King Charles's swollen hands: How nightmare health condition Dactylitis might cause monarch's 'sausage fingers'
King Charles' hands have been described as 'sausage fingers'
PA
King Charles’s hands have long been the topic of conversation, with the monarch possessing quite thick fingers.
It has been something members of the Royal Family have also been very aware of.
Prince William reportedly said he wished his “sausage fingers” father would stop writing so many letters so he could spend more time with his grandchildren.
Queen Elizabeth II also commented on her eldest son's hands.
Prince William reportedly said he wished his “sausage fingers” father would stop writing so many letters so he could spend more time with his grandchildren
PAThe late monarch supposedly wrote a letter to her music teacher after his birth in 1948.
It said: "They are rather large, but with fine long fingers quite unlike mine and certainly unlike his father's.
The late Queen Elizabeth II reportedly wrote about her son's fingers in a letter
PA"It will be interesting to see what they become."
Howard Hodgson’s book The Man Who Will Be King claimed King Charles even said: “He [Prince William] really does look surprisingly appetising and has sausage fingers just like mine.”
The monarch also used the phrase himself when he was the Prince of Wales after a long haul flight to Australia in 2012.
There are many things which could explain the reason Charles’ hands look the way they do.
It is not known what causes Charles' "sausage fingers"
ReutersTemporary fluid retention, a sudden change in temperature, high blood pressure and arthritis could all explain his puffier hands.
It is not known what causes Charles' "sausage fingers" but the symptom is also linked to the secondary disease of Dactylitis.
Dactylitis can be caused by a number of conditions and infections, including psoriatic arthritis.
Dactylitis is the medical term for severe swelling that affects your fingers or toes.
The word derives from the Greek word dactylos meaning finger.
King Charles leaving his Coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey
PA
A report by the University of Leeds said: "Dactylitis has been defined as 'uniform swelling such that the soft tissues between the metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal, proximal and distal interphalangeal, and/or distal interphalangeal joint and digital tuft are diffusely swollen to the extent that the actual joint swelling could no longer be independently recognised'."
The report added: "Dactylitis occurs in 16 to 48 per cent of cases of psoriatic arthritis.
"Acute dactylitis has been shown to be a clinical indicator of disease severity in PsA; conversely, chronic, non-tender diffuse dactylitic swelling may be less clinically significant.
"Dactylitis is due to inflammation in the majority of tissues in the digit - the tendon sheaths, joints, bones and soft-tissues in between.
"Recurrent dactylitis, often in the same digit(s), may be the only clinical manifestation of PsA."