Various causes of ‘edema’… Lying down with your limbs elevated helps reduce swelling
60-70% of our body is water. About one-third of this is fluid in the extracellular space. It is composed of 75% of the fluid (interstitial fluid) and 25% of blood plasma that flows through the spaces between cells (interstitium).
Edema occurs when too much interstitial fluid accumulates. Before edema (whole body edema), which shows swelling all over the body, appears in earnest, the weight increases by around 3 to 4 kg. This kind of soft flesh is also called ‘mulsal’. When interstitial fluid is excreted in urine through diuresis, weight is reduced by that much. This is also why you can lose a lot of weight if you lose weight.
Edema, heart-liver-kidney involvement… Lack of protein, drug side effects are also causes
Causes of systemic edema include disorders of the heart (congestive heart failure), liver (cirrhosis), kidneys (chronic kidney disease, renal syndrome), and nutritional problems. Continuing a protein-poor diet leads to hypoproteinemia and edema. If you suddenly eat food after starving for some reason, the swelling may worsen. Eating a lot of food can increase your salt (salt) intake, which, along with water, builds up in your cells and in the spaces between them.
Anti-inflammatory drugs, vasodilators, steroid hormones, interleukin-2, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can also cause systemic edema. If the swollen area does not go well when pressed with your hand, it may be due to lymphedema or myxedema.
Local edema (swelling in a part of the body) occurs due to thrombophlebitis, chronic lymphangitis, hypothyroidism/hyperthyroidism, etc. When water builds up in the interstitium of a limb (limb), it can cause swelling in the limb and decrease the amount of blood in the body. In addition, pregnancy, female hormones, and drugs such as adrenal cortical hormones can also cause local edema. For no apparent reason, a young woman may experience swelling before her period. It is more common in women with obesity, depression, and neurosis. In order to confirm this ‘idiopathic edema’ of unknown cause, you can take a ‘water stress test’.
Heart failure edema in the evening, kidney edema in the morning
When edema occurs due to heart failure, the legs are swollen, and these symptoms become worse especially in the evening. When edema occurs due to renal syndrome due to hypoproteinemia (lack of protein in the blood), the whole body, including the face and around the eyes, is swollen, and these symptoms become worse especially in the morning. Both heart failure edema and kidney edema may show symptoms of shortness of breath.
If you suspect that the swelling in your body is caused by a diuretic, eat a low-salt diet (a low-salt diet) and wean yourself from the diuretic for 3 to 4 weeks. If you really need a diuretic, use only the lowest dose in consultation with your doctor. Since edema usually occurs during the day, diuretics are best taken in the early evening. Patients who have not taken diuretics or those who do not respond to diuretic withdrawal can reduce swelling by limiting carbohydrate intake (about 90 g per day) along with salt. If not, you should seek treatment from a kidney specialist. It is best to accurately identify the cause and treat it.
For patients with swollen limbs, resting while keeping the limbs higher than the torso can help alleviate the symptoms. When you lie down, the blood that has been concentrated in the peripheral veins returns to the center, increasing cardiac output and renal blood flow. You can excrete more sodium in your urine.
“Copyrightⓒ ‘Honest Knowledge for Health’ Comedi.com (https://kormedi.com) / Unauthorized reproduction-redistribution prohibited”
