edema

Edema is a condition of abnormally large fluid volume in the circulatory system or in tissues between the body's cells interstitial spaces . In edema, either too much fluid moves from the blood vessels into the tissues, or not enough fluid moves from the tissues back into the blood vessels. The management of patients with edema is directed toward the treatment of the underlying medical condition. This is important because edema as it relates to the feet and ankles may be caused by a number of factors and it is very important to know the cause of the edema before it can be properly treated.

This discussion, of course, will be limited to edema of the feet and ankles but it is also possible to have edema in other parts of the body.

There are many reasons why edema occurs in the feet. The edema may occur in both feet in which case some of the causes include venous insufficiency, probably the most common cause where the valves that pump blood back up to the heart become incompetent over time, excessive humidity, congestive heart failure, lung disease, kidney disease and thyroid disease. Situations where one is standing too long without much movement or even sitting too long will put pressure on the veins in the back of the leg which will cause the feet to swell. This would tend to be more common in older individuals.

Pregnant women will also tend to experience swollen feet. People with a sensitivity to salt will also tend to suffer from edema.

Certain medications may also cause edema in both feet. These include vasodilators which act to open up arteries, which bring more blood down to the extremities, calcium channel blockers which are used for high blood pressure, estrogens and NSAID such as Aleve, Motrin or Advil along with the prescription versions all may cause edema. This too, is particularly true in older individuals and that is why they should be avoided in prolonged doses in those individuals.

Edema may also occur in only one foot and in most cases this is a result of a local irritant and usually not the result of a systemic condition. Some of the more common causes of edema in one foot and ankle include DVT, a deep venous thrombosis which most likely is occurring in the calf. This is potentially the most dangerous cause of unilateral swelling and needs immediate medical attention. Other causes include local trauma both known trauma and unknown trauma like stress fractures which will cause a broken bone without any history of trauma. Other causes include an arthritic flare up of a joint which will usually mean a localized swelling in the foot or ankle. gout, which is classified as an arthritic flare up will cause localized swelling. An infection in the foot may also cause localized swelling.

Post surgery on the foot will also cause swelling. After surgery it is normal for the foot to swell as the body is increasing the blood flow to the surgical site in an effort to facilitate healing.

Edema is usually classified by its severity. The most severe form of edema is known as pitting edema. You push your finger into the swollen area and the indentation remains after you remove your finger. This is an indication that the swelling is severe and requires medical attention.

The earlier treatment is initiated for edema the better the chances of eliminating it or at least controlling it. As stated previously, the most important thing is to accurately diagnose the cause of edema. The problem with ignoring edema is that it might be a sign of a more serious problem but even if it is not, once a foot has been swollen for a long period of time you end up with what is known as brawny edema which is basically permanent edema that will never subside.

Treatment of edema as already mentioned is to identify the reason the foot or feet are swelling and address that problem. From a local stand point in order to reduce the swelling of the feet your doctor may prescribe a diuretic (water pill) which helps remove excess fluid from the body. Sometimes, in the cases of simple edema, just elevating your feet and avoid sitting or standing still for prolonged times may reduce the incidence of swelling. An additional harmless way of treating chronic edema is through the use of elastic stockings which attempt to compress the fluid out of the feet and legs. These stockings come in various pressure gradients and depending on how bad your edema is determines how much pressure your stockings will require.