Diet for edema

With such a phenomenon as edema

, face almost everyone. They appear due to excessive accumulation of fluid in tissue spaces, internal organs and cells. Most often, patients at the CELT multidisciplinary clinic complain of swelling of the legs.

Fluid stagnation causes discomfort and can signal the presence of a serious pathology. Moreover: facial swelling

They are also a cosmetic defect that does not make anyone look good. Despite the fact that the etiology of edema differs, the mechanism of its formation is usually similar. The swollen tissue itself is a pronounced swelling, and when you touch it, marks remain on it.

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• Repeated consultation – 2,300

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Is swelling always dangerous?

Many patients want to know: are there cases when swelling is normal? Yes, there are. So, for example, if you notice that occasionally in the evenings your legs swell

, this can be considered the norm.
However, in order to eliminate all risks, it is necessary to visit a therapist and undergo appropriate diagnostic tests. The causes of facial swelling
in the morning can be a considerable amount of liquid drunk in the evening. To prevent this from happening again, you should reduce the amount of its consumption before bedtime. Another preventative measure is to limit your salt intake.

Pregnant women often suffer from edema. As a rule, they are also not dangerous - however, it is best to visit the doctor who is observing you. In this way, you will eliminate the risk of late “toxicosis” and preserve your health and the health of your baby.

Swelling of the legs due to vascular atherosclerosis

With atherosclerotic damage to arteries of any diameter, ischemia develops - a lack of nutrition of the limb, which is expressed in a decrease in its volume, as if “shrinking” in size. But when, when the lumen of the artery narrows, it is additionally clogged by the resulting thrombus, acute ischemia of the limb occurs, which is characterized by an increase in swelling of the tissue below the level of the vessel block. When a blood clot forms “in situ,” ischemia increases gradually; when a blood clot arrives with the blood flow and does not pass through the atherosclerotic narrowing in diameter, which is called “embolism,” ischemia develops literally within a few hours.

Sudden cessation of arterial blood supply - acute ischemia of the limb is accompanied by a vivid clinical picture with increasing intensity of pain, numbness of the limb with unpleasant sensations - paresthesia. Against the background of impaired blood flow, the skin becomes pale, acquires marble stains, turns blue and swells very much - “columnar.” The condition is very serious and requires urgent surgical intervention to restore the patency of the vessel, in order to avoid the development of gangrene with subsequent amputation.

Types of edema

In accordance with the reason that led to the appearance of swelling of the hands

, legs or face, the following types are distinguished:

• Neurogenic - appear due to malfunctions of the nervous system and its inability to control the functioning of blood vessels;
• Hydrostatic - arise due to obstructed blood outflow from internal organs due to the presence of obstacles and weakness of the heart muscle;
• Inflammatory processes - edema is one of the clinical manifestations of allergy or inflammation;
• Hypoproteinemic - occurs due to a drop in protein levels in the blood, which leads to the entry of fluid into the tissues;
• Membrane-gene - the integrity of the walls of blood vessels is compromised, which leads to their “leaking”.

Depending on the location, there are:

• Local - localized in a specific area. These include allergic, toxic and inflammatory edema;
• General - arise due to significant accumulation of fluid in the body (from 4 to 9 liters). These include cardiac, renal and endocrine edema.

Swelling of the legs due to renal pathology

Edema is caused by the development of renal failure in acute or chronic kidney disease. For quite a long time, kidney pathology can exist hidden, and even examination is not always able to reveal it, if it is not aimed at searching for pathology of the urinary system. As a rule, renal failure in the initial stage is detected very rarely, but even with adequate diagnosis, treatment consists of maintaining a lifestyle with regular examinations. Over the course of several years, the patient gets used to his diagnosis and quite good condition, so much so that he forgets about it. Kidney failure progresses quite rapidly, and edema syndrome, as its important symptom, develops in just a few days.

Renal failure can develop with any kidney disease or kidney complication of diabetes mellitus or systemic diseases. For example, with acute or chronic damage to the renal structural unit of the glomerulus - glomerulonephritis, the so-called nephritic edema develops. It is localized in areas with loose subcutaneous tissue, starting from the face - these are “bags” under the eyes in the morning and thick, translucent eyelids with fluid, which patients simply explain: “I drank tea at night,” and therefore does not consider it necessary to burden the doctor with such a small amount of visit.

With the worsening of functional kidney failure, swelling quickly and almost evenly spreads throughout the body, the feet and legs seem to swell, unlike cardiac edema, by the evening they decrease somewhat, but the next day they arrive in an even greater volume. It will not be possible for a long time to pay attention to the increasing swelling, because it is often combined with high blood pressure and a decrease in the amount of urine produced. The whole person “swells up like a pillow” - this is anasarca, fluid appears in the cavities: abdominal, chest, cardiac shirt. In this situation, hemodialysis and emergency care are required. The effectiveness of reducing edema depends on the results of therapy for renal failure.

Edema as symptoms of diseases

The answer to questions such as “What should I do if my feet are swollen?” or “ How to relieve facial swelling

?, first of all, lies in the need to discover the cause causing such a phenomenon. As already mentioned, edema is often a clinical manifestation of various diseases that require treatment.

Heart pathologies

Any pathological condition of the heart, in which it does not fully cope with its function of pumping blood, is manifested by edema.

Lung diseases

Lung pathologies, accompanied by increased pressure in the pulmonary vessels, lead to difficulties with pumping blood in a small circle. As a result, disruptions occur in the entire blood flow, which leads to the formation of edema.

Kidney diseases

Kidney diseases are characterized by a decrease in the amount of protein in the blood, which leads to fluid from the bloodstream rushing into tissues and organs. In addition, there is an accumulation of salt and water, due to which the patient’s body is oversaturated with liquid.

Severe liver pathologies

Since the liver is the organ that is responsible for the production of blood proteins, malfunctions in its functioning lead to the fact that fluid from the bloodstream rushes into tissues and organs. Congestion affects the lower part of the body.

Quincke's edema

Quincke's edema is subcutaneous edema that is of an allergic nature.

Arthritis

Other causes of swelling of the legs (lower limbs)

1. Localized swelling of the legs (lower limbs) may also result from injury, hematoma (collection of blood in soft tissue), infection, fracture, superficial thrombophlebitis (clots in the veins of fatty tissue), tendon or muscle rupture, cyst in the joint (eg, synovial cyst in knee), and sometimes spontaneous bleeding into the tissue due to a ruptured blood vessel.
2. Chronic swelling of the legs (lower limbs) can also be caused by conditions that result in a general increase in body fluid, which may be more pronounced in the legs due to gravity, such as:

• Congestive or ischemic heart failure,
• Pulmonary hypertension,
• Pericarditis, which limits the pumping function of the heart,
• Pregnancy,
• Idiopathic edema, often affecting both the upper and lower extremities in premenopausal women,
• Liver diseases,
• Kidney diseases,
• Hypothyroidism,
• Low protein conditions such as malnutrition, protein loss due to illness, kidney or bowel disease,
• Drug-induced edema.

1. Some of the most common medications that cause leg swelling are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, taken to relieve pain or discomfort from arthritis, and calcium channel blockers, taken for heart disease or hypertension. Some of the most common medications that can cause swelling of the legs (lower limbs) in some people include:

• Antihypertensive drugs, calcium channel blockers, beta blockers (clonidine, hydralazine, methyldopa, minoxidil)
• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, naproxen and many others in this class)
• Hormones (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone)

1. Cellulitis, an infection of the skin and fatty tissues of the legs, can cause swelling of the legs with pain and tenderness. The pain from cellulite can be very severe or appear as pasty and mildly sore skin with a pink to bright red color.
2. Foot swelling, especially if the skin does not pit when pressure is applied briefly, can be caused by lymphedema, a disruption of the microscopic network of channels that move tissue fluid from the extremity back into the bloodstream at the level of the top of the foot and chest.

Swelling due to lipedema

Depending on the causes, lymphedema is divided into:

• Congenital - present at birth,
• Acquired - due to recurrent infection or obstruction of lymphatic vessels,
• Postoperative - vein excision for vein grafts, lymph node dissection for tumors,
• Malignant neoplasms - lymphoma or other diseases affecting the lymph nodes,

1. Obesity - due to compression of the lymphatic channels in the abdominal cavity or pelvis.

After venous insufficiency, obesity is the next most common cause of leg (lower limb) swelling in the United States, European countries and Russia. Abdominal obesity partially obstructs venous and lymphatic drainage from the legs. Obesity also accelerates the stretching of leg veins by gravity, thereby contributing to the progression of venous insufficiency.

Our doctors

Novikova Larisa Vaganovna

Neuropathologist, Candidate of Medical Sciences, doctor of the highest category

Experience 39 years

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Pankov Alexander Rostislavovich

Neurologist

40 years of experience

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Conclusion

The above pathological conditions are only a part of those that can cause edema. It is important to understand that they are a clinical manifestation of a particular disease, and their treatment should be aimed, first of all, at eliminating the cause that caused them.

That is why, if you discover such a clinical manifestation, immediately seek professional medical help. The specialists at the CELT clinic have everything necessary to correctly diagnose and prescribe adequate treatment for the disease. We do not recommend choosing and taking diuretics yourself, as this may lead to irreversible loss of kidney function. Don't risk your health - seek help from professionals!

Make an appointment through the application or by calling +7 +7 We work every day:

• Monday—Friday: 8.00—20.00
• Saturday: 8.00–18.00
• Sunday is a day off

The nearest metro and MCC stations to the clinic:

• Highway of Enthusiasts or Perovo
• Partisan
• Enthusiast Highway

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