In water retention or water retention (med.: edema, dropsy, hydrops), mostly legs, feet, arms or hands swell due to fluid. Edema is usually the result of diseases, such as heart disease or liver disease. Normally, these edemas do not hurt, but should be examined by a doctor due to their causes.
What are water retention?
Water retention or edema shows up as swelling in body tissues. Water retention or edema shows up as swelling in body tissues. When pressure is applied, dimples form and remain visible. Water retention often indicates disease and should be treated by a physician to determine the underlying cause. Short-term water retention, such as after insect bites or in the case of allergic reactions, can be quickly remedied. More difficult to treat are water retention that occupies larger parts of the body or affects the entire body. Clarifying their cause is often difficult.
Causes
If right-sided heart failure is present, water retention or edema occurs primarily in the lower legs and ankles. In left-sided heart failure, water collects in the lungs. Kidney weakness can lead to water retention all over the body. Swollen eyelids are especially common. Water retention in the abdomen occurs with liver inflammation, liver disease, and with cirrhosis of the liver. If fluid is squeezed out of the veins into the surrounding leg tissue, this is water retention in the legs. Deep-seated leg and pelvic vein thrombosis may be responsible for edema in the legs. Medications can trigger water retention as a side effect. If too little protein is consumed in the diet, water retention can also occur. Hormonal changes, such as those that occur during menopause and before menstruation, can also cause water retention. In the case of allergic inflammatory reactions, water retention can occur locally on the skin or on the conjunctiva, in the nose, throat and bronchial area. Other causes may be found in hypertension and hypothyroidism, venous disease or pregnancy.
Diseases with this symptom
- Heart failure
- Menopause
- Hypertension
- Liver disease
- Quincke’s edema
- Nephrotic syndrome
- Myocarditis
- Renal failure
- Hypothyroidism
- Insect venom allergy
- Circulatory disorders
- Chronic venous insufficiency
- Cirrhosis of the liver
- Kidney inflammation
- Progressive systemic scleroderma
- Allergy
- Lymphatic filariasis
- Lymphedema
Complications
Water retention, or edema, has several causes that can end in various complications. For one, elevated blood pressure (hypertension) can cause edema. Chronically elevated blood pressure, together with other factors, increases the risk of atherosclerosis. The calcification of the vessels can end up in an occlusion and thus lead to a deficiency in the supply of blood to downstream organs. This can lead to peripheral arterial occlusive disease (paVk), heart attack or stroke. Furthermore, cardiac insufficiency (heart failure) can lead to water retention. If left untreated, heart failure can, in the worst case, lead to a cardiac arrhythmia. Atrial fibrillation promotes the formation of blood clots on the wall in the atrium. These thrombi can become dislodged and carried with the blood stream, leading to embolism especially pulmonary embolism if the thrombus is in the right heart and stroke from the left atrium. Ventricular fibrillation can lead to circulatory arrest and eventual cardiac death. Liver dysfunction, as in hepatitis or cirrhosis, also leads to edema. In addition, there are usually also disorders of coagulation and an enlargement of the spleen. Depending on where the fluid accumulation is located, there are characteristic consequences. In the lungs, edema leads to chest pain and shortness of breath, while in the brain, paralysis and respiratory failure are possible.
| Precaution Tip:
If the joints and legs are severely affected by water retention, a fall in this situation could be fatal and bring further complications.Helpful and of immense advantage here would be a stair lift, which drastically reduces the risk of accidents. |
When should you go to the doctor?
In any case, water retention should be examined by a doctor and, if possible, treated. In most cases, water retention is caused by certain diseases of the heart and should be resolved in any case. Subsequently, a causal treatment of the heart diseases must also be carried out. A doctor can be consulted when water retention occurs in various regions of the body. In most cases, these are relatively easy to recognize from the outside and may appear visibly as swellings. If these swellings occur for no particular reason, a doctor should usually be consulted. A doctor must definitely be contacted if there are heart problems in addition to the water retention. These can lead to serious complications, so that in the worst case the patient dies from them. Treatment must also be given if there are kidney complaints. If unconsciousness or sudden cardiac arrest occurs, an emergency physician must be contacted in any case. Without treatment, water retention usually results in a reduced life expectancy.
Treatment and therapy
Basically, persistent and larger water retention belong in medical care. Supportive is the cooling by envelopes, if inflammation is responsible. Elevating the legs to remove water is helpful on the legs. If the water retention is due to venous insufficiency, compression stockings and lymphatic drainage can help. In the case of mild cardiac muscle weakness, during pregnancy and in the case of protein deficiency, physical and medicinal treatments help. If the causes are heart muscle weakness, kidney failure, or liver dysfunction, medications are usually the first choice. Herbal remedies can help. Horse chestnut seed, red vine leaf, aescin, butcher’s broom root and rutoside help with vein weakness. Nettle and horsetail, birch leaves, hawthorn root, bean pods and juniper berries also drain as a tea. Over-the-counter medications include aescin, which has a decongestant effect after surgery and sports injuries. Bromelain, papain and rutoside help in general and in combination. Natural heparin helps with bruises and haematomas. Red vine leaves are effective for varicose veins and swelling in the legs. Hydroxyethylrutosides are used for venous insufficiency. Troxerutin prevents edema and reduces swelling in the legs. In addition, Schuessler salts are also said to help. For drug therapy, thiazides and thiazide-type dehydrating agents can be prescribed as prescription medications. Loop diuretics and osmotic diuretics are also used. Pulmonary edema due to cardiac or renal failure and edema due to liver cirrhosis are medical emergencies and must be treated differently.
Outlook and prognosis
There is no single prognosis for water retention. To assess the outlook of water retention, the cause of swollen legs or arms must first be clarified, because the success of therapy depends on the cause and degree of the disease. If edema is caused by hormonal fluctuations, such as before menstruation or during pregnancy, the prospects for improvement are good. This is because this type of swelling often has a tendency to regress. Especially if a lot of exercise is done and attention is paid to a low-salt and healthy diet. Even elevating the legs or taking alternating baths can lead to success in this case. However, if cardiac insufficiency or kidney disease is present, the underlying disease must first be eliminated before the edema can regress. Therefore, before a prognosis can be made, the cause of the swelling must always be found first. Chronic edema can lead to increased skin pigmentation or ulcers in the future. If water retention due to lymphedema is present, symptoms can be alleviated with regular lymphatic drainage, bathing anagen or compression stockings. However, success always depends on how severe the degree of edema is and how the patient responds to treatment. Thus, the prognosis for water retention cannot be standardized. The cause and severity of the edema must always be considered.One clarifies these factors as early as possible, so that a prospect of improvement can be made.
Prevention
Simple home remedies such as treading water, rising foot baths, rubbing with rubbing alcohol and elevating the legs against a wall provide relief. Fruits such as pineapple, mango, kiwi, citrus fruits provide minerals and vitamins, enzymes and trace elements. Strawberries, asparagus, parsley and lettuce have a dehydrating effect. Drinking plenty of water, a balanced diet and regular exercise and everything that is good for the body and circulation stimulates metabolism.
This is what you can do yourself
If the water retention is due to weak veins, you can first use compression stockings or bandages to relieve the veins. If the intake of dehydrating medication – so-called diuretics – is essential, attention must be paid to mineral balance. Therefore, attention should be paid to a diet rich in vital substances. Taking dietary supplements could also be helpful. In general, exercise therapy is indicated for all causes of water retention. It is sufficient to firmly integrate short walks, running or walking, exercises on the trampoline or yoga units into one’s daily routine. Exercise stimulates the metabolism as well as blood and lymph flow. Avoiding – at least temporarily – a high-salt diet and animal proteins also reduces water retention in the body. Many people are also affected by hyperacidity of the body. This also leads to water retention. In this case, a change in diet is necessary. Fast help with hyperacidity is provided by alkaline powders, alkaline body care and baths. Another possibility is lymphatic cleansing. This can be applied as a cure and includes the intake of various medicinal plants, such as: Birch, field horsetail (horsetail), cat’s beard, dandelion, nettle, sweet clover, butcher’s broom or the horse chestnut. These plants are available in the form of tea, plant juice, tincture or capsule as a dietary supplement. In addition, it is recommended to drink plenty of still water. This will increase the amount of urine, stimulate lymphatic and blood flow and blood formation.