Don't forget frequent rest periods. Every 15-30 min stop typing or sewing. Try the things below...
For circulation and to release pressure on the pinched nerve:
---open and bend your hand back (opposite of a fist),
---massage your whole forearm too
---flap your hands... hard
For swelling, even if not visible and pain:
---apply ice packs or even that icy (forget names) spray
---anti-inflammatories like Advil or Motrin
Even if you don't want braces when awake, wear them when you sleep; You have no idea how much you curl up your hand to wrist. That nighttime bracing and the above may be all you need... at least try!
I have rheumatoid arthritis, not carpal tunnel syndrome, but I studied up on it when my violinist daughter was 14. Every week, she was taking lessons and practicing, playing in the school orchestra, playing in our county's Jr Symphony, enrolled in a college class for String Quartets, and playing in various other activities like community theater. She loved it dearly and still does 15yrs later. But that was hard on her little growing wrists. We learned a lot, she rearranged her techniques and eventually got over it without surgery. Her hand specialist even went out of his way to find consults of drs helping other musicians, though none had children patients. It was quite an ordeal. But if she could overcome it, so can you. If after giving everything else a good try, you need surgery, just do it and feel better.