Senile swelling of the legs. Causes of swelling of the legs in the elderly: how to treat. Treatment with folk remedies

Absolutely anyone can face swelling of the legs, regardless of age and health status. Understanding the causes and treatment of swelling of the legs, you can effectively deal with this ailment.

Puffiness of the extremities indicates the filling of fluid where it should not be: in cells, muscle tissues. In any case, this is a signal that pathological processes are occurring in the human body, which are worth paying attention to.

In healthy people, the appearance of edema in the legs can be explained by purely physiological factors:

1. Abuse of spices, salt. In addition, such a disease can cause excessive fluid intake.
2. High air temperature. In hot sunny weather, the human body activates its functions to protect against overheating. Expansion of peripheral vessels leads to a decrease in blood pressure and circulatory failure, which ends with the accumulation of fluid in the tissues.
3. Metabolism problem, overweight.
4. Pregnancy. While carrying a child, hormones dilate blood vessels and retain sodium in the body of a woman, which is expressed by swelling.
5. Incorrect posture while sitting, the habit of crossing legs and throwing one over the other, staying in a standing position for a long time. This affects the pressure in the veins and disrupts the circulatory system.
6. Uncomfortable shoes. Incorrectly similar shoes that squeeze the leg, high heels, completely flat soles disrupt microcirculatory processes in tissues.

The cause of swelling of the legs may be hidden in the pathological condition of the body or disease:

1. Phlebeurysm. With varicose veins, swelling occurs gradually, so a person may not immediately notice them. They are most pronounced in the late afternoon, after an active working day on your feet. During sleep they disappear. However, as varicose veins progress, swelling of the legs in the elderly becomes more pronounced, leading to trophic vascular disorders.
2. Diseases of the cardiovascular system.
3. Kidney problems. The cause of severe edema, which often concentrates on the lower extremities, affecting the front of the leg, is kidney disease. In addition, the patient has swelling of the eyelids, dark circles under the eyes, changes in the color of urine.
4. Intestinal disorders. In appearance, swelling caused by diseases of the intestines, similar to kidney, but they are accompanied by prolonged diarrhea.
5. An increase in the size of any part of the body, or elephantiasis. The disease causes a violation of water and protein metabolism in the tissues, stopping the lymph, resulting in legs that swell strongly, become large, like an elephant.
6. Pathology of the thyroid gland.
7. Acute thrombophlebitis. Blood clots cause redness, swelling, and pain.

As a rule, legs swell with serious health problems, so as soon as swelling appears, you should immediately go to the doctor.

The fight against edema

To relieve puffiness, you can use foot creams or ointments, make a bath based on medicinal herbs, and do gymnastics.

Helpful Hints:

1. Coming home after a long walk, you need to remove all tight clothing and give your legs the opportunity to completely relax. You should not immediately put on socks, slippers, trousers, let your legs breathe freely.
2. It is important to make foot baths based on decoctions of birch leaves, mint, chamomile and string. It takes 5 minutes to complete the procedure. Sometimes it is supplemented with potato compresses. A raw product is taken, rubbed with a peel on a grater and applied to swollen areas of the body for 15-20 minutes. For the effectiveness of the procedure, the leg is wrapped with cellophane, and covered with a towel or gauze on top.
3. To relieve swelling of the legs in the elderly, you need to give the limbs a rest: lie down, placing your legs on a hill so that the foot is in weight. If a person is in a sitting position, then you can substitute a stool or chair under your feet. The limbs should rest for at least 15 minutes.
4. You can remove puffiness in older women with a gentle massage. Before this, you can apply a cream that can relieve fatigue, relax and normalize blood circulation. After massaging the legs, you need to lie down at rest for at least 30 minutes.

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Struggling with edematous legs, one should not forget about the drinking regimen and drink decoctions, infusions and plain water more often.

Before you start treating the disease with medications, you can use proven folk remedies:

1. Juices from various plants. In the fight against problem feet, juices from carrots, fresh cucumbers and beets can help. They can be combined and consumed together or taken separately. It is also recommended to prepare a mixture of lemon juice, mountain ash, viburnum, add 50 g of honey and extract. It is taken 1 spoon after meals 3 times a day.
2. Parsley. Use in the form of infusion or powder, which is washed down with warm water. To make an infusion, you need to take 1 tbsp. l. root or fruit of the plant, pour two cups of boiling water and leave for 10 hours.
3. Birch leaves. Compresses from infusion from fresh birch leaves help to quickly remove puffiness and return the normal state to the legs. They are also effective for swelling associated with kidney and heart disease.
4. Flax seeds. Help to remove fluid from the intercellular space. For infusion, you need to take 3-5 g of flax seeds per 1 liter of boiling water.
5. Cabbage. Fresh leaves of the vegetable are applied and tied to the swelling and left overnight.
6. Grape leaves. They dissolve blood clots, prevent the appearance of new blood clots, improve blood circulation and eliminate swelling. The leaves are thrown into foot baths, which must be done for 3 months.
7. Pumpkin. Daily use of pumpkin juice (100 g each) will help get rid of various edema.
8. Dill and dried apricots. Pour boiling water over the ingredients and leave to infuse for about 6 hours. Can be sweetened with honey or fructose.

If you do not establish the cause of swelling in the legs, but only deal with the consequences, then sooner or later the disease will bother you again. Therefore, it is important to examine your body and identify the main source of limb problems.

Application of creams

Before using any remedy, you must first consult with a specialist.

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Popular ointments:

• Venitan is designed to normalize microcirculation, strengthen venous vessels and reduce inflammation;
• Heparin ointment has an anti-inflammatory effect, reduces pain sensitivity, dissolves blood clots and prevents the formation of new ones;
• Essaven gel supports the walls of blood vessels, helps microcirculation, relieves blood clots;
• Troxevasin, which includes components that can cool and anesthetize a diseased area of ​​​​the body, strengthen veins and capillaries.

If the use of the drugs did not bring the desired result, and the swelling continues to bother, then you should immediately visit the doctor again, as he will be able to establish the exact cause of the disease and associate it with another disease in the body.

If the legs are swollen, the cause in older women should be identified without delay. Puffiness - excessive accumulation of transudate in the intercellular space. Legs in older women swell with excessive consumption of salt, prolonged sitting. The fluid stagnates in the tissues with various injuries and diseases in people of different ages.

A similar symptom often indicates the appearance of serious diseases. Timely treatment helps to avoid the development of complications, maintain health and quality of life in old age.

In the body of older women, the speed of movement of blood along the channel decreases. Vascular permeability increases. Degenerative processes damage the vascular walls to such an extent that fluid seeps into the tissues of the legs. Blisters occur in the ankles, knees, and hips.

Causes of leg swelling in older women:

• malnutrition;
• excessive consumption of salty foods and water;
• not comfortable shoes;
• taking medications;
• inadequate physical activity;
• heart failure;
• thrombosis in deep veins;
• kidney dysfunction;
• obesity;
• pathology of the liver and digestive organs;

When the cause of swelling of the legs in older women is interconnected with pathologies of the heart and blood vessels, swelling in the early stages of the disease is formed in the ankle area. With the aggravation of the condition, cardiac edema rises up the legs.

With renal failure in elderly patients, the outflow of transudate from the tissues slows down. Exudate collects in soft tissues.

To the congestion that occurs with kidney diseases, characteristic manifestations are added:

• decreased frequency of urination;
• there is profuse sweating;
• thirsty.

Trauma is a common cause of transudate accumulation in the lower extremities. Swelling is formed at the site of mechanical damage.

Obesity causes metabolic imbalance. Due to excess weight, all organs and tissues suffer. In obese elderly patients, the load on the lower extremities increases significantly. In such a situation, the cause of edema can be:

• walking;
• long stay in a standing position;
• uncomfortable sitting posture.

The situation worsens with reduced physical activity. Overweight older people lead a sedentary lifestyle. With hypodynamia, stagnation of the liquid media of the body occurs: lymph, blood, exudate.

Edema causes liver diseases and pathologies due to slow lymph outflow. With stagnation of lymphatic fluid - a dangerous complication.

When the legs of elderly women swell at the end of the day, there is a feeling of heaviness, burning and pain, the reason for this condition lies in varicose veins, how to treat the disease that has arisen, the doctor explains to the patients.

In women who refuse therapy for varicose veins, complications arise:

• blood circulation in the legs worsens;
• blood clots are formed;
• trophic ulcers occur.

Symptoms of swelling of the legs

Congestion in older women is acute and chronic. Swelling forms on the feet, ankles, shins and thighs. On the lower extremities there are unilateral and bilateral swellings. Signs of swelling depend on the causes of congestion.

Common symptoms of edema include:

• pain syndrome;
• fatigue and distension;
• difficulty in moving;
• pastosity (prints from socks, shoes);
• unnaturally increased volume of the legs;
• ulcers and erosions on the skin.

If symptoms of swelling appear, you should consult a doctor, after diagnosing, he will determine the cause of the pathological condition and prescribe treatment.

Dropsy

Dropsy is a pathological sign indicating a malfunction of the internal organs. Swelling occurs when there is a lack of protein coming from food, reduced albumin production.

However, these are not all the reasons for the formation of edema associated with a deficiency of protein compounds. Transudate accumulates in the lower extremities if proteins are excreted extensively through the intestines and kidneys.

The accumulation of transudate in the lower extremities in elderly patients leads to changing hydrostatic pressure. Puffiness appears with a water-salt imbalance that affects the parameters of osmotic pressure. High concentrations of sodium ions provoke fluid stagnation in the intercellular space.

The doctor, when diagnosing diseases in the elderly, focuses on the localization of edema. The location of the swelling allows the doctor to determine which organ functions are impaired.

Diseases of the cardiovascular system

Dysfunction of the heart muscle is the main cause of leg swelling. In old age, the rate of blood circulation decreases. The blood stagnates - this is what the legs of older women most often swell from.

If the work of the heart is disturbed, venous insufficiency can become the cause of swelling of the legs, the symptoms of which indicate the appearance of varicose veins. Blisters are formed on the feet, ankles, capture the shins. Patients suffer from soreness, heaviness in the legs.

When the legs of an elderly person swell due to dysfunction of the heart muscle, the woman suffers from a sharp pain that spreads along the thigh. If the cause of the swelling is due to a violation of cardiac activity, an urgent need to undergo a course of treatment prescribed by a doctor.

Lymphedema

Lymph neutralizes poisons and metabolic products. Performing the diagnosis of puffiness, examine the state of the lymphatic vessels. After detecting lymphedema, the doctor explains to older women what causes swollen legs. The reason for this is the difficulty in transporting fluid through the lymphatic channel.

Lymph stasis causes disturbances in the immune system. Wounds and ulcers heal with difficulty, become infected. The tissues in the lesions are deformed.

Joints clogged with urates become inflamed and painful. The main factors that can lead to the formation of crystalline deposits in the joints:

• excessive consumption of meat, offal and seafood;
• alcohol abuse;
• uncontrolled intake of food containing fructose and purines.

The body produces uric acid, which is necessary to neutralize purines. An excess amount of the substance provokes - the deposition of salts on the tissues of the joints of the lower and upper extremities.

The condition of the legs and arms of older women with this pathology is terrifying. The joints swell, hurt, deform. The feet and hands acquire an unnatural anatomical structure.

Using various diagnostic methods, doctors often find that arthritis is the cause of swollen legs in older patients. Degenerative changes in the joints of the limbs are accompanied by the development of swelling and pain.

Old age, autoimmune manifestations, various diseases are the key causes of severe leg swelling in older women. Arthritis has many varieties. With all types of pathology, inflammation occurs in the joints, the accompanying factors of which include:

• soreness;
• edema;
• restriction of mobility.

Ankle injury

Elderly women have fragile bones. Even minor bruises in the ankle area lead to the formation of edema, hematoma and fracture. Obesity is also often the cause of injury. When overweight, the joints experience exorbitant physical stress. Excessive compression of the bone leads to the formation of cracks and fractures.

In women of advanced age, with thrombosis, the legs in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe feet are very swollen, the feet are so swollen that a person is unable to move normally. If the skin with varicose veins, and even more so with thrombosis, darkens, you should urgently consult a phlebologist. After all, any dangerous pathology requires urgent treatment.

The occurrence of edema in the elderly only on one lower limb indicates the development of venous insufficiency. A swollen right or left leg confirms that blood circulation is impaired, congestion has occurred in the tissues.

Treatment of swelling of the legs with medicines

The methods of treating leg edema in older women are influenced by the causes of their formation. List of remedies for swelling of the limbs:

Treatment of swelling of the lower extremities with folk remedies

Treatment is performed with the help of folk remedies, if swelling of the legs in older women is caused by non-dangerous causes. You can fix the problem by:

1. Rubbing and contrast baths with vinegar. The substance is diluted in warm and cold water (15 ml of 70% essence per 3 liters of liquid). The feet are alternately immersed in the solutions for several minutes. The duration of the procedure is 15 minutes.
2. Hiking. When walking, blood flow increases, fluid stagnation in the tissues disappears.
3. Food fortified with vitamin E (sprouted wheat, almond oil, seeds).

Massage

Older women who are interested in what to do when their legs swell are recommended to have a massage. The procedure is carried out 2-3 times a day, if there are no contraindications. Massage movements restore blood flow, eliminate the feeling of heaviness and swelling.

cream

Creams and ointments are prescribed for swelling caused by varicose veins. The medicine is applied to the site of swelling, rubbed into the skin with light massaging movements. Swelling is eliminated:

• Troxevasin;
• Venitan;
• Lyoton;
• Venozol.

Compression therapy

Compression treatment, as well as folk remedies for swelling of the legs in older women, is used if the causes of the pathology are not serious, or the disease is at an early stage of development. The method is used for varicose veins.

To restore superficial veins, pressure means are used: compression underwear and bandages. Elastic socks, stockings and tights provide rest for the lower extremities and prevent thrombosis from developing.

There is no special recipe for making pressure bandages. Elastic bandages are simply applied to the legs, trying not to squeeze the tissues too much.

Lifestyle change

It doesn't matter what the cause of the swelling of the extremities in older women, leg diseases require appropriate treatment and a change in lifestyle. When the lower limbs swell, reduced or too high physical activity is harmful to health in declining years.

The body is given adequate physical activity. Alternate between activity and rest. To keep your feet healthy, you should do therapeutic exercises daily. Knead the muscles with massage movements.

At the end of the day or after prolonged physical exertion (standing, walking), you need to raise your feet above the body. This procedure plays a big role in relieving tension in the lower extremities.

The lifestyle is set up so that there is no psycho-emotional overstrain and stress, insomnia. In case of disturbed sleep, they drink soothing teas with the following herbs: mint or motherwort. Take valerian tablets. Create a comfortable atmosphere in the house.

Suitable Diet

Women should adjust their diet. When making changes to the menu, exclude:

• fatty;
• salty;
• smoked;
• canned.

When compiling the diet, the emphasis is on increasing the proportion of fresh vegetables, fruits, berries and herbs, cereals. Meat and fish are steamed, stewed or boiled. Herbal teas are prepared with herbs that have a diuretic effect (mint, horsetail, bearberry, currant and lingonberry leaves).

Nordic walking is considered an effective way to regulate motor activity in old age. Reliance on sticks makes it easier to move.

Moderate exercise has a beneficial effect on the body. Muscle and bone tissues are strengthened, become more resilient. Regular exercise leads to weight loss. Restore the work of the heart and lungs, eliminate swelling.

Conclusion

Elderly patients who visited a doctor and figured out why their legs swell, it becomes clear how to treat them. Women are adjusting their lifestyle so that there is no place for diseases in it. They no longer experience swelling after treatment with drugs, debugging nutrition, feasible sports.

In the elderly, they occur quite often. Contributes to this fluid stagnation, which develops against the background of aging and chronic diseases. Before starting treatment, you need to determine. A comprehensive examination, including laboratory and hardware diagnostic procedures, helps in this.

Causes of swelling of the legs

The following causes contribute to the occurrence of swelling of the legs in the elderly:

1. Past infectious diseases. Influenza and SARS often give complications in the form of impaired kidney function, in which excess fluid begins to accumulate in the body.
2. Phlebeurysm. Edema occurs after a long walk or stay in a standing position. The symptom is often unilateral.
3. Cardiovascular diseases. Thrombophlebitis is a common cause of fluid stagnation in the tissues of the lower extremities in women. Heart failure leads to the development of swelling, which is temporary.
4. endocrine disorders. Swelling of the legs is present in diseases of the thyroid gland. In this case, when pressing on the skin, the pits do not remain.
5. Chronic diseases of the kidneys and liver. Contribute to the accumulation of fluid in the ankles and feet.
6. Digestive disorders. Puffiness in this case is accompanied by nausea, vomiting and impaired stool.
7. Taking certain medications. The excretion of fluid from the body is disturbed by the use of hormones, antiplatelet agents, vasodilators. Slowing blood flow contributes to the occurrence of venous stasis.
8. Being overweight, wearing uncomfortable shoes. These factors increase the load on the lower extremities, disrupting the outflow of blood.

Symptoms of swelling of the legs

Severe swelling of the legs in the elderly is manifested by such signs as:

• a pronounced increase in the volume of soft tissues in the area of ​​​​the feet, legs and knees (the symptom appears in the evening after daytime exertion);
• the appearance of traces remaining when wearing socks or golfs;
• long-term preservation of the fossa remaining after pressing a finger on the skin (the appearance of deep traces indicates the presence of dangerous diseases);
• deformity of the lower extremities, which becomes more pronounced when walking.

Signs of puffiness are aggravated by drinking large amounts of liquid and prolonged stay in a warm room.

Diagnostics

If an elderly person has swollen legs, he should be examined. To identify the causes of fluid retention in the lower extremities, the following procedures are used:

1. Questioning and examination of the patient. The therapist examines the patient's legs, identifying external signs of a pathological condition. The survey helps to find out the time of onset of symptoms, the possibility of exposure to external factors, the presence of chronic diseases.
2. Samples of Kaposi-Stemmer and McClure-Aldrich. They help to determine the origin of edema and identify a violation in the work of internal organs that contributes to fluid stagnation.
3. General blood analysis. It is aimed at identifying indirect signs of inflammatory diseases and infections.
4. Analysis of urine. Helps to assess the condition of the kidneys and identify violations in the excretory system.
5. Ultrasound examination of the vessels of the legs. Aimed at assessing the condition of the walls of arteries and veins of the lower extremities. During the procedure, thrombosis and thrombophlebitis of deep vessels are detected, leading to the development of persistent edema.
6. Ultrasound of the abdominal organs. Helps to identify pathologies of the liver, kidneys and intestines.
7. EchoCG. The study is aimed at diagnosing disorders in the work of the heart.

Treatment of swelling of the legs in the elderly

Medicines are selected depending on the cause of edema. They are prescribed only by the attending physician.

Medical treatment

The scheme of drug therapy for edema includes the following drugs:

1. Diuretics (Furosemide, Spironolactone). Used in the treatment of edema caused by high blood pressure, heart and kidney failure. Diuretic drugs quickly remove fluid from the body, reducing the severity of an unpleasant symptom.
2. Cardioprotectors (Mildronate). The drugs normalize the functions of the cardiovascular system, eliminating stagnation of blood in the legs.
3. Potassium preparations (Panangin). Used in combination with diuretics, they help to fill the deficiency of a mineral substance in the body. Available in tablet form. In diseases of the liver and kidneys, these drugs are used with caution.
4. Venotonics (Phlebodia, Detralex). Means eliminate the symptoms of venous insufficiency, which include edema. Tablets and gels normalize blood circulation, reduce the risk of blood clots, and eliminate signs of inflammation.
5. Angioprotectors (Troxevasin, Askorutin). The drugs reduce the permeability of the vascular walls, increasing their elasticity and firmness. Less fluid is released into the intercellular space, which helps to reduce the severity of edema.
6. Antiplatelet agents (Aescusan). The doctor prescribes such drugs with an increased risk of blood clots. They reduce blood viscosity, expand the lumen of blood vessels, normalize metabolism in the venous walls.

Folk remedies

To eliminate mild edema at home, the following recipes can be used:

1. Decoctions of diuretic plants (parsley, horsetail, flaxseed). 1 st. l. raw materials are poured into 200 ml of water, boiled for 10-15 minutes. The drug is taken in half a glass 3 times a day. The course of treatment is a month.
2. Black radish juice with honey. To prepare the medicine, the juice of 1 medium radish is mixed with 2 tbsp. l. honey. The finished composition is taken 50 ml in the morning.
3. Tincture of birch buds. 100 g of dry raw materials are poured into 100 ml of alcohol. The mixture is infused for 21 days in a cool dark place. Take a tincture of 20 drops, dissolving in a glass of water, 3 times a day.
4. Horse chestnut tincture. 200 g of crushed fruits are poured into 0.5 liters of vodka and kept in a dark place for 14 days. The tool helps to cope with cardiac edema and signs of varicose veins. Take it 20 drops, diluted with 50 ml of water.
5. Foot baths with chamomile. 100 g of flowers are boiled in 5 liters of water for 10 minutes. The liquid is poured into a basin, in which the legs are immersed for 20 minutes.

If your feet swell for a long time, you should consult a doctor.

From birth, nature has laid in the body all the conditions for its normal functioning. The immune system protects it from various external and internal "attacks". But over time, the body undergoes natural aging, wears out. There is no escape from this process. Quite often, when a person's age exceeds the half-century mark, many begin to swell their legs. This is due to the fact that at this age, for natural reasons, metabolic processes are disturbed.

Fact! Swelling of the legs is characteristic of both sex groups, but women are more prone to this condition than men.

Most Common Causes

The elderly contingent is faced with a similar condition quite often. Both legs and one lower limb can swell. Why this happens can be understood if you know the causes of such conditions.

The causal relationship with swelling of the legs is quite variable. Sometimes such conditions arise from the influence of a whole complex of factors. The situation can be aggravated by the presence of certain conditions. Doctors assure that even banal heavy physical activity can “add fuel to the fire”. The body, in the presence of conditions for the occurrence of swelling, works with great overload. Intense physical activity is a factor that will lead to an increase in the severity of these manifestations.

The basis of the genesis of the development of edema in the legs is most often a chronic pathology of the internal organs. These include the following states:

Diseases of the heart and blood vessels. In older people, the movement of blood through the vessels no longer proceeds at the same speed as at a young age. The blood flow slows down, sometimes quite significantly. This leads to stagnation of blood in individual tissues. For this reason, edema may occur. Stagnation may well cause varicose veins. This will contribute to the development of venous insufficiency and may even lead to thrombosis. The condition is very unpleasant and is often accompanied by severe pain.

If the pain is very intense, you should immediately seek medical help. Diseases of the veins lead to increasing edema, and pain is bursting. When walking, the load on the legs increases, while the pain becomes more pronounced. Most often, pain is localized in the ankle and feet.

With thrombosis, the pain is so pronounced that any possibility for normal movement disappears. In the place where a blood clot formed, the skin acquires a dark shade, becomes literally black in color. Such conditions require urgent medical attention. Objectively, in such conditions, the legs become very swollen.

If the swelling is associated with heart failure, then the area of ​​​​the thigh becomes the place of irradiation of pain. In this case, it is necessary to consult a cardiologist. In men, heart failure is the main cause of leg swelling. In order to somehow correct such manifestations, it is necessary to constantly take medications that are prescribed by a cardiologist.

Metabolic disorders. With them, swelling of the legs is observed quite often. In old age, the mechanisms in the interaction of cells are violated. This leads to an imbalance associated with electrolytes and proteins.

The work of the kidneys in the body is very busy. Fluid builds up. Together with it, unprocessed harmful substances accumulate. All this leads to nephrosis. There is swelling of the lower extremities. Similar changes can be observed in violation of the liver. To slightly improve the functioning of the kidneys, you can use diuretic fees.

Legs can swell in diabetic patients. Such a picture is observed quite often. In addition, diabetics are often prone to thrombosis.

trauma factor. Any, even the most minor injury, leads to swelling. It damages small blood vessels and capillaries. Inflammation develops, one of the classic signs of which is edema. Minor injuries, as a rule, are not dangerous for the body, and swelling with them is eliminated by applying a cold object to the edematous area.

Wrong diet. In old age, a person, more than ever, needs proper rational nutrition. Elderly people often neglect issues related to proper nutrition. They consume everything indiscriminately, without observing any regime moments. Often the "reward" for such carelessness is swelling of the legs.

Overweight. In overweight and obese people, swelling of the legs occurs quite often. Over time, muscle fibers wear out and cannot bear the increased load on the legs. Legs just get tired of carrying a heavy body. As a result, there is a release of fluid from the vascular bed and the development of edema. In summer, this is most pronounced, since the effect of the thermal factor is also added.

The reasons include chronic pathology of the digestive tract. A number of diseases lead to disruption of the absorption and redistribution of fluid in the body. Diuretics will help correct the condition.

The legs may swell due to hypertension in the vessels of the lungs and an increase in peripheral blood pressure.

The impact of external factors can lead to swelling of the legs. A striking example is the long-term use of medications due to the presence of any disease. Some medicines can cause swelling in the lower extremities as a side effect.

Edema treatment

It is necessary to get rid of puffiness not only with a local effect on the edematous area, but also with complex therapy on the body.

Local treatment
It should be applied immediately, when the exact cause of the swelling has not yet been established.

1. Various external agents are used in the form of ointments, gels. Some of them eliminate signs of inflammation, and help prevent the formation of blood clots or their resorption. Typically, such funds are prepared on the basis of horse chestnut or heparin.
2. Use of diuretics is shown. As a result of their action, there will be a uniform distribution of fluid throughout the body.
3. Often resort to the use of badyagi. Vegetable oil is added to it in a ratio of 1:1. Stir the composition until a homogeneous slurry is formed. It is applied to the problem area. It is better if it is done at night.
4. A good result can be obtained from wearing compression socks and stockings. They cannot constrain movements, but at the same time the legs “rest” and prevent the formation of blood clots. Such underwear is suitable not only for women, but also for men.

Complex correction
Its main direction is the elimination of factors that contribute to the occurrence of puffiness. Correction is aimed at treating the underlying disease. At the same time, do not forget about the use of local funds.

• If the pressure is elevated, use antihypertensive drugs.
• If there is a heart disease, a cardiologist will help.
• In chronic pathology, the actions are aimed at prolonging the period of remission and preventing exacerbations.

Traditional medicine
Traditional medicine operates in its arsenal with many means of combating puffiness:

1. Horse chestnut tincture is popular. To do this, chopped chestnut is poured with vodka. It is necessary to insist 10 days. Reception is carried out several times a day, 10 drops. Such a remedy is very effective in combating varicose veins.
2. Well corrects edematous conditions parsley root. It will take 50 g of chopped parsley root and boiling water in a volume of 500 ml. The infusion is left overnight. In the morning, it must be filtered and drunk the entire volume during the day.
3. You can fight swelling with the help of flax seed. 100 g of seeds are added to a liter of boiling water. In a water bath, the composition is worth half an hour. Insist for several hours in a warm place. During the day, take repeatedly half a glass. The duration of the course is 3 weeks.
4. If the activity of the kidneys is impaired, then drinking green tea will be beneficial. As a diuretic, you can use an infusion of horsetail, sage, oregano, linden, milk thistle. From their use, the processes of filtration and processing of the liquid will be accelerated.
5. Contrast foot baths will be a good tool in the fight against swelling. The alternation of warm and cold water will lead to the disappearance of edema. After such water procedures, it is useful to rub your feet with olive oil. Quite suitable for this purpose and camphor oil. Rubbing is carried out until the product is completely absorbed into the skin of the feet. The procedure is carried out regularly in the evenings.
6. The use of phytocompresses is effective. For them, you can use raw potatoes, birch buds, a mixture of yogurt with wormwood in a ratio of 1: 1. You can use a decoction prepared from birch leaves for this.
7. Foot baths can be done with sea salt, juniper berries, chamomile decoction. The removal of excess fluid will contribute to a drink from dried apricots. An excellent tool in this regard is a decoction of radish.
8. It is useful for older people to eat watermelons, cucumbers, melons, carrots in any form. All of them contribute to the removal of excess fluid from the body and are not inferior in effectiveness to diuretics.

Lifestyle advice from experts

Whatever the cause of edema, lifestyle adjustments are required to ensure that the underlying causes of edema are eliminated.

1. The main requirement in old age is to maintain a measured lifestyle. No excesses at this age can not afford. This applies to both nutrition and exercise.
2. A foot massage would be helpful. It is reasonable to combine an active load with rest.
3. Stressful situations should be avoided whenever possible. With sleep disorders, you can take valerian tincture, infusions of soothing fees.

Prevention

Preventive measures are simple, but effectively help prevent the development of puffiness. These include:

Restriction in the diet of salt. It promotes fluid retention in the body and the development of edema. Of course, you should exclude alcoholic beverages and the use of water with gas.

• For drinking, it is better to stop the choice on a regular liquid.
• Refuse to eat foods that contribute to thirst.
• Shoes for everyday wear should not squeeze the foot.
• Massage of places of localization of edema.
• Daily vigorous exercise.
• Active life position in all respects.
• More movement, including aerobics.
• If possible, walk barefoot as much as possible.
• It will be useful to perform exercises related to rolling the beacon or ball with your feet.

All these activities are not difficult to perform, but the effect of them in terms of preventing edema will be noticeable.

Video: treatment of leg edema with folk remedies

Swelling of the lower extremities is a clear signal of the body about an impending problem. There can be a huge number of reasons for swelling of the legs in the elderly, and only after the primary source has been identified, the correct treatment should be selected.

According to medical statistics, the occurrence of swelling of the legs in men is much less common than in women. Unpleasant symptoms may occur due to changes in weather conditions or with improper metabolism. However, there are much more serious reasons to which close attention should be paid.

Cardiovascular diseases

One of the causes of swelling of the legs in the elderly is heart failure, which, if not treated in time, threatens with serious consequences and even death.

This ailment can overcome a person regardless of gender and age. So what is the relationship between heart failure and edema, why does this happen, what treatment should be used, and what threatens this disease?

This is a disease in which the heart begins to defectively pump blood through itself. Because of this, the tissues are enriched with oxygen much worse, and stagnation begins to occur in the venous part of the vascular bed. The brain instructs the kidneys to retain as much fluid as possible. The consequence of this is too much accumulation of fluid in the interstitial space of the extremities, which leads to the appearance of unpleasant swelling.

Swelling of the legs due to heart failure

In addition to discomfort, the disease can be accompanied by severe pain, shortness of breath and darkening in the eyes up to loss of consciousness. Often, patients may experience interruptions in the work of the heart, and the skin takes on a pale, sometimes even grayish tint.

If you do not diagnose and start treatment in time, the disease can take a serious turn in the form of anasarca. This is a severe stage of heart failure, when the edematous condition does not stop in the lower extremities, but spreads to the whole body.

Swelling in diabetes

One of the causes of swelling of the legs, both in the elderly and in young people, is diabetes mellitus, under what circumstances it occurs and how to treat it, a large percentage of the population is given.

Swelling of the ankles and feet is the first sign of diabetes. In addition to external edema, internal organs also swell. External changes are very easy to identify. It is enough to put a little pressure on the ankle with the pads of your fingers, and if a small hole remains, then this is already a serious reason to ring the bells. Unfortunately, the health of the organs in this case can only be checked using ultrasound.

Important! At the first suspicious symptoms, treatment should be started immediately.

Swelling of the legs with diabetes

With an untimely response to swelling of the feet, you may encounter such consequences as:

1. deformation of the toes;
2. complete change in the shape of the foot;
3. frequent cases of dislocations, subluxations and fractures;
4. swelling is accompanied by unbearable pain;
5. the natural color of the skin changes to red or cyanotic;
6. the foot can visually increase or shorten;
7. increases the risk of complete amputation of limbs;
8. pulmonary edema;
9. manifestation of vein thrombosis;
10. swelling of the brain.

Oncological diseases

Swelling of the legs in people, including the elderly, can be the cause of the presence of oncology, at the first suspicion of a disease, complex treatment should be started immediately. Unfortunately, swelling in the abdomen and lungs indicate the imminent death of the patient.

Swelling of the feet and ankles does not mean that a person will soon lose his life, but this does not mean at all that he does not need to be treated.

Swelling of the feet and ankles

For experts, the true cause of edema in oncological diseases still remains a mystery. Many are inclined to believe that in the presence of the disease, the patient begins to lead a sedentary or recumbent lifestyle, which makes it difficult for venous outflow of blood, which leads to swelling in the lower extremities.

Such symptoms may indicate upcoming cardiac problems, increased varicose veins, kidney failure, cancerous depletion, or malnutrition.

There are many reasons, but one should not, having discovered one of the above symptoms, attribute a cancer disease to oneself.

Trite, but swelling can even be due to the abuse of diuretics.

Puffiness in oncology can be dangerous only in advanced cases. Complications can be avoided if the right treatment is started in time.

Important! If the edema is not more than 2 weeks, only in this case it does not pose a threat to life.

Types of edema

Often, swelling in cancer patients is accompanied by peeling of the skin. The swollen area practically does not feel temperature changes, and with light pressure, the formed hole does not disappear for a long time.

Also, with edema, the protective functions of the skin are significantly reduced, and even with the slightest injection, you can see the flowing fluid.

Other possible causes

In addition to the above, rather serious diseases, there are a number of other factors that affect swelling. Other possible causes of leg swelling in young and older people requiring treatment include:

1. Kidney failure can cause severe edema. Kidney disease is not characterized by pain, itching, or fever. But you should pay close attention to the decrease in the amount of urine and the change in its color.
2. Swelling of the hands may occur, as a result, complications after suffering acute respiratory infections. Most likely, the cause is the presence of an infection.
3. Intestinal diseases in terms of symptoms are very similar to kidney disease, but with the only difference that the problem does not arise with urination, but with stool.
4. With varicose veins, there is a strong swelling of the lower extremities. This is especially evident in the evening. It is worth noting that the more advanced the disease, the stronger the swelling will be.
5. Diseases of the thyroid gland almost always give a rather impressive swelling not only in the neck, but also in the area of ​​​​the fingers and toes.
6. Improper nutrition can disrupt the entire body.
7. Blockage of the venous walls suggests the appearance of swelling in the lower part of the body.
8. Slow metabolism and overwork is another cause of leg swelling in older women, in which case diet and rest can serve as a treatment.
9. Various injuries.
10. Reaction to allergic diseases.
11. The presence of excess weight.

Effective treatment with folk remedies

Foot baths based on edible iodized salt

As soon as the causes of swelling of the legs in young and elderly people are clarified, treatment with folk remedies can be started immediately.

Since ancient times, our relatives have been able to cure any ailment, including this one, with the help of a wide variety of herbs and tinctures.

To begin with, it is recommended to go on a diet, with a complete absence of fatty, salty, smoked, sweet and pickled foods. Such products have the ability to retain and retain fluid in the body, as a result of which puffiness appears.

Excess fluid from the body can be removed not only with decoctions, but also with ordinary foods and fruits. Watermelon, blackberry, melon, persimmon and mountain ash have an excellent diuretic effect. Many do not even realize, but rice porridge also contributes to the outflow of fluid from the body. But you should refrain from green tea and fruit drink at night, such drinks are best consumed before 16:00.

Rice porridge promotes the outflow of fluid from the body

For a green infusion, you should take the parsley root, chop it and pour 500 ml of boiling water over night. In the morning, the broth is filtered and drunk in one day in several doses.

Baths based on edible iodized salt have a miraculous way. Daily procedure before going to bed will help to remove the hated puffiness.

Baths with the addition of various herbs, juniper berries and dry mustard are also suitable.

Birch has always been famous for its healing qualities. For tincture, you need to take about 30 grams of dry birch buds and pour them with 100 milliliters of 70 percent alcohol. After that, the birch mixture is defended for about 4 weeks in a dark and cool place. It is necessary to take the medicine only in diluted form, 20 drops of the mixture in a glass of water. Drink 20 minutes before eating.

Birch bud tincture

The juice of black radish and honey is famous not only for its healing properties for coughs, but also for swelling. Radishes must be peeled and grated. Then, wrapping it in gauze, squeeze out the juice. For tincture, mix the juice of one radish with three tablespoons of honey. The finished medicine is used once a day for a tablespoon.

Medical intervention

When the causes of swelling of the legs, not only in the elderly, but also in people of any age, are clarified, treatment with tablets and ointments can begin.

Most often, with a similar disease, it is recommended to use various ointments based on horse chestnut extract (Venozol, Venitan). These ointments can not only overcome swelling, but also improve blood circulation, increase vascular tone and completely get rid of inflammation.