Causes of leg swelling: how to get rid of swelling? Video
Women often notice that by the evening, their favorite shoes, which were so comfortable on their feet, begin to press their feet mercilessly, and the elastic bands of socks leave deep marks on the shins. All these are the first signs of leg edema. If you leave this problem unattended and do not take timely measures, more serious symptoms soon appear – the skin on the legs becomes taut and shiny, after pressing with a finger, a depression remains on it, which does not go away for a long time. Swelling can be a sign of serious illness, so you shouldn’t take it lightly.
Short-term, quickly passing leg swelling that occurs after a long walk or wearing uncomfortable shoes is rarely a cause for serious concern. If the legs are constantly swollen, it is necessary to look for the reason for this.
Edema is nothing more than an accumulation of fluid in the intercellular tissue space. Edema can be caused by general diseases, and it can also occur in healthy people.
In this case, their reasons may be as follows:
- adverse external influences (squeezing by tight shoes or clothing)
- injury or insect bite (such edema most often appears on a limited area of the limb)
- lifestyle features (abuse of salty and spicy foods, prolonged static load, sedentary work or the habit of sitting cross-legged)
- hormonal changes (pregnancy, obesity)
Lovers of high-heeled shoes often suffer from edema – while wearing them, the calf muscles cannot contract normally, the load on the legs increases
Pathological causes of edema:
- diseases of the cardiovascular system (heart failure)
- phlebeurysm
- dysfunction of the thyroid gland (hypothyroidism)
- liver disease (cirrhosis)
- kidney disease
- thrombophlebitis
- infectious and inflammatory diseases (rheumatism, erysipelas)
- allergic reactions
- violation of lymph flow
In the event that swelling is a sign of a disease, there are usually other symptoms as well. So, with thrombophlebitis, one leg is usually affected, while the edema is accompanied by pain, redness of the skin, and a feeling of heat. Lack of thyroid hormones causes swelling not only in the legs, but also a general increase in body weight, apathy, chilliness. With liver diseases, the skin may become yellowish and itchy, heart failure is characterized by shortness of breath, pain in the heart, and changes in pressure.
Treatment and prevention of edema
If your legs start to swell, try to reconsider your lifestyle first – to give up high-heeled shoes and flat soles, limit the use of liquids, smoked meats, salty and spicy foods.
It is important to correctly dose the static and dynamic load on the legs. If you spend a lot of time sitting at your desk, get up from time to time to walk, jump, do a few squats. If you have to stand or walk for a long time, try, on the contrary, to sit down more often and rest your legs. Sports activities will increase muscle tone, relieve fluid stagnation in the limbs.
An excellent remedy for getting rid of edema – massage of the feet and legs
He can also serve as their prevention. Contrast douches and foot baths relieve swelling of the feet.
Whenever possible, try to raise your legs above heart level – for example, lie down with your feet on a rolled-up blanket or the arm of a sofa, or propping them up against a wall. As a last resort, close your office, take off your shoes, put your feet on the table and sit like this for a minute.
Simple exercises help to relieve swelling well:
- roll your bare foot on the floor with a table tennis ball
- rotate your feet clockwise and counterclockwise
- do some jumps on tiptoe
- spread your toes and then squeeze them
Exercises “scissors” and “bicycle”, familiar to everyone from childhood, also help with edema.
Traditional medicine offers many recipes for getting rid of edema, however, it is not worth using them until the cause of excess fluid accumulation is clarified, just as you should not try to treat edema with self-selected drugs, including diuretics. Many of them eliminate only the symptom, masking the underlying disease. Therefore, especially if lifestyle changes, massages and dousing do not have the desired effect, you should consult a doctor to find out the cause of the edema. It is better to start with a visit to a therapist – he will prescribe an examination, according to the results of which it will become clear whether a consultation with a narrow specialist is needed.
It is especially dangerous to postpone a visit to the doctor if the edema is accompanied by pain, fever, changes in the skin of the legs – this way you can skip the onset of acute thrombophlebitis, varicose veins, joint pathology
Swelling of the legs during pregnancy requires increased attention. They can be caused both by natural changes in hormonal levels and excessive consumption of salty foods, so beloved by expectant mothers, and by a serious illness – preeclampsia in the second half of pregnancy, also known as late toxicosis.
Symptoms of gestosis are not only edema, but also an increase in pressure and the appearance of protein in the urine
Late toxicosis threatens the health and life of both the mother and the baby – a progressive disease affects the kidneys and nervous system, leading to preeclampsia and eclampsia (seizures). It is to prevent preeclampsia that pregnant women need to control their weight, so as not to miss the appearance of edema, regularly do urinalysis, and if edema has already appeared, be sure to consult with an obstetrician-gynecologist.
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