Do you feel buzzing and swollen feet every night? How many people who face this problem every day! Of course, most often it worries those who are forced to stand or walk a lot, but office workers who lead a “sedentary” lifestyle can also be very bothered by swelling of the legs. We will discuss the causes and treatment of this condition in this article, hoping that the information will be useful.
Why there are swelling on the legs
Usually, swelling is a rather harmless consequence of a person being in an upright position for a long time.
Long trips and air travel that involve the same posture for a long time can lead to swelling (most often in such cases they appear on the ankles or feet). This also includes wearing high heels. The fact is that both blood and lymph largely help to move freely in the opposite direction.direction of contraction of the calf muscles, and in the situations listed above this does not happen.
With an increase in body weight, circulatory disorders or varicose veins, you can also often observe how the legs swell below. The causes of such phenomena are no longer harmless physiological processes, but signals of existing he alth problems.
Causes of edema (injury)
If the blood plasma for some reason gets outside the walls of the blood vessels, this causes the formation of edema. In particular, often the causes of leg swelling in men and women are injuries to the limbs.
In normal situations, swelling decreases and disappears as the injured areas recover. But in the event that soft tissues are damaged, which are necessary for free lymph flow or blood flow in the veins of the lower extremities, the patient may develop a chronic type of swelling on the injured leg.
By the way, both injuries themselves and their treatment increase the risk of deep vein thrombosis, as well as venous insufficiency.
Edema due to impaired venous outflow
In addition to fatigue and injuries, there are other causes of swelling in the legs. And the most common, unfortunately, is varicose veins.
Edema in these cases progresses slowly. At the beginning of the development of the disease, it is generally hardly noticeable. By morning or after a long rest, as a rule, the edema disappears, and reappears only in the evening. Over time hebecomes permanent, and the skin changes its color, and sores may appear on it. By the way, edema with varicose veins is mostly asymmetrical, as it is located on one leg.
Deep vein thrombosis may be another cause of the described problem. In this case, edema appears both on one and on both legs and lasts from several hours to several days. With thrombophlebitis, edema is also accompanied by fever, redness and pain around the vein.
Other causes of leg swelling
If the legs swell below, the reasons may lie in other pathological processes occurring in the body.
- Heart disease, such as heart failure. Edema with it is symmetrical, their size increases with the course of the disease and covers even the hips. Shortness of breath and fatigue join them over time.
- Renal pathology. Edema appears on both legs on the back of the foot. Additional symptoms include dark circles under the eyes, swollen eyelids, and discolored urine.
- Violation of the lymph flow. Swelling in one or both legs, soft and painless to the touch.
- Thyroid disease. Edema is elastic, they are joined by swelling of the tongue, disruption of the intestines, drowsiness.
As you can see, the causes and types of puffiness are very diverse and quite serious. So if your swelling has become a constant phenomenon, increase in size and are accompanied by other warning symptoms, be sure to contactto the doctor! Do not try to deal with the problem yourself - you will lose time.
Why legs swell and how to treat it
Probably, there is no need to clarify that the treatment of swelling of the legs should begin with an examination of the body and the establishment of the disease that caused this phenomenon. His treatment will be the main way to deal with edema.
As an additional therapy, diuretics can be used, which will reduce the amount of fluid in the body. By the way, lingonberry or cranberry fruit drinks, watermelons and herbal decoctions, which will be discussed later, also have a good diuretic effect.
In addition, patients, regardless of the cause of swelling in the legs, are advised to reduce the amount of s alt and hot spices that cause fluid retention.
Several recipes for swollen feet
In folk medicine, considerable experience has been accumulated in the use of natural remedies to relieve swelling. Some of them simply eliminate a very unpleasant symptom in which the legs swell below (we have already considered the reasons for this phenomenon in the article) after physical exertion, while others normalize water-s alt metabolism.
So, for example, if your legs are tired and swollen, then warm foot baths from chamomile flowers, horsetail and sage will come to the rescue. The mixture (100 g) is poured with hot water (1 l), boiled over low heat for 15 minutes and then infused for 45 minutes. The strained broth is diluted with 3 liters of water.
Fatigue-burning feet will be brought back to normal by a foot bath in which an infusion of black elderberry flowers will be added. You can grind them with a mixture of a glass of olive oil and a teaspoon of s alt, which is stirred in the oil until completely dissolved. In this case, the juice of one lemon mixed with the same volume of vegetable oil is also successfully used.
But remember that with thrombophlebitis you can’t soar and massage your legs!
How to relieve swelling in venous insufficiency, heart disease
If you have thrombophlebitis or varicose veins, traditional doctors advise making warm foot baths up to the knees, adding a mixture of willow and oak roots to the water (calculated as 50 g per 10 liters of water).
From the pain and swelling that are inevitable with thrombophlebitis, mummy is very useful, which is added to a mixture of milk and honey (in a ratio of 20: 1) and taken orally in a tablespoon twice a day, for 25 days. After a 10-day break, the course is repeated if desired.
If the main reasons for swelling of the legs are cardiovascular insufficiency, then it is useful as a diuretic to take a collection of birch leaves (take 50 g), cinnamon rose hips (about 25 g) and harrow root field (about 25 g). An infusion is prepared from this collection. Two tablespoons of this mixture are poured with a glass of boiling water and placed for 15 minutes in hot water, where they are cooled for 45 minutes. After that, all the components are squeezed out, the infusion is filtered and brought to a volume of 200 ml.boiled water. It should be taken in a quarter cup 3 r. per day.
Pumpkin is also good in such cases, as its pulp enhances the excretion of chlorine s alts from the body and, without irritating the kidneys, increases diuresis.
What can be done to prevent swelling
Unfortunately, methods to prevent the appearance of swelling on the legs are very commonplace, nothing new and magical has yet been invented. But, despite the fact that these tips are regularly repeated, for some reason they are not liked to be followed. Although, it would seem that it could be easier - not to abuse the s alt, avoid overworking the legs and choose comfortable shoes that do not have high heels (they can only be used “on the way out”) or completely flat soles. And in the evenings, do a light foot massage and put a roller or pillow under the ankles to help the outflow of fluid in the lower extremities.
But, probably, a person is designed in such a way that he does not look for easy ways: smoking, alcohol (it increases fluid retention in the tissues), excess weight, which puts a strain on the legs and the cardiovascular system - from all this, of course same, in the evening the legs swell below. The reasons for this are not taken into account and eventually lead to sad consequences, with which the patient begins a selfless struggle! Maybe we shouldn't go that far?
