Some people are faced with a situation that worries them for a number of days. For example, a tumor in the left leg below the knee. It is necessary to find out the cause of the occurrence; it may not be the only one. At the first symptoms, do not waste time, go for a consultation with a doctor as soon as possible, protecting your body from complications and preserving your health.
If the left leg is swollen, in selected cases the phenomenon can threaten health. The information presented in the article will indicate possible preconditions and suggest measures to respond to such a problem on the leg.
The causes of swelling are associated with excessive accumulation of water or inflammatory processes in joints and tissues. The first step to swelling is injury, prolonged sitting and standing. This includes the consequence of serious diseases (for example, the formation of a blood clot), existing circulatory difficulties. Moreover, the left leg is more susceptible to swelling than the right.
Typically, swelling of the legs occurs in parallel in both lower extremities, but often the event occurs in one leg, mainly the left.
The reasons may lie in the occurrence of arthritis. A tumor appears on the leg if the disease affects the knee or ankle area. The size of the lesion below becomes larger. A person experiences severe pain, which becomes an obstacle to the movement and functioning of the joints. If the patient suffers from a severe form of arthritis, it is difficult for the patient to transfer body weight to the affected side. You can’t let a disease like this happen; there is a risk of serious consequences. It is required to be regularly examined by a doctor to know about your health status. It is possible to prevent future leg damage.
An important factor that adds to the list of causes of swelling is the presence of a blood clot in the bloodstream. Most people have the misconception that the formation of such a formation brings some painful sensations, which does not happen often. The only symptom is swelling.
Extraneous accompanying symptoms include loss of sensation in the legs, pain in the damaged area, tingling or numbness. The sensations of heat and cold are considered characteristic of the left lower limb. The existence of a blood clot is extremely dangerous for a person; it is imperative to visit the treating doctor as soon as possible.
The most common cause of tumors of the lower extremities is considered to be predominantly fluid retention in the body. Both legs are affected by swelling. The reasons vary. The person may have been standing still for a long time. The prerequisites may lie deeper, in a more serious illness. For example, edema occurs with renal failure and heart disease.
Cases of trauma to the left extremity should be considered. Any damage to the leg leads to the formation of a tumor. The swelling bothers the patient until signs of tissue damage disappear without leaving a trace. In a short time, the appearance of swelling will result in a bone fracture, severe bruise and other types of injury. The pain experienced by the patient increases the effects of swelling. It is recommended to rush to visit a doctor. The doctor will provide assistance and advise on the tasks of reducing the consequences and effects of edema.
You can often find people suffering from swelling of the leg or foot. The tumor is caused by an allergy to a component in food, medicine, flowering plants, or insect bites. This condition is dangerous to health. Urgent use of an antihistamine or corticosteroid injection is required.
People with lymphedema experience tissue swelling. When pressure increases, blood is able to go beyond the capillaries and penetrate into neighboring tissues. Part of the blood is absorbed through venous capillaries or in the form of lymph through lymphatic capillaries.
Swelling occurs due to non-absorption into the capillaries; due to the disease, the lymphatic system is disrupted. This happens with excess body weight and inflammatory reactions on the surface of the skin. These swellings indicate the presence of a tumor and inflammatory processes in the pelvic area. Often the disease leads to swelling accompanying a person for life, and in a severe stage.
It is impossible to find girls who did not complain of swelling during pregnancy. Basically, the symptom goes away on its own, without greatly threatening the mother’s health. There are exceptions when urgent medical intervention is required.
While carrying a child, a woman often craves salty foods and consumes them without thinking about the formation of edema. Salt prevents fluid from leaving the body. You have to carefully monitor the level of salt in your food.
Preeclampsia is considered a dangerous point. With pathology, the girl’s blood pressure rises, headaches and convulsions appear. Urine contains protein. Such symptoms require urgent hospitalization. Remember, drugs with a diuretic effect should be taken only as prescribed by a doctor.
Other reasons could have contributed to the appearance of difficulties with edema. For example, the manifestation of malfunctions in the condition of the kidneys, blood vessels and heart, in the excretory system. Let's add external influence here:
In selected situations, even drugs designed to reduce inflammatory reactions lead to the formation of swelling of the left and right legs. Injury leads to inflammation, causing swelling in the specified area.
Compare your legs to each other. Sometimes the limbs are unevenly shaped and different. There may be some tension in the skin, which acquires a glossy shine.
An effective method of determination is usually finger pressure. See if a mark remains after pressing. The remaining hole indicates the seriousness of the situation; you should consult a doctor.
Popular and effective methods are maintaining rest, applying cold, compression and placing the limb on a hill. To achieve a similar effect, it is recommended to place the affected leg on a pillow, put on compression stockings, and apply cold to the disturbing area. A set of measures will allow you to quickly cope with swelling of the left and right legs, regardless of the cause of the ailment.
Other additional measures are known. This includes partial restrictions in food, in particular on salt content. It is necessary to perform physical exercises that promote the movement of blood to the lower extremities. You should use elastic tights to lose excess weight if necessary. Do not forget to inform your doctor about the medications you are taking. Don't stagnate, don't sit in one place, try to make more movements.
It is impossible to find the causes of edema on your own due to the many options; it is better to turn to professionals.
In some situations, you cannot hesitate; you need to quickly decide to consult a doctor. If your left leg begins to swell, followed by other symptoms, call an ambulance. The following are considered alarming indicators: sudden formation of swelling for no apparent reason, if the swelling formed after injuries. Characteristic features of a serious health problem include pain in the chest area, fainting and dizziness, confusion, and difficulty breathing.
Even after reading information about the possible causes of edema, it is impossible to make a correct diagnosis on your own. Self-medication will harm your health, trust the professionals.
Waking up in the morning or coming home after a hard day, some notice that swelling has appeared on their feet - a pronounced mark from the elastic of their socks remains and even their usual shoes have become too small. This is a signal that you need to pay attention to your health. And if swelling of the legs is accompanied by pain, then you definitely need to go to the doctor. After all, it is often simply impossible to independently determine why changes occur in the body due to the lack of necessary knowledge and skills.
Feet can become swollen for various reasons. For some, swelling is the result of physical strain, when you have to stand or walk most of the day. Someone wears uncomfortable shoes or drank a lot of liquid the day before. These are completely explainable and understandable phenomena. But other people face more serious problems - pathological processes in various organs and systems. Their legs may become swollen due to the following conditions:
As you can see, the list of possible factors is quite diverse - it covers diseases of various natures. And it is possible to understand which of them led to swelling of the legs only from the results of the examination.
If your legs are swollen, then the source of the problem should be sought not only among banal phenomena - the cause may be hidden in a rather serious pathology.
Swelling is detected by an increase in the volume of the lower extremities, which can be visible to the naked eye. Pathological changes in tissues can also be determined by palpation. But even a simple survey will provide some information to suggest the origin of the edema. Subjective and objective characteristics of this symptom include the following:
It very rarely happens that swelling in the legs occurs without other manifestations. Basically, it is possible to identify accompanying symptoms, which often have high diagnostic value for the doctor. Some patients feel only fatigue and heaviness in the lower extremities, and many situations are associated with pain. General signs of pathology may also develop, which indicate systemic disorders in the body. Therefore, if your leg is swollen, you need a complete picture of the disease, taking into account all the symptoms. To do this, you should consider the most common causes of swelling.
Local swelling in the ankle or knee area indicates that the joint has been damaged. In most cases, we are talking about inflammatory changes, i.e. arthritis - acute or chronic. The pain syndrome has some features:
Acute inflammation is characterized by local redness of the skin over the joint and an increase in its temperature. Movements of the lower limb, as well as palpation of tissues, are painful. Because of this, gait is disrupted and a person’s physical activity decreases.
If the swelling is local and is accompanied by pain in the joint, then you need to think about the possibility of an inflammatory pathology - arthritis.
The lower extremities are often subject to injury. This happens not only in sports and everyday life, but also during road accidents or at work. Bruises, sprains and ruptures of ligaments, dislocations or fractures are common conditions in the practice of a traumatologist. And each of them is accompanied by swelling of the tissue at the site of damage.
Immediately after an acute injury, sharp pain occurs, which forces the patient to spare the leg, which is reflected in the gait (lameness). The swelling increases quite quickly, and other symptoms of mechanical damage are also present:
Injuries to joints, for example the knee, can provoke the development of hemarthrosis (accumulation of blood in its cavity). Meniscus ruptures often occur with pinching of their parts between bone surfaces. Then leg movements are very difficult or simply impossible due to the blockade of the knee. With chronic injuries, swelling is much less pronounced, and pain occurs only with certain types of physical activity.
If the leg is swollen and painful, then pathology of the vascular system of the lower extremities cannot be ruled out. Both the arterial and venous components may be affected; even blockage of the lymphatic ducts is manifested by edematous syndrome. Therefore, in such a highly specialized area, differential diagnostics is needed. If we talk about arterial thrombosis or embolism, then in such cases the following signs are observed:
Varicose veins can be indicated by heaviness in the legs and swelling in the legs and feet that occurs in the evening. Under the skin, dilated superficial veins are noticeable, on which dense inflamed nodes can be detected. With deep vein thrombosis, the limb swells below the affected area. It is warm to the touch, bluish-purple in color, quite dense and painful.
When the lymphatic vessels are affected - as a complication of erysipelas, due to compression by tumors or after surgery - the swelling can reach very large sizes with the development of elephantiasis. The limb increases significantly in volume, the skin is dense, with trophic changes (cracks, increased keratinization, ulcers). But the leg does not hurt, although it is swollen.
Vascular disorders are a dangerous pathology, which, if not treated in a timely manner, can result in serious complications: gangrene, stroke, disability.
Bilateral swelling may be the result of cardiac or renal pathology, when fluid retention occurs in peripheral tissues. Decompensation of heart failure develops gradually over several weeks. The swelling is dense on palpation; after pressing, a pit remains on the skin. In addition, patients have other symptoms:
In addition, there will be signs of the underlying disease that led to heart failure: hypertension or coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, etc. But renal edema first appears on the face and only later spreads to other parts of the body. They are soft and loose, appear quite quickly - sometimes overnight. General signs of kidney damage also include:
Organ failure often leads to fluid accumulation in the subcutaneous tissue of the lower extremities. In this case, specific and general signs will indicate pathology of the heart or kidneys.
A swollen leg can be the result of an allergic reaction caused by an insect bite, medication, contact with a chemical, or consumption of a product. This process is both local and systemic in nature - it all depends on the amount of allergen entering the body and the strength of the immune system. A rash in the form of urticaria with severe itching often appears on the skin, and loose tissue responds with Quincke's edema. But more serious manifestations can also develop: bronchospasm and anaphylactic shock.
To understand why swelling in the legs appears, the patient needs to undergo additional examination. Based on the preliminary diagnosis, the doctor prescribes appropriate laboratory and instrumental methods that provide reliable information about local or general disorders in the body. These include the following procedures:
Since the problem under consideration is of multidisciplinary significance, the diagnostic process often involves not only traumatologists, but also other specialists: rheumatologists, vascular surgeons, cardiologists, nephrologists, allergists. Only after a comprehensive examination will it become clear where the source of swelling in the legs is and what needs to be done to eliminate them. In any case, the underlying disease should be treated first. A competent and professional approach to diagnosis and therapy will be the key to quickly eliminating unpleasant symptoms and improving the patient’s condition.
The appearance of swelling and pain in the hand cannot always be associated with any specific causes. Factors that cause these symptoms may indicate serious illness.
One or both arms become swollen due to various factors. It is not always possible for a person to independently determine why the volume of the joints, hand, wrist or entire arm has increased. Therefore, it seems that there are no reasons why the hand is swollen and hurts. In fact, it requires the help of a qualified professional to understand the origin of the symptoms.
The reasons that cause swelling and pain in the hand can be divided into two groups. The first group includes physiological factors that are not associated with diseases. In such situations, the symptoms usually disappear on their own, and nothing needs to be done. Other causes are caused by pathological processes and require mandatory treatment.
Sometimes the hands become swollen, and there is a feeling of stiffness and pain after intense physical activity. Athletes and people involved in strenuous physical work often complain of muscle pain and swelling. After a few days, the symptoms disappear without outside help.
Sometimes the hands and fingers of women become very swollen in the second half of pregnancy. Edema is considered natural and does not require treatment in cases where:
Fingers and hands swell during pregnancy due to hormonal changes.
Physiological edema also occurs with abuse of salty, smoked foods and alcohol. The body, trying to reduce the concentration of unusual products in tissues, retains fluid inside. In this case, not only the hands swell, but also the face, eyelids, and legs.
Hands and feet swell greatly if a person feels a lack of sleep and rest. Fingers and hands become swollen during long journeys in a sitting position. Heat also promotes the formation of edema.
Having discovered one day that the hand is swollen and painful, a person usually begins to analyze the events preceding this. If an injury occurred the day before, you may notice swelling at the site of the impact, as well as bluishness or redness. Dislocations, sprains, and fractures are characterized by great swelling and pain.
Almost all hand injuries involve prolonged immobilization of the limbs. This promotes rapid fusion of bones, restoration of muscle and tendon function, but negatively affects blood circulation and lymph flow. As a result of treatment, the hands and fingers swell, their mobility and sensitivity are impaired.
Pathologies of the urinary system are common causes of swollen fingers and hands. Fluid retention in tissues occurs with urolithiasis, renal failure, and pyelonephritis. Sometimes swelling of the hands is the first noticeable sign of kidney disease. That is why it is necessary to pay attention to this and take timely measures.
The cause of stagnation of fluid in the arm area may be poor circulation. This failure may appear in the following cases:
Vascular thrombosis, as well as cardiac dysfunction, are among those pathologies that may not be detected for a long time. It seems that the hands are swollen for no apparent reason. In fact, this is a big mistake. It is necessary to urgently consult a doctor, do special examinations, and eliminate the cause of the swelling.
Dysfunction of the lymphatic system causes edema. Hands and fingers increase in volume. In this case, a person may feel stiffness, which is not accompanied by pain.
Hands and fingers become swollen due to allergies. Insect bites, eating certain foods, using certain medications, and exposure to sunlight can cause an allergic reaction. The use of hormonal agents (estrogens, glucocorticoids), as well as vasodilators, can provoke swelling of the hand and fingers.
Often it is not the entire hand that swells, but only the joints. This is associated with diseases such as arthrosis, arthritis, osteomyelitis, bursitis, gout. The reasons why joints hurt and become inflamed in these pathologies are varied.
With arthrosis, the cartilage tissue of the phalanges and wrists is affected. The joints hurt a lot and swell. A person can hardly do anything with his hands. Over time, arthritis occurs when the joints become inflamed, swollen and deformed. A provoking factor in the development of some joint diseases can be an infectious disease, stress, as well as a hereditary predisposition.
Osteomyelitis belongs to the group of severe infectious pathologies that affect bone tissue. In addition to the fact that the disease causes severe pain in the joints, swelling, chills, intoxication, and increased body temperature.
Gout belongs to the group of metabolic pathologies. When the disease occurs, the fingers become swollen, severely painful, and the joints become enlarged due to the deposition of uric acid salts in them. An exacerbation of the disease occurs whenever a person eats foods that contain a high percentage of purines (fish, meat, cocoa, cheese, coffee, tea) or alcohol.
Most people, faced with the problem of edema, believe that the best solution is to use diuretics. This tactic gives positive results in some situations. At the same time, the use of diuretics without consultation with a doctor most often gives a negative result.
You should know that all synthetic diuretics belong to the group of prescription drugs. This is due to the fact that diuretics have a number of serious side effects, which only a specialist can take into account. To reduce the risk of developing negative reactions, the doctor often prescribes additional medications that correct the balance of essential ions in the body and prevent the occurrence of hypotension or seizures.
To cope with swelling in the hands, you need to find out the cause of their appearance. If the hands and fingers swell for reasons unrelated to disease, then the body is able to solve the problem on its own. You can speed up the process using:
Only in cases where joints and muscles hurt severely does it make sense to use special remedies.
The doctor must be informed about edema that appears during pregnancy. The specialist will conduct additional examinations, determine why the swelling appeared, and assess the potential risk of symptoms for the expectant mother and child.
To cope with swelling caused by eating foods high in sodium salts, you should be sure to drink as much purified water as possible. This simple technique will help the body quickly get rid of accumulated salt.
Swelling of the hands that occurs against the background of pathologies of internal organs and blood vessels cannot be eliminated unless the disease that caused the symptom is treated. Therefore, the first thing you should do if your joints, hand, or entire arm swells is to seek help from a medical facility and not self-medicate. We must not forget that barely noticeable symptoms can be the first signs of serious illnesses.
A situation often occurs when a person does not know what to do with sudden pain in the leg or swelling. What it could be, how to treat it and which doctor should be consulted first - that’s what we’ll talk about today.
If the leg is red and swollen, this may not only be a manifestation of complications of varicose veins. Although a condition such as thrombophlebitis often gives such symptoms (after all, the formation of blood clots in the veins is most often a consequence of varicose veins).
Here are the diseases that cause your legs to become red, swollen and sore:
Let's deal with everything in order.
Inflammation of the joints (arthritis) and the non-inflammatory disease gout cause symptoms such as pain in the big toes, feet and heels. The area around the joints may become swollen and red. There is often pain when pressed.
Joint diseases are treated by a doctor called a rheumatologist. He will examine your limbs and prescribe the necessary tests to clarify the diagnosis. Treatment of joint diseases sometimes drags on for years, especially in older people and those with weakened immunity.
If your leg is red and swollen and also hurts, most likely you have acute phlebitis. If the superficial veins are affected (they are located under the skin), the pain will be severe. When the deep veins (which are located deep within the muscles) are involved in the process, the pain is not as severe, but the leg may hurt when pressure is applied.
You will be prescribed an ultrasound examination, a blood test for coagulation and other components.
If the diagnosis is confirmed, then IVs, injections, blood thinners and bed rest will be prescribed. This is for the first time. Then you will just need to walk and move so that the blood does not stagnate.
When, in addition to pain and swelling of the lower limb, there are so-called “paresthesias” - tingling, a feeling of “pins and needles”, this happens when a nerve is pinched between the vertebrae. After all, branches go from the central nerve trunk to the legs, and squeezing them leads to unpleasant sensations.
The neurological nature of the disease is also confirmed by the fact that pain occurs first in one leg, then in the other. The doctor who will help you is a vertebrologist (from the Latin word “vertebra” - vertebra). This specialist will make the correct diagnosis, tell you in which part of the spine the problem is, and prescribe treatment.
It would seem that there is less blood flowing, where does the swelling come from? But it's not that simple. In some heart diseases, “cardiac edema” occurs. And arterial diseases (for example, diabetes) are almost always accompanied by swelling and pain.
Therefore, you should definitely visit a cardiologist to have an ECG done, your blood sugar checked, and your arteries and veins examined.
Do you know about a non-surgical method for treating coxarthrosis? Read here.
You will be surprised, but very often the legs swell and turn red due to erysipelas. This is an infectious disease caused by hemolytic streptococcus. It often affects patients with varicose veins, especially in the later stages, when the skin is thinned, abrasions and ulcers easily appear, into which infection penetrates.
Erysipelas gives serious complications:
This is what erysipelas looks like
This condition is treated by a dermatologist - sometimes on an outpatient basis, but in severe cases you have to go to the hospital, and doctors of other specialties - cardiologists, surgeons - are involved in the treatment.
Of course, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, antiallergic drugs, and drugs that strengthen the vascular wall are used.
Sometimes surgery is necessary to open the blisters and apply a sterile dressing. Next, physiotherapeutic treatment methods are used, for example, electrophoresis.
So which doctor should you see first?
There are two options - it should be a phlebologist (at best) or a vascular surgeon. These specialists, if necessary, will refer you to other doctors if they do not find “their” pathology.
For more information about erysipelas, watch this video:
Many people have no idea what to do if they are faced with a problem where, for no apparent reason, the leg is swollen, red and itchy. A person begins to suffer from inexplicable pain, and it is difficult to say which doctor to run to.
Most of us, in general, will stay at home and endure troubles with our legs. People honestly limp to work, loosening their shoelaces to get their swollen leg in. Indeed, most often swelling, itching and redness indicate a bruise or exacerbation of varicose veins. Patients do not lose hope that it will go away on its own. This often happens. But if a minor injury in most cases does not bring complications, then a problem such as varicose veins will recur again without treatment. Until it gets worse until you have to meet with a surgeon.
It is better to immediately find out the causes of redness and swelling of the legs. This will make it possible not to start the disease. If the doctor doesn’t find anything, all that’s left to do is rejoice!
Unfortunately, the situation when the legs hurt, itch and swell may indicate disorders that seem to be unrelated to the limbs. There are plenty of diseases with similar symptoms. Serious diseases such as:
This is only the minimum set, causing similar symptoms of the limbs - red, itchy, swollen. So, let’s try to decide in which cases you don’t need to worry, and when you need to visit a medical facility.
Such symptoms, when the toes are red, swollen and itchy, occur with gout and arthritis. In this case, the joints suffer. They experience a sensation of pain that can be felt by pressing on the joint. The doctor who deals with this problem is a rheumatologist. The necessary tests and necessary treatment will be prescribed. These are anti-inflammatory drugs and ointments.
Treatment of joints is a complex and not very effective process. Sometimes it continues for years, and in advanced cases with older people, for the rest of their lives. The prognosis is not very encouraging, so it is better to prevent the disease at the very beginning.
Acute phlebitis affects the veins under the skin. Swelling occurs, and pain is felt along the affected vessels. If the deep veins are affected, it does not hurt much. In the affected areas there is redness, itching, and lumps appear. Vascular surgeons (phlebologists, angiosurgeons) deal with similar problems. Treatment is carried out in a hospital setting, using IVs and injections that thin the blood.
Sometimes people call the sensations in their toes “pins and needles.” A similar situation, where the toes are swollen and itchy in the form of tingling, is possible when a nerve is pinched. The branch of nerves that go to the legs causes unpleasant sensations. Symptoms may appear periodically in either the right or left leg.
A doctor called a vertebrologist deals with such diagnoses. His task is to determine the affected part of the spine and prescribe the correct treatment.
Problems with our motor and arteries cause swelling in the limbs. Unreasonable swelling of the toes up to the knee, should be prompted, do a cardiogram. A cardiologist will tell you detailed information about your heart condition. The examination includes tests for sugar contained in the blood and a careful examination of the arteries and veins.
This is the popular name for erysipelas. The disease is infectious in nature and is caused by hemolytic streptococcus. People with varicose veins have a high chance of getting sick. You need to pay attention if your legs are swollen, itchy and red. The skin is very itchy and itchy. The disease progresses quickly, affecting an increasingly larger area. The complications are serious:
A dermatologist will identify the pathogen and prescribe the necessary medications. In difficult situations, a hospital is required.
Diseases that arise gradually and cause severe discomfort mainly between the toes and on the feet. Even the affected little finger can itch so much that it is impossible to sleep at night. Why does this problem occur? What do we have to do?
If you have questions like this, go straight to a dermatologist, as self-treatment will not help. Fungal infections take a long time to spread. May begin on one little finger and spread to both feet. The patient's feet are constantly itching. Over time, painful cracks appear. Doctors prescribe special ointments for external use and oral medications.
We have looked at only a few serious diseases that cause symptoms when the legs hurt, itch and swell. There are many more dangerous diseases that also manifest themselves. By paying attention to such problems in time, you can avoid the progression of serious diseases. The main thing is not to be lazy and go to the doctor.
You can treat such leg problems without worry if you know that the cause is the consequences of minor injuries. Minor cuts, sprains, burns and other similar phenomena. They will go away on their own, after some time, and the legs will stop swelling. Healthy legs are the key to an active, fun life on the move!
The ankle or ankle is perhaps the most mobile part of the leg. Her bones, ligaments and muscles are actively involved when walking and running. It is not surprising that in the event of any pathology, a person experiences discomfort with any movement, which significantly worsens his daily life. If your leg is swollen in the ankle area and it hurts, what should you do and why do such symptoms occur?
Why do my feet swell at the ankles? Swelling and pain in the leg near the ankle can have different causes. Since this part of the body is actively involved in walking and running, ankle injuries often occur. It is not surprising that people who lead an active lifestyle and play sports often suffer from this.
In addition, it happens that the ankle hurts and swells, if you spend the whole day on your feet, banal fatigue takes its toll. The situation is aggravated when a person, and more often this concerns women, wears uncomfortable shoes. Shoes that compress the foot completely or only in the toes, with an uncomfortable instep, and even more so with high heels, will certainly cause the ankle to hurt and swell. In addition, it may even be painful to step on your foot, and your limbs may feel like they’re numb. These symptoms appear in the afternoon. And at night, the muscles of a tired leg can cramp.
In general, this condition is not dangerous. However, we should not forget that constantly wearing tight shoes impairs blood circulation in the feet, and this can lead to a number of unpleasant pathologies. If you often walk in stiletto heels, there is a risk of causing irreversible deformities such as transverse flat feet or the formation of a bump at the base of the first toe. In addition, a high arch of the foot is very unstable and can lead to injuries such as sprains and dislocations.
If your leg is swollen and painful, any of the injuries could be the cause. As a rule, you can get them when doing active sports, for example, while running, skating and skiing, during a parachute jump, as well as when falling, for example, on ice in winter.
The most minor of these injuries is a bruise. With it, the damaged area swells a little, redness appears, and then a hematoma. However, when it comes to the ankle specifically, a sprained or torn ligament is much more common. The thing is that the joint in this place experiences a very large load, especially during sports. Therefore, if you move incorrectly, it is easy to get such damage. Symptoms may include:
In addition, dislocation in the ankle area is also common. It is characterized by joint deformation, swelling, and the inability to stand on the leg due to pain. When an injury occurs, a characteristic clicking sound can be heard as the bone is pushed out of the joint.
The most serious injury to the ankle is undoubtedly a fracture. A sharp pain is felt both when trying to move the limb and during palpation. The ankle swells, a blue-violet hematoma appears, and sometimes a crunching sound can be heard. To determine the nature of the injury, you need to contact a traumatologist and take an x-ray.
If an elderly person has a swollen ankle and it hurts to step on the foot, it is quite possible to assume a disease such as arthritis of the joint. It is characterized by:
Arthritis can affect one joint or both joints at the same time. This disease requires mandatory treatment. In its absence, after a few years the articular cartilage may completely collapse.
If your ankle or foot is swollen and your joints are very painful, and these symptoms appear unexpectedly, often at night, the development of gout cannot be ruled out. This disease is characterized by the deposition of uric acid salts in the joints, which occurs due to metabolic disorders. Most often, the disease affects the big toes, however, in some cases, the ankle, elbow, knee joints or fingers may become inflamed.
The lower part of the leg, particularly the shin and ankle, can become swollen as a result of varicose veins. This disease leads to irreversible dilation of the veins, thinning of the venous wall and the formation of nodules. At the same time, at the initial stage of the disease, a person may feel heaviness and fatigue in the legs, especially towards the end of the day, the ankles become swollen. Later, a small venous network appears, and then dark blue dilated veins begin to protrude. This is all accompanied by aching pain, a feeling of heat and night cramps.
If your ankle is swollen and it hurts to walk, but the other leg remains unchanged, thrombophlebitis is quite possible. This disease is an inflammation of the walls of the veins, accompanied by the appearance of a blood clot. More often, women over the age of 40 are susceptible to this disease. The following symptoms can be identified:
If swelling appears in the leg, another cause may be an allergic reaction. Most often, this condition is observed in the summer after an insect bite (bees, wasps, mosquitoes, fleas, etc.) or upon contact with certain plants (hogweed, nettle). In addition to swelling of the ankle, there is itching, redness, sometimes a rash and mild pain.
Another possible allergen can be some medications, which also cause swelling of the extremities. In particular, these include various hormonal drugs, for example, birth control pills.
Swelling and other unpleasant sensations in the legs cannot be ignored. But if the diseases that caused them need to be treated only with the help of a specialist, then in the case of an incorrect lifestyle, you need to take some measures yourself. It is important to know if your ankle is swollen and hurts, what you can do and what you can’t do.
If you are suffering from swelling and pain in your ankles, there are several rules that you can follow to alleviate the condition:
What to do at home to relieve swelling of the ankles? Some folk recipes, in particular diuretics, can help get rid of this symptom.
The simplest diuretic can be considered a mixture of freshly squeezed juices of lemon, cucumber and carrots in equal proportions. The drink can be diluted with water and taken three times a day.
Flax infusion has proven itself well. To prepare it, 1 tbsp. l. seeds need to be poured with a liter of boiling water and boiled for 15 minutes. Let it brew for an hour and take 100 ml. 6-8 times a day.
To prepare a mint drink, you need to pour 30 g of mint with a liter of boiling water and leave for 1-2 hours. Drink in small portions at least three times a day.
What to do if your ankle is swollen and painful as a result of an injury? Before contacting a traumatologist, it is necessary to provide first aid to the victim. Actions taken in the first minutes after the injury are precisely aimed at relieving pain and swelling.
First, you need to provide the injured limb with complete rest. Try not to move your ankle, much less walk. It would be better to place it on a hill, for example, on a pillow or bolster.
Next, you need to apply a cold compress. This can be ice wrapped in a soft cloth, ice water in a heating pad or bottle, or any frozen product. This will dull the pain and relieve swelling.
In case of severe injury, such as a dislocation or fracture, the limb should be immobilized using a splint. An open wound requires disinfection with an antiseptic and the mandatory application of a sterile bandage to avoid infection.
There can be many reasons for swelling and pain in the ankles. If these symptoms occur regularly, you should consult a specialist who will identify the disease and prescribe effective treatment. When an incorrect lifestyle is to blame, you can independently take some measures to relieve swelling of the extremities. It is important to know if your leg suddenly swells in the ankle area and it hurts, what to do and how to reduce the discomfort. Be that as it may, such symptoms should not be ignored. Take care of yourself and be healthy!
Almost every person faces the question of why the feet and ankles swell throughout their lives. This phenomenon not only brings physical discomfort and pain, but also causes certain moral suffering associated with the unsightly appearance of the limb. Legs can swell under the influence of a wide variety of internal and external factors. The swelling may be localized or may affect the legs from the feet to the hips, affecting the knees and thighs. Let's look at the most common conditions that cause swelling of the ankles and serious and painful deformities of the lower legs.
If, after a fall, injury or injury, the leg in the ankle area is swollen, then this is the consequence of a violation of the integrity of the blood and lymphatic vessels. Mechanical damage leads to fluid accumulation in the foot area. This occurs due to a decrease in pressure in the blood vessels. Fluid stagnation causes severe swelling of the ankles, gradually spreading to the knee joint.
If swelling of this kind does not subside within a few days, it can lead to the following consequences:
Normal swelling from a leg injury can pose a huge health hazard. If your leg hurts and the swelling does not subside for more than three days, you should urgently seek medical help. The doctor will prescribe medication, physiotherapy or surgical treatment. Delay may result in loss of limb or death.
Varicose veins are often the cause of a swollen ankle or other lower leg. This is a rather unpleasant and painful disease, accompanied by the formation of voluminous nodes and convolutions in the veins. As a rule, varicose veins occur on the outside of the calf muscles. The prerequisites for this disease are disturbances in the functioning of the venous valves, which prevent blood stagnation in the lower extremities. In this case, the knee may also ache.
The causes of varicose veins are:
As a rule, such changes are irreversible. In order to reduce swelling and stop further vasodilation, the patient is prescribed treatment in the form of ointments and injections, wearing elastic bandages and bandages. If you perform a simple surgical operation, the swelling of the lower extremities will stop. After this, a person needs to radically change his lifestyle so that such a phenomenon as edema never happens again.
If your feet and ankles swell without any reason or identified disease, then the reason for this may be an incorrectly selected wardrobe. This applies equally to men and women regardless of their age.
If the lower limb suddenly and for no reason swells, then the reason for this may be the following mistake in choosing shoes or clothing:
If you do not switch to wearing loose haberdashery and comfortable shoes, you may develop one of the diseases of the circulatory system or the musculoskeletal system.
Swelling of the soft tissues of the ankle joint near the bone is observed in almost all women during pregnancy. This is a completely natural phenomenon and should not be a cause for alarm.
The reasons why pregnant women have swelling and pain in their legs may be:
The only concern during pregnancy should be swelling that affects the left ankle joint. This is an alarming symptom, so if it is detected, you should immediately contact an antenatal clinic. The attending physician will tell you what actions to take to avoid complications for the child and the expectant mother.
Quite often, swelling in the lower extremities occurs under the influence of external factors. This may be the body's reaction to bites from animals, snakes and insects.
So, a leg can swell when it bites:
In all cases, it is advisable to consult a doctor to avoid irreparable complications for life and health.
In some cases, the inflammatory process in the lower legs occurs due to infection. It can be of internal or external origin.
External causes include scratches or open wounds. Through them, pathogenic organisms enter the flesh, provoking inflammatory processes, suppuration and necrosis. This is why external wounds must be treated with alcohol and hydrogen peroxide immediately after they occur. Wearing a bandage is mandatory until the wound is completely healed.
An internal infection can spread to the ankle from an arthritic knee or hip joint. Quite often, swelling of the lower leg is a consequence of wearing a very tight bandage or elastic bandage. A sudden swelling of the ankle may well mean an allergic reaction to some medicine, food or clothing fabric.
Thrombophlebitis is a rather dangerous disease. The cause of its occurrence is a disruption of the endothelium layer lining the walls of blood vessels. This leads to increased blood clotting and the formation of blood clots. Internal and external veins are affected by thrombophlebitis. Particularly dangerous are clinical cases when a blood clot clogs internal vessels. The limb begins to hurt and swell very much.
The prerequisites for the occurrence of thrombophlebitis are as follows:
Thrombophlebitis requires long-term and qualified treatment, which involves taking medications, wearing corsets and physical therapy. In severe cases, surgical intervention is performed.
Elephantiasis of the feet most often occurs in women. This is due to the fact that their bodies undergo dramatic changes during pregnancy and after childbirth. This feature leads to disruption of the structure of blood and lymphatic vessels, weight changes and deterioration of metabolism. Elephant disease develops slowly and gradually. In some cases, this period can be decades. The main reason for swelling of the legs, which reaches a huge size, is the cessation of the movement of lymph through them and the occurrence of progressive stagnation.
The following factors may be prerequisites for the appearance of lymphedema:
With qualified treatment, elephantiasis can be successfully cured.
People are understandably interested in what to do about legs that are swollen at the bottom.
In such cases, you need to do the following:
If such actions do not give the desired result, then you need to consult a doctor. Self-medication in such cases is unacceptable.