Lack of protein in the body, which occurs due to poor nutrition or rapid tissue breakdown, leads to the depletion of the main systems and organs. Weakening blood vessels, heart and kidneys cannot maintain normal circulation of blood and lymph, which are responsible for removing excess fluid from the tissues. At the same time, the person begins to develop hunger edema, and tissue samples taken for examination in the hospital show an abnormally low level of protein.
Causes of edema
It is important to determine exactly what causes hypoproteinemia in fasting edema.
The main reasons include:
- compliance by the patient with a strict diet, in which the amount of proteins, fats and other valuable substances is significantly reduced;
- lack of sufficient food due to unfavorable family situation or budget problems;
- blocking the path that food passes through (this happens during narrowing of the esophagus);
- damage to the gastrointestinal tract by atrophy, ulcer or fistula(in this case, nutrients lose their ability to be fully absorbed);
- loss of proteins and other nutrients due to tissue damage by tumors, purulent or inflammatory processes;
- significant deterioration in the recovery of protein compounds in liver cirrhosis;
- problems with the functioning of the brain, nervous and endocrine systems (severe stress, emotional depression, Graves' disease, imbalance of the adrenal glands);
- excessive psychological and physical stress on the body, which take too much energy (in this case, the food simply does not have time to replenish the required amount of energy in the body).
Danger of disease
The disease significantly reduces a person's weight to critical levels, and also negatively affects the metabolic process in the body. The attending specialists were able to reveal that in case of nutritional disorders, “hungry” tissues begin to actively absorb protein from the blood, since its amount in the liver and other organs is at a critical level. High-molecular compounds that are present in the vessels accumulate liquid around them.
With a lack of protein, the fluid from the blood stream in large quantities passes into the tissues, since they still contain some of it. It is from this moment that the appearance of hungry edema begins.
Signs of disease
There are a large number of causes of hungry edema. Therefore, the task of each patient is to correctly identify them. Many patients cannot independently identify the pathogenesishungry edema, so they simply associate them with the peculiarity of their body. The lower leg area swells to a greater extent: from the lower leg to the foot.
To determine the presence of edema, you need to carefully examine the appearance of the leg. The limb begins to noticeably increase, changes its initial shape, begins to tingle strongly. For any person, such symptoms cause significant discomfort. For example, in the morning it can be noted that a person freely puts on shoes, and in the evening he feels that the leg no longer fits into the shoe. You can determine exactly what is happening to the tissues by simply clicking on the place of the alleged edema. If it is, then in this case, when pressed, the resulting dent will not soon become smooth.
Symptoms of nutritional deficiencies
With food starvation, there is a possibility of coma and even death.
In addition to swelling and sudden weight loss, the symptoms of the disease can be presented as follows:
- general weakness of the body, physical exhaustion, feeling sleepy;
- decrease in temperature to 30 degrees;
- cold limbs;
- dry skin surface;
- bundle nails, brittle hair;
- heart and kidney failure, anemia, hypotension, and acidosis (the pH level in the body begins to deviate towards acidity);
- frequent urination and internal swelling in the body;
- delay or complete absence of menstruation.
Treatmentdiseases
Hungry (protein-free) swelling of the legs and other organs in most cases are treated with a diet based on the content of proteins, vitamins, s alts and useful trace elements in food. Without contacting your doctor, you will not be able to return to normal weight and body condition. Due to the insufficient amount of secreted gastric juice and other violations of secretion, the digestive tract can only process the first portions of food in a minimal amount.
In particularly difficult situations, intravenous administration of nutrients into the body is used. The amount of food consumed is increased very slowly and under the strict supervision of a doctor. Over time, meat, milk, eggs and dairy products are added to the menu. Only in this case can a possible deterioration in the patient's condition be avoided.
Together with the diet, the doctor prescribes bed rest to the patient, which will help preserve the forces important for the body and start all compensatory processes. If the patient is physically overtired, from time to time eats s alty food, then the edema returns in a short time.
The hardest thing to get rid of is ascites (abdominal dropsy). This type of edema goes away only if the doctor's recommendations are strictly followed. In order for the hungry swelling to go away from the legs and other parts of the body, the doctor prescribes special medications, physiotherapy, massage, and gymnastics. The main goal of treatment is to increase blood circulation, lymphatic drainage, protein synthesis, muscle building, andalso strengthening the whole body.
Using traditional medicine
In folk medicine, you can find a large number of recipes against puffiness.
For hungry edema, herbal medicines are used only in complex treatment and with the permission of the doctor.
The list of the most effective recipes is given below:
- Baths with simple or sea s alt have a good decongestant effect. Heated water and 150-200 grams of s alt are added to the basin. To enhance the effect of the procedure, it is best to add a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. The resulting mixture helps to activate lymphatic drainage, returns the skin to its former elasticity. The procedure must be carried out within 20 minutes.
- One liter of hot water and half a glass of sage herb are poured into the bath, insisted for seven minutes. Feet are dipped in water for 15 minutes.
- 50 g of grape leaves are added to two cups of boiling water and infused for a quarter of an hour. The resulting solution is poured into a bowl filled with warm water. Legs with edema are placed in the pelvis for 20 minutes. The procedure is recommended to be carried out every day.
- Chamomile flowers, mint and birch leaves are mixed in equal amounts. 4 tablespoons of this infusion are added to one liter of boiling water, left for an hour and filtered. The resulting product is added to the bath.
Juices and herbs
Infusions of herbs and juices help to remove not only external, but also internal swelling.
The following recipes are popular:
- Pumpkinjuice will help saturate the body with the necessary minerals, accelerate the removal of fluid from the tissues. To do this, drink half a glass of the remedy daily.
- A tablespoon of horsetail is poured into a glass of boiling water, insisted for twenty minutes. The broth is filtered and taken five times a day, two tbsp. spoons for three weeks.
Possible Complications
Consequences of starvation edema directly depend on the place of their occurrence, duration and severity. Prolonged accumulation of water in tissues adversely affects blood circulation, reduces the supply of nutrients to cells, leads to their compression, destruction of the structure. Due to edema, the functioning of the organ affected by them and those that are next to it is disrupted, resistance decreases.
In some cases, swelling has some benefit to the body. For example, during inflammation or intoxication, edematous fluid helps to significantly reduce the amount of toxins in tissues.
First, the doctor must study the pathophysiology of starvation edema. When treating a lesion, it is important to make the right diet and start taking the drugs recommended by the doctor.
