Edema therapy
The therapy of generalized edema in general is the administration of diuretics (e.g. furosemide (Lasix®)), commonly called “water tablets”. These diuretics cause the excess water in the tissue to be excreted via the kidneys, so that one often has to go to the toilet. However, this therapy is only symptomatic, i.e. it does not eliminate the cause of water retention.
Drinking large amounts of fluid should be avoided. The underlying disease must be treated, since edema is not a disease, but only a symptom. The therapy of protein-rich oedemas is primarily the improvement of the lymphatic drainage.
This is where physical edema treatment comes into play. It consists of manual lymph drainage and compression treatment. In manual lymphatic drainage, light stroking movements (special massage technique) are used to try to make the accumulated fluid flow away.
Not only is the outflow through the lymph vessels stimulated, but there is even a new formation of lymph vessels. With the help of compressions, the solidified tissue is loosened. The ascites (abdominal fluid) also has its own additional therapy.
If the therapy with diuretics (water tablets) is not successful, the fluid in the abdominal cavity can be drained by puncture. In this case, the fluid is drained from the abdomen with a needle. If cirrhosis of the liver is the cause of the ascitis, both the so-called peritoneovenous shunt and the TIPSS (transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic stent shunt) are used.
A peritoneovenous (peritoneum = peritoneum, vein = vessel that transports the oxygen-depleted blood back to the heart) shunt is a connection between the peritoneal cavity (abdominal cavity; this is where the fluid collects) and the central venous system. This enables the ascites to flow back into the venous system. A TIPSS is a short circuit between the portal vein and the major main vein (vena cava) of the body, which carries the blood directly to the heart. The disadvantage of both, however, is that about 40% of the shunt is closed after one year.
