have a question about my hand. Two days ago, I hit my hand rather hard on the corner of the bathroom counter. (about 1 inch below my pointer finger knuckle and about 3/4 in. above my wrist) It immediately puffed up, not to an alarming size but definitely noticeably and the area around the point of contact turned slightly red and purple. I put ice on it for a little while but it made the bones in my hand ache so I stopped. It is now swollen all around the spot down to my wrist and to my thumb and up through my pointer finger. Still, not swollen to an alarming size. I can move my fingers and make a fist (though not tightly) and I cannot move my wrist back more than a 45 degree angle. There is slight bruising in the swollen area, not blue or purple, but slightly grayish.

It's hard for anyone here to tell you whether you've just got a dandy bruise or if you've done something more serious. There are many tiny bones in the hand and you should probably have it xrayed to make sure you don't have a fracture. If nothing else they might be able to wrap it or advise you on what to do to be more comfortable while it heals.

This is not something you should really wait on because if it is broken, it could be misaligned and may need to be reset properly to get a good result when it's healed. I wouldn't mess around with your hands - you kind of need them to be in good working order!