Why do legs, arms and face swell and what to do about it

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Swelling can be helpful. But most often it signals that something is wrong with your health.

This "not so" can range from "okay" to the prospect of imminent death. Therefore, do not ignore the swelling.

When you need to urgently call an ambulance

Seek immediate medical attention if you experience any of the following symptoms of Leg Swelling: When to Call the Doctor:

• edema appeared suddenly and rapidly increases in size;
• it (regardless of the place of appearance) is accompanied by shortness of breath, chest pain;
• at the same time as the onset of edema, you feel anxiety, severe dizziness or headache;
• only one leg is swollen.

Calling an ambulance is optional, but try to consult a doctor as soon as possible if:

• swelling (we are talking about any part of the body) does not go away with time;
• you have heart, liver, or kidney disease;
• The swollen area is red and feels hot to the touch
• swelling accompanied by fever;
• You are pregnant.

What is edema

Edema occurs when water is retained in the tissues of the body. Most often this happens with EDEMA legs - fluid accumulates in the area of the feet, ankles, ankles. But swelling can often be found on other parts of the body - arms, stomach, face.

Excess water appears from the blood vessels: after all, it is the basis of blood plasma.

When the blood stagnates in a particular area, moisture begins to squeeze out through the walls of the vessels into the intercellular space. There are other options: when the walls of the vessels, for one reason or another, become more permeable, or there is a substance in the tissues that delays the excretion of excess fluid. What exactly you have depends on the cause of the swelling.

Where does the edema come from?

Here are the most common causes of What Is Edema? …

1. You are injured or burned

A deep scratch, a bee sting, a sprained ankle, a burn - any of the injuries that have affected the inner layers of the skin, our body considers a danger. And he reacts to it with edema. The more fluid from the blood vessels in the damaged area, the more white blood cells there are to fight off possible infection.

2. You drink too much or too little

In the first case, the kidneys do not have time to remove excess fluid from the body. A lot of water accumulates in the blood plasma, it squeezes out through the walls of blood vessels.

In the second, when there is a catastrophic lack of fluid, the body begins to make its reserves in the intercellular space. Therefore, edema often appears in the heat. They are a signal that you are approaching dehydration.

By the way, large doses of alcohol also provoke a lack of fluid. With corresponding "swollen" consequences in the morning.

3. You ate a lot of salty foods

Normally, excess fluid from the intercellular space goes to the same place where it came from: it returns to the vascular system again. But salt retains water in tissues. As a result, the love for salted fish or pickled cucumbers often turns into swelling.

By the way, hyaluronic acid, which is used in rejuvenating beauty injections, has the same moisture-retaining effect. If you overdo it with injections, you can get a swollen face instead of a youthful face.

4. You are on a low protein diet

If the body lacks proteins, its tissues, including the walls of blood vessels, become less elastic and more easily pass moisture into the intercellular space. Therefore, vegetable or fruit fasting days, which are popular in summer, can also become the cause of puffiness.

5. You have been in the same position for too long

We mentioned the connection between circulatory stagnation and edema above. This type of edema most often affects the legs - for example, if you have been standing or sitting for too long - and arms if they were in an uncomfortable position.

6. You are a woman and you have PMS

Hormonal fluctuations in premenstrual syndrome are often accompanied by Water retention: Relieve this premenstrual symptom by the accumulation and retention of fluid in the tissues.

7. You are pregnant

As in the previous case, hormonal fluctuations are to blame. The same reason works if you are approaching menopause or are taking oral contraceptives.

8. You are taking certain medications

Puffiness can be a side effect of even seemingly innocent EDEMA preparations:

• Popular pain relievers such as ibuprofen or naproxen
• medicines for high blood pressure;
• some drugs used for diabetes;
• steroids.

9. You are allergic

In response to an allergen that has entered the body, the vessels located near the place of its highest concentration release liquid into the tissue in order to quickly neutralize and remove the danger.

10. You have a serious illness related to the work of internal organs

This situation can be assumed if the swelling becomes chronic, that is, it manifests itself regularly, day after day. There are several diseases and disorders that cause tissues to accumulate excess moisture.

• Chronic heart failure. The heart cannot pump blood efficiently, so it stagnates in the blood vessels, which leads to edema. The legs are most often affected, but heart failure is also manifested by swelling in the abdomen.
• Kidney disease. Damaged kidneys cannot cope with the removal of excess water from the body. Swelling usually occurs on the legs and around the eyes.
• Hepatitis and cirrhosis. In this case, fluid most often accumulates in the legs and abdomen.
• Chronic venous insufficiency. Injuries or weak walls of the veins in the legs lead to the fact that blood is retained in the lower extremities, provoking edema. This is a dangerous condition: blood stasis sometimes leads to the formation of blood clots. If such a blood clot breaks off and goes into the bloodstream, it can block the work of the heart. Therefore, severe edema on one of the legs is an indication for an urgent call to an ambulance.
• Lymphostasis. This is the name of malfunctioning of the lymphatic system. It is she who helps to cleanse the tissues of excess fluid. Lymphostasis often occurs with obesity or cancer treatment.

How to remove edema

It depends on what exactly caused it. If it is understandable - for example, you were bitten by a wasp, you got scratched or touched yesterday at a party, you don't have to worry: in the vast majority of cases, the body copes with such edema on its own.

If the legs, arms, face swell regularly and you do not know what exactly this is caused, do not delay visiting a therapist. The doctor will establish a diagnosis and will not miss the disorders that are dangerous to health and life.

Good news: if you're not talking about really dangerous diseases, you can eliminate fluid retention by making a little lifestyle change:

• Limit salt and alcohol intake.
• Stay hydrated.
• Move more - this will prevent blood from stagnating.
• Talk to your doctor about taking diuretics - this can be, for example, pharmacy teas with a diuretic effect or diuretic drugs.
• Eat more foods that contain magnesium. This trace element is abundant in oatmeal, bananas, almonds, broccoli, beets. You can also take pharmacy supplements, but be sure to consult with your therapist about this.
• Set aside time for massage: this can improve the Systematic Review of Efficacy for Manual Lymphatic Drainage Techniques in Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation: An Evidence-Based Practice Approach to remove excess fluid from the tissues. Just be sure to talk to your doctor! There are situations when massage is contraindicated.