Edema is a sign that the body has a certain malfunction of organs or systems. But sometimes the reason lies in ordinary fatigue, wearing uncomfortable shoes or drinking too much liquid. Most often the problem worries women.
What causes swelling?
The causes include factors that interfere with the normal removal of fluid from the body. Some of them are not dangerous, while others require immediate medical attention.
There is also a physiological explanation:
1. Excessive consumption of liquids and salty foods.
2. Premenstrual syndrome. The reason is an imbalance of hormones, after the end of menstruation the swelling goes away.
3. Prolonged stay in a room with high temperature, in the sun in hot weather.
4. Excessive stress on the legs.
5. Wearing tight shoes, high heels.
Sometimes swelling of the legs is caused by taking certain medications. These include glucocorticosteroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, calcium antagonists. During pregnancy, women often face this problem. The reason is hormonal changes in the body, which provokes fluid retention, a growing uterus pressing on the inferior vena cava, which leads to disruption of the outflow of blood from the lower extremities.
Swelling is initially insignificant, and sometimes the person himself does not notice any changes. But after a while, discomfort arises when walking in shoes that were previously comfortable; after removing socks, traces of the elastic band are visible on the foot. Gradually, swelling can be recognized visually. If the culprits are fatigue, physiological changes, diet or temperature, then the swelling appears in the late afternoon. Adequate rest helps alleviate the condition.
If the cause of swelling lies in any pathology, then it can appear at any time. It is impossible to relieve swelling without medications. Depending on the disease, it is accompanied by other symptoms:
Ways to quickly relieve swelling
All of the following methods are suitable in cases where swelling is a consequence of overheating, wearing tight shoes or other physiological factors. But only a doctor can decide what to do in case of severe swelling.
1. Gymnastic exercises.
After a hard day of work, when your legs become swollen in the evening, you can do simple gymnastics. Basic exercises:
2. Baths and compresses.
If your legs are swollen not due to a chronic disease or pregnancy, then in such cases special compresses and baths will help:
3. Traditional medicine recipes.
If the cause of swelling is pregnancy or some disease, then using traditional medicine recipes without consulting a doctor is strictly prohibited. Otherwise, you can cause irreparable harm to your health.
Recipes for effective decoctions that you can prepare at home:
Often people self-medicate at home, resorting to various methods, believing that they themselves can cope with the problem, but this is wrong. Swelling of the lower extremities sometimes indicates dangerous diseases that require immediate treatment, and only a doctor should decide what to do in such cases.
If the swelling is short-term, caused by heat or excessive fluid intake, then it is not necessary to see a doctor. But when the swelling is permanent and a person experiences other alarming symptoms, then a visit to the doctor is the first thing to do. You cannot take any medications on your own or resort to traditional medicine, because all this can worsen the condition and lead to complications.
The therapist examines the limbs, interviews the patient, and prescribes an examination to determine further treatment. The main diagnostic methods used in such cases:
If the therapist deems it necessary, he can send the patient for a consultation with another specialist. Based on the test results, the cause is determined, and if necessary, the doctor will prescribe treatment that will combat the underlying problem.
To relieve swelling and prevent it from returning, you need to follow some recommendations:
1. reduce the amount of salt consumed;
2. warm up more often if you have to sit or stand for a long time;
3. after a hard day, lie down and raise your legs up;
4. resort to water procedures as often as possible - visit the pool, take a cool shower, take baths with sea salt and oils;
5. in hot weather, add to the diet foods that have a diuretic effect (watermelon, lingonberries).
Good day, readers of my blog!
As you know, alcohol abuse does not have the best effect on a person’s appearance. After drinking too much alcohol, swelling, puffiness and bags under the eyes may appear on the face.
From the following article you will learn how to quickly relieve swelling on your face at home.
Edema can have a different nature, which must be identified before starting treatment. So, experts identify several main types of edema :
The limbs, subcutaneous fatty tissue, pleural and abdominal cavities are most susceptible to edema.
The most common swelling is swelling of the legs. They can be caused by a variety of diseases. Swelling in the legs appears due to improper functioning of the kidneys and liver, heart and blood vessels, with venous insufficiency . The last cause of swelling in the legs is the most common. Foot swelling usually affects those who lead a sedentary lifestyle, have a sedentary job, or have to walk a lot in uncomfortable high-heeled shoes.
It is extremely rare to encounter swelling of the hands separately from swelling of other parts of the body. Therefore, they usually only complement the overall picture. Swelling of the hands appears along with swelling of the legs and face due to kidney disease and heart failure. This phenomenon may accompany pregnancy. Often, swelling of the hands appears due to an uncomfortable position during sleep or excessive stress on the wrists.
Perhaps the most common cause of facial swelling among Russian residents is nighttime gatherings drinking alcoholic beverages. Accordingly, the more you drink and the less time left to sleep, the more likely it is to see in the morning in the mirror a noticeably enlarged face and small “gaps” instead of eyes. It is worth noting that with age the chances of encountering such an unpleasant phenomenon seriously increase.
Before dealing with the question of why the face swells, it is necessary to find out what edema is from a medical point of view. In medicine, edema is understood as excessive accumulation of fluid in tissues, intercellular space and internal organs. Swelling of the maxillofacial area manifests itself in the form of changes in its contours, swollen eyelids, bags under the eyes, and general uncharacteristic swelling. Swelling itself is not a disease, but it signals possible health problems.
The face swells for various reasons . The main ones include:
Excess salt resulting from eating too salty foods and dishes: salted fish, smoked meats, homemade pickles and snacks. Salt prevents the timely removal of fluid, which is the cause of edema. In this case, swelling in the facial area may also appear in people who are not prone to alcohol abuse.
There are other reasons that cause swelling of the face after drinking alcohol. The likelihood of acquiring a swollen appearance after drinking depends on many factors: the person’s age, his general health, gender, heredity.
Important! If swelling begins to appear after each occasion of drinking alcohol in any quantity, this indicates either the development of chronic alcoholism or the presence of diseases of the internal organs. The only right decision in this situation is to give up alcohol and seek medical help.
There are many ways to remove swelling from the face after drinking, but it should be understood that the longer the period of drinking alcoholic beverages lasted, the longer the process of restoring a normal appearance will be. Moreover, the less alcohol a person drank the day before, the easier it will be for him to put his face in order after drinking.
If your face is swollen after drinking and what to do about it - a question that can arise in almost anyone after drinking alcohol. There is not a single cell in the human body that can resist the toxic effects of ethyl alcohol.
But under the influence of various factors (age, state of health, gender, heredity, etc.), this ability weakens and it becomes increasingly difficult for the body to cope with ethyl alcohol poisoning. Thus, the appearance of edema after alcohol is a clear sign that the internal organs cannot cope with intoxication. Read on to learn how to remove puffiness from your face after drinking alcohol.
There is no single universal way to remove puffiness from the face after drinking alcohol.
Eliminating the external consequences of long-term heavy drinking is much more difficult, and in some cases impossible. It is necessary to relieve puffiness and tidy up a swollen face using an integrated approach:
During the recovery period, complete abstinence from drinking alcohol is recommended.
Repeatedly proven traditional medicine will tell you how to relieve swelling of small swellings.
The following will help remove bags under the eyes and reduce swelling of the upper eyelids:
To relieve a hangover, sweet carbonated or low-alcohol drinks and coffee are not recommended. But mineral water, fruit drinks and dried fruit compotes without sugar, green or herbal tea are suitable.
There are many recipes to relieve swelling on the face: compresses, contrast baths, lotions with herbal infusions, masks made from simple and affordable ingredients, massage. Usually, a cosmetic defect is especially noticeable after the night, so procedures should be started immediately in the morning.
It is better to start with warm water, and after 15 seconds continue with cold water. It is important that the temperature is tolerable enough, not icy. After 15 seconds, start washing your face with hot water. The temperature regime needs to be changed again, and at the end of the procedure it will be clear that the puffiness on the face has noticeably decreased.
Water of contrasting temperatures stimulates blood circulation and lymph flow, and this promotes the outflow of fluid from tissues.
Cold water lotion
The procedure acts in the same way as contrast washing: it improves metabolic processes and eliminates stagnation. For lotions, you need to take a small terry towel, soak it in cold water, wring it out and apply it to your face. You need to keep the towel on your face for at least 10 minutes.
Prepare green tea at the rate of 1 tbsp. l. leaf for half a glass of boiling water. Let the solution brew and cool to room temperature, strain. Moisten a linen napkin with the solution and apply to your face. Leave for 15 minutes. During the procedure, it is better to take a relaxed, upright position. Afterwards wash with cool water. The tanning components of the tea leaf, acting on the skin, stimulate blood vessels and relieve swelling.
This procedure is quite easy to perform. It is enough to take a comfortable horizontal position and relax. The muscles of the neck and face should also be completely relaxed.
Step 1 . Using the fingertips of both hands, tap in the direction of the massage lines for 2-3 minutes.
Step 2 . Apply light and frequent pats to the cheeks, forehead and chin for one minute.
Step 3 . Using the pads of your thumbs and index fingers, pinch the skin in the direction of the massage lines. After the massage, rinse your face with cool water.
Facial exercise
If there is a tendency to swelling in the morning, it is useful for women, especially after 40 years, to perform a set of simple exercises every day.
Exercise 1 . Sitting position, back straight, shoulders straight. Perform circular rotation with your eyes, first to the right, then to the left (10 circles each).
Exercise 2 . Close your eyes as tightly as possible, hold for a few seconds, then suddenly open your eyes as quickly as possible. Repeat 7 to 10 times.
Drink at least 8 glasses of clean, spring or melt water every day under any conditions. There is also a way to calculate the required amount of water based on live body weight: 30 ml is recommended for 1 kg of weight. It is not difficult to calculate that when a person weighs 70 kg, he will need to consume 2.1 liters of H2O to recover.
This is exactly the amount of water that will help better flush out “extra” sodium ions and other toxins from the body. Of course, not every person can force himself to simply drink so much water. Therefore, it is allowed to replace it with herbal tea with honey, lemon, but it is better to exclude sugar completely.
It is better to take the following herbs: bear's ear, corn silk and others with a diuretic effect, which is useful against edema. Bay leaves can also help remove excess salts from the blood from edema. This traditional spice in the amount of 3-4 leaves should be poured with a glass of boiling water, and then the resulting infusion should be drunk a teaspoon every 15 minutes throughout the day.
It is better not to eat at night; it is recommended to sleep for at least 8-9 hours on a thick small pillow and a flat, elastic flooring or an anatomical mattress. The last meal is allowed 4 hours before bedtime. If it’s really hard to endure, you can drink a glass of kefir or fermented baked milk in half an hour, or better yet in an hour, but that’s all. All this is because the cause of edema is most often eating before bed.
The first thing to do if you constantly have swelling is to determine its cause . Perhaps swelling occurs due to poor nutrition. The use of large amounts of spices and salt leads to fluid retention in the body. In this case, it is enough to make small adjustments in the menu or recipes, and fluid exchange in the body will be normalized. It is not recommended to drink a lot before going to bed. Also, do not eat fried or smoked foods.
To prevent the appearance of edema, you need to try to make your cardiovascular system as resilient and strong as possible . To do this, you need to devote 15 minutes to physical exercise every day. Even at home, this will significantly strengthen and improve your heart health. An excellent way to prevent edema is running.
To avoid swelling due to vascular permeability, it is necessary to strengthen them. A contrast shower is suitable for these purposes. Changing hot and cold water has a great effect on the condition of blood vessels. You need to finish this water “gymnastics” with a cold shower.
Proper healthy kidney function is the key to the absence of edema. Kidney treatment should be carried out under the supervision of a specialist who will prescribe the necessary medications. Diuretic herbs may help.
Massage will help get rid of swelling of the hands and feet. Simple rubbing of the feet, hands, and fingers stimulates blood circulation and increases the outflow of fluid.
Swelling of the arms, legs, and face appears less frequently if the diet is rich in fruits, vitamins, vegetables, and herbs. Celery, onions, asparagus, watermelons, parsley, melons, grapes, pumpkin, and black currants are especially good for swelling. Dairy products can also reduce the appearance of edema: cottage cheese, kefir, yogurt.
Swelling may appear during extreme heat. To prevent them, it is recommended to adhere to a diet: do not eat salty, fried, smoked foods, drink a lot of clean water. Cool baths or swimming in ponds will also help. Cold or hot green tea will help restore water balance in the body and also perfectly eliminate thirst. In hot weather, you can safely go on a watermelon diet. Melons and watermelons are excellent hot season foods as well as a natural diuretic.
Health-improving procedures will help you avoid problems with swelling of the face and limbs: massage, yoga classes, visits to fitness centers and spa salons. It is very useful to follow a regime and adhere to a healthy lifestyle.
Any alcohol can become a trigger in the appearance of processes that form edema. It is important to understand that drinking alcohol leads to intoxication, which clearly disrupts the course of natural metabolic processes. If a person has had problems, then alcohol poisoning, even to a small extent, can manifest them and aggravate them.
Of course, you need to actively resist bad habits, such as smoking a hookah, drinking beer after work, and the like. These preventive measures will effectively combat the very cause of congestion and minimize puffiness, swelling and swelling on your body.
Such a nuisance as swelling of the legs in the foot area is very common and can be a sign of a disease. But in some cases it does not indicate a serious pathology. However, this condition should in no way be ignored, since it is possible to miss the beginning malfunctions in the body. Edema appears for various reasons, so first of all you will need to find out the etiology, and then begin treatment.
Swelling in the foot area is so noticeable that it is simply impossible not to detect it. It is not necessary to go to the doctor to determine whether there is such a problem. Swelling of the legs is especially easy to detect in people with low weight. If the feet suddenly increase in volume, this indicates swelling. Signs of swollen feet:
Edema feet become massive, swell, and the person often experiences pain. He usually characterizes this condition as “my legs ache.” When weighed, weight gain is detected, and when walking, heaviness and pain are possible. An important point: swollen feet lose their normal shape (“elephantiasis”).
You can check for swelling in a simple way (often used by doctors): after pressing on the area of the foot, there should be no dents left. The presence of such marks, which persist for a long time after pressing, will indicate that the foot is swollen.
According to statistics, most of the population have experienced swelling of the legs at least several times in their lives. However, not in every case we are talking about a disease. This often occurs in people with excessively high body weight. This problem often occurs with people whose profession in one way or another involves long periods of walking.
This condition cannot be ignored, since only a doctor can tell exactly why it arose. To make a diagnosis and in order not to miss alarm bells signaling pathology in the body, you need to see a specialist. If the swelling was associated with excessive stress on the legs, the swelling disappears on its own after some time.
However, if it remains and no methods help, this may indicate a rather serious disease. It should be said that heart defects and kidney diseases are accompanied by edema. They are almost constant companions of renal failure and other life-threatening pathologies. Often, people first learn about heart problems thanks to swelling of the legs.
Any condition that is not normal for the body always arises as a consequence of certain factors. These include both harmless cases and quite serious ones, which can be very dangerous for human life. Reasons why swelling of the feet appears:
Mild swelling of the feet in pregnant women does not always indicate pathology. It occurs quite often in expectant mothers. However, if the swelling is severe, this may indicate a pathology of the kidneys or heart. In any case, a pregnant woman should report even slight swelling to her doctor.
If thrombosis occurs, the foot may also swell, but in one specific affected area. Varicose veins are accompanied by pain and redness of the skin.
The same thing is observed with phlebitis. The expression “to be swollen from hunger” reflects a situation when a person feels the need for protein, which is not enough in the body. In this case, swelling is possible.
A very serious condition is health problems related to disruption of the cardiovascular system.
Therefore, if you have a bad cardiogram and these signs, you should immediately get advice and help from a cardiologist. Impaired kidney function can lead to swelling of the feet. If the kidneys fail to fulfill their mission, this can cause fluid to accumulate in the tissues. But only a doctor can make an accurate diagnosis after examination.
To really get rid of swelling in the legs, you should identify the reason why they appeared. And only after this can you begin therapeutic methods. It is unrealistic to get rid of swelling of the feet if the cause of this condition is health problems, especially very serious ones.
Impaired kidney and heart function always leads to this condition, so in this case you need to focus on treating the disease. And other diseases require the necessary measures to be taken.
It is important to remember that treatment is prescribed only by a doctor. You cannot diagnose yourself and try to get rid of the problem without consulting with specialists. If swelling appears in the feet, you need to follow these recommendations:
It is unrealistic to get rid of swelling of the feet if you have remaining health problems. Therefore, first of all, you need to identify the real cause and begin treatment of the diseased organ. For massive edema, diuretics are prescribed, and for pain, analgesics.
If the cause of the condition is pyelonephritis, antibiotic therapy will be required. For diseases of the heart and blood vessels, medications are prescribed that correct the functioning of this body system. For metabolic disorders, medications are prescribed by an endocrinologist.
You need to understand that edema is not the disease itself, but only one of its manifestations. Therefore, without eliminating the real cause, it is impossible to get rid of swelling of the feet. However, if they arose due to prolonged walking or a sedentary lifestyle, measures can be taken using traditional therapy methods. It turns out to be very useful in many cases and helps to really solve the problem of swelling of the legs.
Rubbing problem areas with ice made from a decoction of sage, yarrow and chamomile is very effective. Such herbs have an anti-inflammatory effect. And ice helps relieve swelling. It is recommended to lie down and put your feet on a pillow or bolster.
Simple exercises such as stretching the feet, bending, and finger movements also help. A contrast shower for the feet is also useful, for which each foot is immersed in either cool or warm water (alternately).
Foot baths made from herbal infusions are quite effective. To prepare one of them, you will need: 100 g each of chamomile, mint and birch. The herbs are poured with boiling water and infused for about 60 minutes. Then you can take a bath in the cooled infusion for about 15 minutes. You can also take foot baths using sea salt, soda and juniper berries (half a glass each).
An integrated approach to the problem of swelling of the legs in the foot area will not only alleviate your condition, but also get rid of this trouble completely. First of all, you need to undergo an examination to exclude serious pathologies. Traditional methods will be very useful along with the therapy prescribed by the doctor.
Lymphatic drainage massage is one way to relieve swelling. How to do it - see the next video.
Simple tips and tricks for quickly eliminating swelling on the face. Effective medications, as well as folk remedies against facial swelling.
Swelling on the face is often not so much a cosmetic flaw in appearance, but rather an indicator of hidden or obvious defects in the function of internal organs. When asking the question “How to remove swelling from the face,” you should delve as much as possible into the root cause of the problem. It will not be superfluous to have information that allows you to eliminate facial swelling in a short period of time.
The face is the first thing a person pays attention to when looking at himself in the mirror. And it becomes extremely unpleasant when the face swells. You immediately want to know how to quickly remove swelling from your face and solve the problem.
Insufficient overwork and stress are reflected in the appearance of swelling of the eyelids, bags and dark circles under the eyes. In such situations, you can remove swelling from the face with the help of cosmetics, procedures, or massage.
The first thing you should do is wash your face with cool water, then do a light massage of your face and eyelids. This optimizes blood circulation and lymphatic drainage, and accelerates the outflow of fluid from soft tissues. Massage should be done with fingertips and smooth hand movements.
You can combine massage with the application of cosmetics that include guarana, medicinal leech extract and ginseng. Cream or ointment is applied pointwise to the area of the nose, forehead and cheeks. Massage is best done from the center of the face to its edge, from bottom to top.
Movements when massaging the skin around the eyes should be directed from the nose to the temples. You should use a special cream or gel intended for this area of the face.
Swelling on the face can be removed by massaging the skin with ice cubes, for which infusions of green tea, chamomile, and mineral waters are used. Facial swelling quickly disappears if you apply a cool, damp cloth to your face for a few minutes.
If facial swelling is caused by acute or chronic diseases, cosmetic measures alone are not enough. In such cases, medications should be used. However, it is unwise to use them without first consulting a doctor.
Angioedema has a clear clinical picture. The body's reaction to contact with a foreign biologically active substance manifests itself in the form of a significant increase in the volume of fluid in the subcutaneous tissue. Dealing with soft tissue swelling in such a situation is not easy.
Angioedema is localized not only on the skin of the face. The mucous membrane of the nose, mouth and upper respiratory tract is severely affected. Therefore, what to do and what to do in this case should be discussed with your doctor.
If angioedema occurs, it will not be possible to quickly relieve the symptom without the use of antihistamines. The medicine or complex of medicines is selected by a doctor in a medical institution. Glucocorticoid ointment or cream is used if angioedema is caused by insect bites.
A sharp deterioration in a person’s health, shortness of breath, accompanied by swelling of the soft tissues of the face, requires immediate contact with a medical facility. Sometimes in such cases resuscitation measures are used.
Angioedema is treated with injections of suprastin, tavegil, as well as with prednisolone or dexamethasone. Antihistamine tablets: loratadine, cetirizine, desloratadine relieve swelling of the face. Angioneurotic symptom complex requires professional help.
Sinaflan and Akriderm ointments, Flucinar gel, Beloderm cream, Locoid ointment and cream reduce swelling of soft tissues if swelling on the face appears after an insect bite. Cream "Nezulin", ointment "Gistan" on a plant basis helps fight swelling in young children.
In acute and chronic diseases of the kidneys, liver, and heart, the face may swell greatly. Furosemide and hydrochlorothiazide diuretic tablets effectively remove fluid from the body and relieve swelling. Diuretics can be used short-term if swelling is caused by excessive salt intake and fluid retention in the body.
Facial trauma, surgery, and dental infections can cause significant facial swelling. The postoperative period is almost always accompanied by swelling. Swelling often appears during viral and bacterial infections. When the face swells very much during the postoperative period, diuretics and antihistamines are indicated.
Facial tissues become severely swollen due to injury. We have to deal with hematomas, for which special means are used. If you use a cream or ointment that contains heparin, troxerutin, bodyaga, and medicinal leech extract, the swelling will quickly go away.
When using traditional medicine, you need to understand that their use is possible as an addition to the main treatment. You should know the exact reason that caused the swelling of the face.
Locally, to relieve swelling of soft tissues, you can use gruel from raw potatoes, grated on a fine grater. A mask made from sour cream and kefir works in the same way.
To get rid of swelling caused by diseases of the internal organs and endocrine system, to improve the condition in the postoperative period, to optimize lymphatic drainage of soft tissues, it is advisable to take infusions and decoctions of medicinal plants orally. Such products perfectly remove fluid from the body.
Bearberry, lingonberry, birch leaves, violet grass, and horsetail have a diuretic and tonic effect.
Edema may be an indicator of poor health. It is important to promptly find out the causes of swelling on the face and take the necessary measures.
The concept of edema refers to the accumulation of fluid in the soft tissues of the body. Swelling is often noticeable after injury. The development of edema of the injured limb is associated with impaired blood circulation at the site of injury; a phenomenon, as a rule, is accompanied exclusively by injuries to the limbs.
Primary edema develops in the first hours after injury. It is possible to develop soft tissue edema in the long-term period, when there are no visible causes for its occurrence, and the integrity of the bone tissue is completely restored.
Often, swelling as a result of a heel or ankle fracture is long-lasting and difficult to treat. Along with deterioration of blood flow, swelling in the leg after a fracture is caused by ruptures of the soft tissues of the lower limb - muscles, ligaments or tendons.
Swelling of the leg after a fracture is always accompanied by severe aching pain. At the site of the heel or ankle injury, the color of the skin changes. When the fracture is comminuted, swelling affects the site of the lesion and the entire limb.
Therapeutic measures aimed at relieving swelling in the leg after a fracture include, first of all, normalizing blood circulation in the damaged area. It is possible to treat using such procedures from the first days after receiving an injury and applying a plaster cast.
Removal of edema begins with therapeutic exercises and massage procedures. Already in the first days it is allowed to start doing simple therapeutic exercises on the injured limb, starting with the thumb. Do not put any pressure on the damaged area in the first days. As the fracture heals and tissue integrity is restored, the intensity of physical exercise is gradually increased. If your leg hurts a lot when performing a set of exercises, it is recommended to reduce the load. As you recover, a traumatologist or physical therapy instructor will select an effective set of exercises that will help stimulate blood circulation and reduce swelling in the injured leg.
The massage is performed not at the site of the fracture itself, but in the area of the adjacent muscles. Massaging the muscles leads to improved blood circulation, elimination of stagnation of lymphatic fluid and swelling and rapid restoration of damaged tissue. The manipulation is performed by an experienced massage therapist; it is possible to learn self-massage techniques and perform the heel or toe massage procedure yourself. In addition to massage, the doctor has the right to prescribe hydromassage, which is performed by a specially trained health worker.
The limb massage is carried out in the direction from the fingertips to the proximal part of the limb. The procedure begins with stroking, without displacing the skin. Then they apply rubbing and kneading of the muscles. Above the fracture site, the muscle tissue is massaged more intensely. Massaging the fracture area is strictly prohibited due to the possibility of displacement of fragments and excessive growth of callus as a result of massage.
You cannot massage the popliteal fossa and the locations of large regional lymph nodes, avoiding the chance of provoking increased swelling and worsening the patient’s condition. It is permissible to massage using absorbable and anti-inflammatory balms.
When the cast is removed, massage of the injured limb is mandatory to prevent atrophic processes.
If massage or performing gymnastic exercises causes pain, it is allowed to carry out the procedure by immersing the limb in a bath of hot water.
Physiotherapeutic treatment has a good effect. Remember, the result will be noticeable gradually, try to be patient. All procedures are carried out after the cast is removed in a physiotherapy room. To eliminate edema, the following are prescribed:
You can eliminate swelling after removing the cast from your heel or ankle using a special ankle stop. In the absence of a device, resort to elastic bandages. Loads on the area of the joints closest to the fracture will need to be limited. This will speed up healing and make the treatment and swelling removal effective.
Medications are considered effective means of reducing swelling in case of a broken ankle or heel, or injuries to the toe. Traditionally, drug treatment of edema includes the use of gels and creams that reduce inflammation and swelling of soft tissues and have a resolving effect. They stimulate blood circulation and increase the outflow of lymph from the site of injury.
Ointments based on the direct anticoagulant heparin, gels and creams containing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory components are widely used. This includes Diclofenac, Ortofen and others. They relieve pain and swelling by blocking the release of inflammatory mediators in tissues.
Troxevasin gel reduces the permeability of vascular walls and strengthens, relieving swelling. Edema in the legs should be treated with medication under the supervision of a traumatologist or surgeon.
Drug treatment is prescribed in the first days after a heel or ankle injury. In the later stages, the doctor will prescribe compresses with ichthyol ointment, which has a warming and absorbable effect. It is permissible to rub the ointment into the skin at the site of injury until completely absorbed. Treat the leg with ointment twice a day.
Traditional treatment for edema takes time to show effect. To speed up the process, it is permissible to use medications in combination with folk remedies, time-tested and quite effective.
The reason for the difficult recovery of edema after an injury is the unsatisfactory general condition of the body - decreased immunity, general weakness, the presence of chronic concomitant diseases.
To stimulate the healing process and improve the general condition of the body, it is recommended to provide the patient with enhanced nutrition. Include essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals in your diet. Food must contain sufficient amounts of magnesium, calcium and zinc, which are necessary for good bone tissue regeneration.
You can take natural diuretics orally: a decoction of yarrow leaves, tincture of tansy flowers, lingonberry or birch leaves. Use flaxseed oil internally or topically.
If the swelling does not decrease over time, or pain appears at the site of injury, you need to consult a doctor to find out why the condition has worsened, and then select the appropriate treatment.
Swollen feet are a fairly pressing problem. Women most often encounter it, although the lower extremities also swell in the stronger sex.
The reasons why leg swelling may occur are quite varied, including:
Kidney diseases. In this case, not only the feet and legs, but also the face often swell. Possible addition of lumbar pain.
Vein diseases that cause varicose veins to develop. In this case, at first the legs will feel heavy and they will begin to swell, and spider veins and swollen veins will appear much later.
Heart disease is expressed in edema, which becomes especially noticeable in the evening, and subsides by morning. In addition to swelling, your feet will also become cold to the touch.
Hormonal imbalances, which provoke a slowdown in blood circulation, contribute to blood thickening, which ultimately results in the formation of edema.
Peculiarities of professional activity (most often people who spend a long time in a standing position are prone to the appearance of edema, for example, sellers, hairdressers, waiters, etc.).
Naturally, if edema appears regularly, it is important to consult a doctor and find out the cause of its occurrence. However, if you don’t have time to go to specialists, and swelling appears very rarely, then you can remove the swelling from your legs at home.
The following tips will help you achieve this goal:
Taking foot baths with added sea salt. To prepare the bath you will need three liters of hot water into which you need to add a handful of sea salt and a tablespoon of soda. After mixing, you need to put your feet in a container of water and wait 20 minutes.
Baths with herbal infusions. First you need to brew any herb, it could be chamomile, nettle, St. John's wort, elderberry or mint. For 0.5 liters of boiling water you will need four tablespoons of herbs, which will need to be infused for half an hour. Then the resulting infusion is poured into a basin, another 2.5 liters of water are added there and the legs are kept in this infusion for 15 minutes.
Contrast procedures are effective. To do this, alternately water your feet with hot and cold water. This procedure will not only eliminate swelling, but also improve blood circulation.
You can make ice using herbal tea. To do this, brew nettle or elderberry (3 tablespoons per 0.5 liters of water), infuse, strain and pour into ice molds. The resulting cubes can be used to wipe swollen feet. This procedure normalizes blood circulation, improves lymphatic drainage and relieves fatigue.
Special exercises for the legs can help reduce swelling. To normalize venous outflow, you need to lie on your back and raise your legs with emphasis on the wall. The well-known “bicycle” exercise helps well, when you need to spin imaginary pedals while lying on your back.
If your legs swell closer to morning, then a roller helps to cope with the problem. It should be placed under your feet while resting at night. However, the head pillow should not be too high.
A very effective method of combating swelling is massage. It helps eliminate stagnation of lymphatic fluid, normalizes blood circulation, and activates metabolic processes. Moreover, it is not at all necessary to go to the salon for procedures. You can do the massage yourself. It is good for this purpose to use massage oil with the addition of 2-3 drops of orange or grapefruit oil. This allows you to enhance the anti-edematous effect, and will also have a positive effect on the fight against cellulite.
Compresses made from fresh cabbage leaves have a good antitumor effect. To do this, large leaves need to be kneaded and applied to the legs, securing them with cling film or a gauze bandage. You can replace cabbage with burdock leaves or birch leaves. Keep such compresses for 60 minutes, although you can leave the leaves on your legs overnight.
Special compression stockings help fight swelling. They are especially effective for tumors caused by varicose veins.
Of course, such events allow you to remove swelling from the legs, which is caused by physical fatigue. However, if the lower limbs swell regularly, a doctor's consultation is necessary.
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There are certain recipes that allow you to remove swelling from your legs at home, including:
Infusion of parsley leaves. Place half a glass of fresh herbs in a thermos and pour 0.5 liters of boiling water. You need to keep the infusion for 2 hours, after which you should strain and take half a glass 3 times a day.
Rowan syrup. To prepare it, you need to take fresh berries, wash them thoroughly, grind them in a blender and squeeze out the juice. When its volume reaches 1 liter, you need to add 2 cups of sugar to it. Then the resulting mixture is placed on low heat and cooked until it thickens. You need to take 2 teaspoons of syrup per day with water.
Flaxseed decoction. You need to take 4 tablespoons of flax seeds, add 1000 ml of water and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Then the resulting decoction is infused for another hour. You can consume it after cooling, 120 ml 6 times a day. Any fruit juice helps improve the taste of the broth.
Hawthorn infusion. To prepare it you will need hawthorn flowers and berries (1 tablespoon each), which are poured into 0.5 liters of boiling water and infused for half an hour. You need to drink the infusion in the morning and evening, 100 ml at a time.
It helps to reduce swelling of the legs not only by ingesting certain infusions and decoctions, but also by simply choosing the right foods. The menu should include cucumbers, celery, radishes, broccoli, and lettuce. The fact is that often edema, not associated with any diseases of the body, is formed due to insufficient fluid intake. As a result, the body strives to preserve it and creates “reserves” that are localized in the ankle area. Therefore, it is so important to maintain a drinking regime and, in the absence of contraindications, drink 6 glasses of water a day, as well as eat fresh vegetables and fruits.
Potassium-rich foods are also useful for preventing edema. These are bananas, dried apricots, peaches.