Is your joint skin red? What to think about with this symptom.

What is leg swelling

Swelling of the legs is an external manifestation of the accumulation of fluid in the body. At the same time, the limb itself noticeably increases in size, the skin on it becomes loose, and when pressed, dents appear that do not disappear instantly.

Swelling usually occurs in the evening, although it can still cause discomfort the next morning. It is localized:

• in the feet;
• in the ankles;
• in the legs;
• from socks to knee.

Depending on the reasons, either one leg or both may swell. Symmetrical distribution often indicates generalized edema, which may be a symptom of a life-threatening condition.

If this trouble appears rarely, then you can fight it with folk remedies. The regularity of occurrence indicates a disease of the internal organs. Therefore, it is important to establish the nature of the swelling.

Physiological edema

Swelling of the legs can be caused by physiological reasons, that is, be a consequence of special circumstances affecting a healthy body, and not a manifestation of a disease. These reasons include:

• salty food. Salt binds water. And if you eat a lot of salty foods, especially at night, you may notice swelling in the morning;
• alcohol. Alcohol also retains water. Therefore, after drinking alcohol, a person looks puffy. The problems are not limited to the face; the legs can also swell;
• hot weather. In the heat, blood vessels dilate as the body tries to normalize heat exchange. More blood flow means the risk of congestion and swelling in the legs increases;
• prolonged sitting or standing. If the legs are in one position for a long time, the blood stagnates in them, which leads to swelling. The worst thing is to sit with your legs crossed. Standing in one place for a long time is also not useful. Swelling of the legs is typical for people in standing professions - hairdressers, salesmen, cooks;
• uncomfortable shoes. If shoes disrupt normal blood circulation in the foot (high heels, narrow arches, tight straps), wearing them will lead to swelling.

Causes of leg swelling

When there is too much fluid in the tissues, it means that there is a malfunction in the functioning of the body. Most often, swelling is caused by:

• protein metabolism disorder;
• damage to cell membranes, increasing their permeability;
• changes in pressure differences in tissues and vessels;
• impaired blood circulation.

There are many reasons for such failures. Some are temporary (allergic reaction, bruise, infection). Others indicate the development of pathologies of the lower extremities (varicose veins, thrombophlebitis). Still others indicate serious diseases of the internal organs (heart, kidneys, lymphatic system).

A person cannot independently determine why his foot is swollen: because of uncomfortable shoes or because of a blocked blood vessel. Therefore, you should not postpone a visit to the doctor for subsequent treatment.

Other reasons

The answer to the question “Why do my legs swell and how to deal with it?” People suffering from:

• endocrine pathologies (myxedema, hypothyroidism, hyperaldosteronism, Ishchenko-Cushing's disease);
• exhaustion (anorexia nervosa, nutritional cachexia, severe weight loss after serious illness or surgery);
• nervous disorders (paresis, paralysis).

In the above cases, the edema is mild or moderate, symmetrical (with the exception of unilateral paralysis), soft. They do not change during the day, occasionally increasing in the evenings.

• Allergic reactions Under the influence of allergens, fluid rapidly accumulates in the tissues, which leads to instant swelling of the legs. In this case, the skin becomes red in color and itching appears.
• Obesity Due to excess weight, pressure on the lymphatic vessels and veins increases, which leads to disruption of lymphatic and venous outflow.
• Taking medications Some medications (vasodilators, antihypertensives, antidiabetics, calcium channel blockers, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) can cause swelling of the lower extremities.

Why does one leg swell?

If the swelling is asymmetrical, its cause is localized directly in the affected limb. Swelling may occur due to bruises on the legs or more serious injuries:

• ankle joint injuries;
• meniscus tear;
• separation of the calf muscle;
• bone fracture;
• tissue compression.

Venous edema is also most often unilateral. Varicose veins cause fluid stagnation, but they are localized in one limb where the vessels are affected. This is indicated by the characteristic venous network.

Thrombophlebitis disrupts blood circulation, and at the same time the outflow of fluid from tissues. In this case, swelling is accompanied by other unpleasant symptoms: fever, pain, compaction in the blockage area.

Rheumatoid arthritis: what is it and how is it treated?

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune-inflammatory disease. It affects more often women of different ages, and the joints of the ankles, knees, hands and ankles are affected.

It is believed that the cause of rheumatoid arthritis is a malfunction of the immune system, and provoking factors are hypothermia, stress, infection or injury. The mechanism of joint destruction can be triggered by influenza, tonsillitis or a common ARVI. Recognizing the disease is quite simple:

• the joint swells and hurts (swelling can last from several months to several years);
• joints are affected symmetrically - on both arms or legs;
• the pain intensifies at night or in the morning, subsides or goes away in the evening;
• rheumatoid nodules the size of a pea form in the joint; they are dense to the touch;
• weakness, loss of appetite, chills and a slight increase in temperature are present.

Unlike arthrosis, in which pain, on the contrary, intensifies after physical activity, with rheumatoid arthritis, warming up the joint helps get rid of discomfort.

Over time, the joints become deformed and limited in mobility. The disease affects all new joints. Pathological fluid accumulates in the knee - a Baker's cyst is formed with the risk of rupture. The cervical spine often becomes inflamed - pain appears in the neck and under the back of the head.

Sometimes people with rheumatoid arthritis lose significant weight

Why do both legs swell?

If by the end of the day both lower limbs are swollen, it means that excess fluid is present throughout the body. Most often this condition is caused by:

• heat;
• excessive fluid intake;
• obesity;
• uncomfortable shoes (tight, high heels, completely flat soles);
• flat feet;
• unhealthy diet (lots of salty and spicy foods in the diet);
• standing on your feet for a long time or in an uncomfortable position.

Fluid stagnation in these cases is caused by improper load distribution. None of the above indicates a threat to life, and the swelling goes away in a day or two. For some, it is enough to take off their shoes and relax, while others resort to folk remedies to relieve discomfort. But symmetrically swollen legs can also indicate more serious diseases that require urgent treatment.

Eliminating symptoms

Tell your healthcare provider as soon as you develop symptoms. Be sure to tell your doctor if you have diabetes, vascular disease, or peripheral neuropathy. These diseases cause destruction of the skin, prevent wound healing and can cause infection.

Follow the tips below to help you manage these symptoms.

It is forbidden:

• Pop blisters. Apply a petroleum-based ointment, such as Vaseline®, and cover it with a bandage (Band-Aid®).
• Immerse your hands and feet in hot water or a hot bath.
• Take hot baths.
• Wearing socks, tights or shoes that are too tight.
• Doing anything that requires rubbing your palms or soles, other than lightly applying lotion or cream.

Need to:

• Wear thick, soft cotton socks with all shoes. We also recommend using wicking foam insoles and shock-absorbing inserts to ease the pressure of shoes on your feet.
• Wear heavy cotton gloves when doing chores around the house or outside the home, such as cleaning the house, gardening, or grocery shopping.
• Keep your hands and feet well moisturized. To do this, soak them in cool water for 20 to 30 minutes, pat them dry with a towel, and then apply a fragrance-free moisturizer such as Eucerin®. This should be done at least once a day.
• Use unscented lotion or cream containing petroleum products, for example: Urea cream;
• Kerasal® One Step Exfoliating Foot Moisturizer Therapy™;
• Udderly Smooth®;
• if you are over 18 years of age, you can also use the tools below; do not use these if you are under 18 years of age: salicylic acid;
• moisturizer CeraVe® SA.

to come back to the beginning

When general swelling indicates danger to life

Sometimes swelling of the lower extremities is a symptom of a general imbalance in the body's hydrobalance. In the case of heart failure, the body's main muscle cannot cope with pumping blood. The fluid in the body is distributed unevenly, and too much accumulates at the bottom. If the patient stands or sits in one position for a long time, his feet and legs swell.

Kidney failure can also lead to swelling. It appears not only on the legs, but also on the arms, face (mainly under the eyes), and abdominal wall.

If cardiac edema develops gradually (over weeks), then renal edema develops very quickly. With cardiac diseases, the skin becomes colder, with kidney diseases it maintains a normal temperature.

Fluid retention can also be caused by lymphedema, which is damage to the lymphatic vessels. The swelling in this case is dense; after pressing on the skin, there is no indentation.

Stages of acute ischemia

1. Sudden pain in the leg, coldness, reduction in walking distance. If the collateral vessels are good, ischemia may stop at this stage with the development of intermittent claudication or critical ischemia. Most often, this stage is observed with thrombosis of altered arteries, if their lumen was previously narrowed and collateral circulation developed. At this stage, the operation is carried out after the necessary additional examination and preparation. The color of the leg may be pale or take on a bluish tint (cyanosis). The result of surgical treatment is excellent. Recovery of leg function is most often complete.

2. The symptoms described above are accompanied by weakness in the leg, which gradually worsens to the point of paralysis. However, passive movements in the fingers and other joints are possible. Such phenomena are associated with the death of nerve endings and blockade of nerve impulse transmission along the nerves. This stage of ischemia is an absolute indication for emergency surgery, since independent restoration of blood flow is impossible, and delay in intervention will lead to gangrene. Timely surgery restores blood flow with minimal loss of limb function. Numbness of the foot and fingers remains, and swelling of the leg persists for a long time.

3. Muscle death begins, first there are foci of muscle necrosis, muscle pain, and dense swelling of the lower leg. Then comes numbness of the fingers, ankle joint, and knee joint (muscle contracture). The muscles die completely. If the muscles are partially lost after restoration of blood flow and a long postoperative period, the leg may be preserved, but walking will be difficult. In the case of muscle contracture, amputation is necessary, since restoration of blood flow leads to the death of a person from poisoning with decay products.

Why do feet swell during pregnancy?

During pregnancy, the outflow of fluid is often disrupted. This is explained by large-scale changes occurring in the body:

• weight gain;
• changes in hormonal levels;
• compression of the inferior vena cava by the enlarging uterus;
• decreased mobility;
• diet correction.

In most cases, swelling is considered as a variant of the physiological norm. There is no need to resort to drug treatment; it is enough to keep the situation under control. However, the spread of edema throughout the body can result in serious pathologies, such as preeclampsia.

The expectant mother should monitor the dynamics of the increase in calf circumference, blood pressure and the ratio of fluid consumed and excreted. The kidneys experience increased stress during pregnancy, so at the first alarming symptoms it is better to be examined by a nephrologist.

Treatment of leg swelling

The treatment package depends on the cause of the unpleasant symptom. If it is not associated with serious diseases, but is caused by improper distribution of the load, it is enough to locally relieve the swelling. This can be done at home.

If it is caused by local reactions (bruise, allergy, infection), then it is necessary to provide the victim with the necessary assistance:

• treat the damaged area;
• apply ice;
• give medicine.

Sometimes this can be done at home, sometimes medical attention is required. After a few days, the swelling will disappear as the tissue heals.

Drug treatment under the supervision of a phlebologist is required for varicose veins and thrombophlebitis. If the disease is advanced, surgery may be required. After restoration of venous tone and normal blood circulation, external symptoms will disappear.

Mycosis of the feet - symptoms and treatment

Mycosis of the feet (dermatophytosis, Tinea pedis) is a disease of the skin of the feet, which is caused by pathogenic or opportunistic fungi. Skin changes on the feet are characterized by peeling, which is accompanied by itching. In case of severe lesions, against the background of red and swollen skin, erosions and deep cracks appear on the soles and in the spaces between the toes, which are accompanied by pain and make walking difficult.

The code according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10) is B35.3.

The emergence of modern antifungal drugs has improved the epidemiological situation, but mycosis of the feet still remains one of the most significant problems in dermatovenerology. The use of some drugs is limited in the elderly and patients with chronic diseases [19].

Prevalence of mycosis of the feet. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 1/3 of the world’s population suffers from fungal diseases, the most common of which are mycoses of the feet; the incidence is growing annually [14].

According to Russian dermatologists [7], 10-20% of the adult population suffer from mycoses of the feet; in men the disease occurs 2 times more often than in women, and in older people more often than in young people. At the age of over 70 years, mycosis of the feet is registered in every second patient, which is associated with an increase in concomitant metabolic and vascular changes (diabetes mellitus, varicose veins, etc.). Increasingly, mycoses of the feet are being detected in children.

Millions of people are currently affected by this disease. Workers in a number of professions are at risk: miners, athletes and military personnel [12].

Causes of mycosis of the feet. The most common causes of mycosis of the feet are dermatomycete fungi: Trichophyton rubrum (90%), Trichophyton mentagrophytes, and less commonly Epidermophyton [20]. Sometimes mycosis of the feet can be caused by fungi of the genus Candida [3].

Risk factors for mycosis of the feet:

• Exogenous (external): microtrauma of the skin of the feet (calluses, corns), cracks, increased sweating, wearing tight shoes, shoes made of artificial materials, failure to comply with personal hygiene rules, irregular foot washing and poor drying with a towel.
• Endogenous (internal): varicose veins and vegetative-vascular dystonia, which lead to insufficient blood supply to the skin of the feet; hypovitaminosis; taking glucocorticosteroids, cytostatic, antibacterial and estrogen-progestin drugs, which reduce the overall immunity of the body [16].

Infection with mycosis of the feet can occur directly from a sick person, and it can also be transmitted through contact and household contact (in a swimming pool, bathhouse, gym, through shoes, towels, rugs, etc.).

How to relieve swelling after a bruise

Treatment for a leg bruise usually comes down to eliminating pain and swelling. The swelling in this case is caused by damage to the blood vessels and the accumulation of fluid from them under the skin. The latter puts pressure on the nerve endings, hence the pain. So eliminating swelling also helps to get rid of unpleasant sensations.

You can help a bruised limb at home:

• stretch and provide peace;
• apply a wet towel, ice or a heating pad with cold water;
• apply a tight bandage.

You can also resort to drug treatment. External agents containing troxerutin or heparin will help. They strengthen capillaries, optimize blood viscosity and relieve inflammation.

How to relieve leg swelling caused by heat

The best medicine in this case is gravity. Arriving home and throwing away the shoes that have become a vice, it is enough to lie down and place your feet higher (at a minimum - on several pillows, at a maximum - against the wall).

When it becomes easier to move, you need to take a shower. Ideally, a contrasting one that trains blood vessels, but you can limit yourself to just cool. In this case, you should direct the pressure to the feet: such a hydromassage will restore blood circulation.

You can disperse the fluid with light exercises: pulling the toe towards you and away from you, rotating your feet, squatting. But if you don’t have the strength to do this, and your legs hurt, it’s better not to torture them.

Foot baths are also useful. Even plain water will provide relief, but you can enhance the effects with additives. This could be sea salt or herbal infusions. Compresses made from cabbage leaves or bandages soaked in a decoction of birch leaves improve the condition of the limbs.

Treatment of leg swelling due to heart or kidney failure

Patients with heart or kidney failure should be under the supervision of a physician. In acute attacks, resuscitation is required. If the disease takes a chronic form, swelling is removed as it appears with the help of diuretics and nutritional correction. Medicines should:

• stabilize blood pressure;
• remove excess sodium from the body;
• prevent protein loss;
• normalize blood flow speed.

When using diuretics (diuretics), it is important not to exceed the permissible dosage. Otherwise, there is a risk of getting the opposite effect in the form of drug-induced edema during withdrawal. They are caused by the kidneys’ reaction to a sudden change in the mode of fluid excretion.

Relieving swelling during pregnancy

In the body of a woman carrying a fetus, the concentration of the hormone progesterone increases. It is one of the causes of edema during pregnancy. In no case should it be reduced, because it is this that ensures the attachment of the embryo.

There is no need to fight physiological swelling. The main thing is to prevent it from getting worse. To alleviate the symptoms, you can carry out the mentioned water procedures and adhere to a healthy lifestyle (moderate activity, water consumption within the daily norm, adjusted for restrictions imposed by pregnancy, rest on your side).

The pathological nature of edema can only be determined by a doctor based on test results (in particular, protein in the urine). Having discovered the cause, he will prescribe treatment. It is prohibited to take any medications on your own.

Prevention

Swelling cannot always be prevented, since it can occur under the influence of uncontrollable factors. There is no way to prevent a bruise or insect bite. But in general, maintaining hydrobalance in the body is easy:

• Observe the drinking regime: fully quench your thirst, but do not drink more than you should.
• Stick to a diet during the hot season: minimize the consumption of salty and spicy foods, eat more fruits, drink tea with lemon instead of coffee.
• Arrange water treatments: contrast showers, foot baths.
• Move more: walking, swimming, aerobics do not allow fluid to stagnate.

In summer, you should avoid tight, high-heeled shoes. It is useful to periodically place your feet on an elevation so that fluid concentrated in the lower part of the body drains. There is no need to abuse medications. Urinary and antihypertensive drugs should be prescribed by a doctor. Any diseases that have a similar symptom must be treated in a timely manner.

Tokareva Lyudmila Georgievna, therapist, medical offices 36.6.

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