First up, I know that everyone's experience with DD differs, but I just want to tell a cautionary tale about my hands, in the hope that it might stop someone else making some of the mistakes I have.

I'm one of those who sees a very direct result of minor trauma to my fingers, triggering node growth within a day or so. I try very hard to avoid abusing my hands, and use athletic tape and heavy gloves if I do need to handle heavier stuff. And we're not talking construction work here, it's enough with the studio equipment that I use as a photographer, weighing a few kilograms / pounds.

But sometimes I've managed to avoid lifting anything heavy for a week or so, and manage to forget that I must be cautious, and just pick up something with my bare hands out of habit.

Example one was carrying a small computer screen up a flight of stairs. Only afterwards did I realise the lower edge had dug into my right index finger, and it was slightly sore between joints 2 and 3. But nothing I would have even thought about in my preDD days. The next day I had a node growing on the tendon where the pressure had been. That was when I realised I needed to be careful.

Example two was a 2 kg / 4 lb fan that had a slight edge on the bottom, which dug into my left index finger. It didn't even hurt, but I noticed the pressure, and immediately put it down again, but within a couple of days a lump appeared on the tendon just before the first joint, and after a longer period more growths appeared around that joint. I was really mad that I hadn't learned my lesson.

Example three happened despite taping my fingers and wearing gloves, and initially being very careful and controlled as I moved studio equipment around. But then things got chaotic, and I started running around and moving things without thinking. Despite not remembering anything specific, I went home feeling that I had been wreckless. The next day I had a node growing on one of the tendons in my right thumb. I don't know exactly what I did, but it seems pretty clear that I abused my thumb in some way, overconfident of the protection of the gloves and tape, and not thinking.

The final example was seeing some snow left on the driveway, and just reflexively grabbing a broom with my bare hands and making a few sweeps, but I felt the shaft push into my left thumb tendon, and sure enough, next day I had another node growing there.

I also have a node growing where the corner of my camera sticks into my palm, despite always wearing bicycling gloves when handling it, but that I feel is something I have to accept to keep working.

Now, I realise it's easy to jump to conclusions, but in each case I had a feeling that I had made a mistake before the node grew exactly where it was expected, so I think the cause and effect is real.

I know not everyone is this sensitive, but in case you suspect you are, let me be the cautionary example.

63-year-old male with DD for 2 years and LD for 6 months.