By old age, the human body wears heavily, many diseases appear. Owing to the violation of many functions, edema may appear, the reasons for this is not only old age, but also neglect of one’s health in one’s youth.
Swelling and pain in the legs is a common occurrence among young people, which they often do not take seriously. The reasons for this are incorrect shoes (tight, flat or high-heeled), prolonged standing, increased physical exertion on the legs.
Let's try to figure out why the legs become swollen in old age, because the above reasons are practically absent in their lives, they do not wear heels, many of them are retired, therefore they have the opportunity to rest their legs, and few people are engaged in sports activities.
Swelling of the feet in the elderly: causes
Swelling of the legs differ in the root causes of occurrence, they are divided into chronic and acute form, and they can form on one or both limbs simultaneously and in different places. The main reason for swelling of the legs is fluid retention in the body. The occurrence of stagnation can provoke:
- kidney disease;
- hearts;
- thyroid gland;
- lungs;
- "elephantiasis;
- not rash;
- plentiful drink at night;
- abuse of pickled foods;
- high temperature outside.
According to medical statistics, leg edema is more common in women, mainly of retirement and pre-retirement age. Often the reasons for this is blood stasis in the veins, which can be formed as a result of:
- thrombosis;
- sedentary lifestyle;
- flatfoot;
- completeness;
- wearing regular shoes regularly;
- improper nutrition.
Symptoms of leg edema in the elderly
During edema of the limbs, people of retirement and pre-retirement age may experience pain, itching, burning, and ulcers.
As a rule, the body itself gives signals that it is not all right. Companions of an edematous condition can often be:
- pain sensations;
- malaise;
- physical and psychological fatigue.
Due to the increase in legs, it becomes difficult to choose shoes for them. You have to constantly look for a comfortable position for the limbs to ease the pain.
More often, the edema occurs in the ankle area or the foot itself, for immobilized people, it can read from the belt and end on the sole.
Symptoms for which you can determine the swelling may be the following:
- noticeable increase in legs;
- the appearance of pronounced traces of nosochnye gum or wearing stockings;
- sensation of itching or burning in the limbs;
- the presence of heaviness, weakness, or pain;
- in case of kidney disease, the external sides of the legs and face are exposed to edema, bags appear near the eyes;
- swelling due to varicose disease, often manifested by an increase in the legs in the evening, while the veins and capillaries are clearly visible through the skin;
- When the thyroid gland malfunctions, puffiness appears, which remain in the form of dimples when pressed, along with this, the tongue swells up, and constipation and prolonged drowsiness may appear.
What to do if the legs began to swell?
The appearance of edema in the legs, people often notice immediately. If you still have doubts, then to confirm that you can measure their volume in the morning and evening, if the difference exceeds 1 cm, then definitely there is swelling. They are different, so depending on the origin, the treatment may differ.
Without a doubt, this disease requires a visit to the doctor to identify the root causes. To reduce edema before and after treatment in the hospital, you need:
- perform positional drainage;
- physical exercise;
- massage;
- reduce the intake of salty foods and water;
- take special foot baths;
- Take multivitamins and other beneficial supplements.
Position drainage
Improve the outflow of blood will help drainage, which is performed daily for 30 minutes, while raising his feet on a high surface so that an angle equal to not 45 degrees.
Exercises to reduce swelling
Bicycle
It is recommended to perform the exercise in the morning, without getting out of bed, for this you need:
- Lying on your back, raise your legs above you and perform an imitation of pedaling a bicycle for at least 60 seconds.
- After that, without changing the position, twist the feet in different directions for 2 minutes.
After charging, it is recommended to lubricate the legs, massage movements, cooling gel and sit lifting them.
Massage
It is performed without all or with special ointments, the legs are first rubbed with the palms, and after using the fists. If you wish, you can contact a specialist who will perform a more effective, acupressure.
Restriction in fluid and salt intake
Edema, first of all, signal the stagnation in the body fluid, the restriction in which it helps to reduce them. Salt does not allow the timely exit of excess water from the body, therefore it is an ally in the occurrence of puffiness.
Foot baths
The use of foot baths helps relieve tension and swelling, they become a good addition to the treatment prescribed by a specialist. For brewing boiling water, you can use:
- mint;
- daisy;
- birch leaves;
- sage;
- grape leaves.
Vitamins and dietary supplements
Vitamins are needed by everyone, more of them come from food, but during diseases the body requires more strength to recover, so taking multivitamins and supplements in pills is very important for confronting illness.
Drug treatment of leg edema in the elderly
Restoring the outflow to the circulatory system will help eliminate leg swelling in the elderly. The complex treatment includes:
- manual massage;
- the use of compression garments;
- diets;
- physiotherapy;
- hardware lymphatic drainage;
- recreational gymnastics;
- nordic walking
Apparatus lymphatic drainage
Of the medications prescribed to receive:
- phlebotonics with lymphotropic action;
- angioprotectors;
- enzymes;
- immunostimulants.
Strengthen the walls of blood vessels and improve blood circulation can be applied;
- Venitana;
- Troxevasin;
- Essaven gel;
- Heparin ointment.
The use of diuretic drugs and herbs can be prescribed.
Treatment of folk remedies
The main task of folk remedies in the treatment of edema is to promote the removal of fluid from the body and improve blood circulation. In solving these problems, plants have proven themselves, such as:
- flax seeds;
- thyme;
- burdock;
- knotweed;
- hernia;
- Adonis;
- bearberry;
- plantain;
- horsetail;
- parsley;
- birch leaves;
- wild rose berries and viburnum;
- fig fruits;
- Dill seeds;
- tops of carrots;
- watermelon peels;
- honey;
- potatoes.
Ingredients for home removal of swelling can be used internally in the form of infusions and teas, as lotions and massage mixtures. Since congestion has a different cause of origin, which only a specialist will help to identify, the recipes for their treatment may differ in composition.
Congestive edema
For grinding
- It is necessary to fill a one-liter jar to the top with Kalanchoe leaves and add vodka, leave for 2 weeks;
- Mix turpentine and castor oil in a ratio of 1: 2, grind and insulate feet.
For oral administration
- It is necessary to chop parsley finely and pour boiling water over it for 10 hours in a thermos. After that, filter the liquid diluted with 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. Infusion is divided into 2 days, during which you need to use it 3 times;
- Pumpkin juice in the amount of 120 ml to use daily, at least 2 times.
Heart swelling
Broth for drinking for one day is prepared from 500 ml of boiling water and st. spoons of the mixture, which includes: St. John's wort, nettle, bearberry, wild rose. The fluid is divided into 4 times.
Kidney edema
For ingestion, you need to prepare 100 grams of birch leaves and 450 ml of warm water. After 5 hours, the liquid is filtered and left until a precipitate appears in it, it is not recommended to drink it. Reception should be made before breakfast, lunch and dinner for half a glass every day.
How to avoid swelling for older people
Ignoring the regular edematous condition of the limbs, you can turn it into a chronic form, which will be harder to get rid of.
To minimize the risk of illness in old age, you can:
- reviewing the foods in your diet;
- controlling weight;
- doing physical activity.
Salt refusal
If possible, there should be a complete abandonment of salty products, this also applies to winter preparations, to which most people in their age are so accustomed.
Completeness
Overweight is harmful to all, it is he who can often serve as the root cause of stagnation. It is necessary to fight with him regardless of age, and the elderly should keep track of kilograms very carefully.
Physical Education
When edemas of the legs are shown, simple physical exercises that not only have a positive effect on the state of the whole organism, but also are capable of prolonging its youth and years of life. In addition to the recommended therapeutic gymnastics, you can go dancing, go to the pool or just arrange long walks.
Following simple recommendations, each person of advanced age can save himself from many illnesses. To do this, you need to carefully recognize and not ignore the signals that the body gives.
It is not recommended to self-treat the edema of the legs before an accurate diagnosis is established, although traditional methods are effective, but the best result will be achieved only in combination therapy with medical drugs to eliminate congestion in the limbs.
Additional information about leg edema is in the following video.
