Leg swelling due to varicose veins

Causes of leg swelling in the ankles and proper treatment

At least once in their life, everyone has encountered such a problem as leg swelling. What is edema? This is the accumulation of excess fluid in organs and tissues. Swelling can occur anywhere: on the arms, legs, neck, under the eyes, and so on. Their location and appearance depend on the cause that provoked the development of swelling. Often, a doctor diagnoses the disease based on characteristic swelling.

Why do my feet swell at the ankles? The reasons and how to treat this condition in men and women - this article will tell you about it.

What Causes Swelling

The appearance of leg swelling in the ankles in men and women can be caused by many factors. The reasons may be relatively harmless:

1. Staying in a static position for a long time (for example, standing or sitting).
2. Intense physical activity.
3. Inconvenient or tight shoes, high heels, defective lasts.
4. Excess weight.

Eliminating these causes is most often enough for the swelling to subside, the ankles to return to their normal appearance, and the pain in the ankles to stop. No additional treatment is required.

What causes swelling of the legs in the ankle joint area? Swelling of the ankles is a physiologically natural condition in the following cases:

• After a broken ankle, sprain or rupture of ligaments in the ankle joint. This can also cause swelling of the feet and toes.
• Pregnancy in the second and third trimester.
• With insect bites as an allergic reaction.

Treatment in this case is prescribed by a doctor.

The ankles and ankles of both men and women often become very swollen due to various diseases affecting the body. This condition is a symptom and requires serious treatment when it develops:

• Heart failure at an early stage.
• Hypertension.
• Osteochondrosis (in this case, nervous nutrition is disrupted due to degenerative-dystrophic lesions of the lumbar vertebrae, the right or left leg swells, depending on the location of the pathology).
• Radiculitis (inflammatory damage to the nerve roots due to pinching, neuritis).
• Inflammations of various etiologies (infections, arthritis).
• Dystrophic damage to the ankle joint (arthrosis).
• Impaired lymph flow (lymphostasis).

A person may experience pain in the ankle due to heart failure.

Kidney failure can cause swelling in the ankles and ankles, although the painful swelling most often appears under the eyes. With diabetes, the left leg and right leg swell from the knee to the foot, including the ankles.

Swelling of the legs in the ankle area can occur due to varicose veins. This is a dangerous disease in which the walls of blood vessels become inflamed and the normal functioning of the venous valves is disrupted. If the disease is not treated, then a terrible complication of varicose veins of the lower extremities develops - thrombophlebitis, in which blood clots - thrombi - collect in the lumens and on the walls of blood vessels.

Who is more likely to suffer from pathology?

According to statistics, women are much more likely to suffer from swelling of the ankles, while men experience this problem much less frequently. Why do women's ankles swell more often? Doctors explain that this is due to the physiological characteristics and hormonal levels that characterize the female body. For example, varicose veins of the lower extremities affect women 2 times more often than men. Also, problems with excess weight affect men less often than women.

Pregnancy also increases the risk of developing ankle swelling. Women wear high heels and often sacrifice health for beauty. Your feet may become so swollen that even removing your shoes can be painful.

The male body, due to anatomical differences, is more adapted to sports, so intense physical activity for men occurs with fewer consequences, but women are at greater risk of spraining ligaments or damaging tendons, and as a result, the leg will receive swelling of the ankle.

The risk of developing ankle edema in women increases during pregnancy.

“Dangerous” and “non-dangerous” places

The concept of danger in this case is relative, since in any case, swelling of the leg is an unnatural condition, it is associated with dysfunction of the body and requires treatment. Therefore, when your legs and ankles swell, you need to consult a therapist. He will assess the patient’s condition, give the necessary recommendations for successful treatment, and, if necessary, refer to specialized specialists.

There is definitely no need to be afraid if the swelling of the ankle that appears in the evening disappears without a trace by the morning. When a night's rest is enough for the legs to fully recover, this means that there is no serious cause for concern and no special treatment is required. Here you need to analyze the previous day and understand what could have caused the swelling: uncomfortable shoes, the whole day you spent sitting at the computer or standing on your feet at the counter.

If only one leg is swollen, then a lower limb injury is possible. Swelling of only one limb is not as dangerous as simultaneous swelling of the left leg and right leg.

More concerning is symmetrical swelling of the legs in the area of ​​the feet and ankles. In this case, the symptom signals the presence of internal disorder in the body. It is imperative to visit a doctor and begin treatment as soon as possible.

The causes and treatment of any pathology are always interconnected. You need to understand that swelling of the legs in the ankle area is not a separate disease, but a symptom indicating the presence of pathology. To eliminate this unpleasant condition, which causes severe discomfort and sometimes pain, you must first eliminate the cause that provokes the development of edema. As a rule, after this the swelling goes away on its own without additional treatment.

To cure swelling of the legs in the ankle area, you need to eliminate the disease causing this symptom.

If swelling has formed as a reaction to local causes, then you can hope for home treatment. The following techniques and remedies will help remove swelling of the ankles:

If your legs and ankles are swollen in the evening, it is recommended to do a light 10-minute warm-up: rise on your toes, lower your entire foot, stand on your heels, repeat 20 times.

Place your legs on a bolster for half an hour or raise them above your chest for 5 minutes.

Make a salt bath for your feet: pour a glass of regular or sea salt into a bowl of warm (not cold or hot!) water, soak your feet for 15 minutes, rinse with clean water, and wipe dry with a towel.

Drink a rosehip decoction for a week: chop 20 dry berries with a knife, pour a liter of water at room temperature overnight. In the morning, boil the infusion for no more than 3 minutes, cool, strain through a double layer of gauze. Drink a glass of rosehip decoction through a straw (so as not to damage tooth enamel) in the morning instead of tea. You can add a teaspoon of honey.

If your leg swells, diuretics - veroshpiron, furasemide, clopamide, torasemide, flurosemide, Monitol - will help remove excess fluid from the body. Only the attending physician can prescribe them.

Diuretic decoctions and infusions of medicinal herbs are milder and safer: parsley, fennel, hawthorn, bearberry, sage. They are brewed in the same way: place 1 tablespoon of any herb in an enamel bowl, pour one glass of boiling water into it, boil in a water bath for 15 minutes, cool, strain through a double layer of gauze. Drink 50 ml three times a day 20 minutes before meals.

Many fruits, berries and vegetables also have a diuretic effect - watermelons, apples, raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, grapefruit, zucchini, any greens, lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes.

When your ankles hurt and swell, it’s good to make a herbal bath: 4 tablespoons of a dry herbal mixture of chamomile, calendula, St. John’s wort, celandine, pour a liter of boiling water, boil for another 5 minutes, remove from heat, leave until cool, strain. Pour the broth into warm water. Take the bath for 10-15 minutes, after which dry your feet with a towel and lubricate them with gel to strengthen blood vessels (Veniton, Lyoton, Troxevasin, Dolobene). This will not only help relieve swelling of the ankles, but will also strengthen blood vessels and be an excellent prevention of varicose veins.

To relieve swelling of the legs in the ankle area, salt foot baths are good.

By following these recommendations, you can hope that your legs will quickly return to normal.

If the limb hurts greatly due to swelling (for example, after a fracture), then pain in the leg can be relieved with the help of painkillers - tablets or gels.

What not to do if you have swollen ankles without a doctor’s permission:

1. Self-medicate - drink diuretics, apply a tight bandage to the sore spot. Only the attending physician can prescribe the correct course after he finds out why the ankles, ankles and feet swell.
2. A swollen joint due to some inflammations cannot be massaged.
3. You cannot steam your feet or apply warm compresses.

Knowing the causes of ankle swelling and what to do about this problem, you can avoid problems in women and men, and always remain healthy, active and beautiful.

Why is my left leg swelling?

Why is my left leg swelling?

The swelling was due to the beginning of varicose veins. I smeared myself (and still do) with Venolgon 911. Additionally, I added venotonic, compression socks and swimming. A visit to the doctor is required.

Well, it’s to the doctor, not to us, at BV. There are too many of these reasons - why it swells, the doctor will examine it - and determine one of them or several factors, make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment. For example, what is the condition of the veins in the left leg? Varicose veins are one of the possible causes of edema. What is your weight? Is it overweight? With obesity, swelling of the legs occurs more often. You should not drink too much liquid, especially before bed - this can also contribute to edema. Do you have flat feet? Or maybe the metabolism is disturbed? This phenomenon may be associated with incorrectly selected shoes (you should not wear shoes that squeeze your feet, the heel height should be low), and with seats (they should not be too low and too soft), etc.

Well, in general, the picture is this: the outflow of blood is impaired, the hydrostatic pressure in the veins is high, and not only in large, but also small vessels, capillaries, it is higher than the pressure in the intercellular spaces, this causes fluid to be squeezed out of the vessels into the tissues, excess fluids in the tissues - this is the opening.

Well, unilateral varicose veins - only of the left leg - are most often due to the fact that the condition of the vessels of the legs is different, varicose veins can only affect the left leg.

Causes of failure of only the left leg

The swellings may be asymmetrical. Unlike disorders of the cardiovascular system, which provoke bilateral swelling, we see the opposite effect. For example, patients often wonder why only the left leg swells. There is a separate group of pathologies that cause such a one-sided phenomenon:

Varicose veins. Weakening of the elasticity of vascular valves. Dilatation of veins. Over time, the ulcer can progress and turn into an ulcer. May be hereditary.

Lymphedema. Provokes lymphatic swelling. The lymphatic system, which duplicates the circulatory system, provides the body's immune defense. Constriction of the lymphatic pathways causes stagnation of lymph.

Baker's cyst rupture. A protrusion of the joint capsule of the knee is formed. Knee problems increase the size of the cyst. When it bursts, the size of the leg increases significantly. Osteoporosis aggravates the disease. An accumulation of fluid forms at the bottom of the knee joint.

Because blood circulation is impaired, the outflow of blood or lymph is difficult.

This can be for many reasons - ranging from heart failure to elephantiasis.

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