Customer question:
How can we naturally help with swollen feet? Can lymphedema be treated at home?
Pharmacist's response:
Swelling of the legs associated with edema can often be alleviated with simple home remedies. However, if leg swelling is associated with a specific medical condition requiring further diagnosis or treatment, please see your physician.
Wear compression stockings
Compression socks are stretchy, tight socks that gently but firmly compress your legs, feet, and ankles. They come in different designs that use different levels of pressure. Compression stockings help to improve blood vessel function by gently compressing the legs. This helps speed blood flow from the legs back to the heart. In addition, this type of compression prevents the accumulation of fluid that can accumulate in the leg tissue with poor circulation.
While you can buy compression stockings over the counter at pharmacies, the size you wear should be based on the recommendation of your doctor or pharmacist. Wearing compression stockings that are too tight can limit circulation and oxygenation, which can lead to tissue death in the worst case.
Follow a low-salt diet.
A low-salt diet can help reduce swelling. Sodium is essential in regulating the water level in the cells, helping to maintain the balance of fluids inside and outside the cells. But if you overeat salt, you can increase the fluid level in the body, outside the cells.
A low-salt diet is about more than limiting added salt. It requires avoiding processed foods such as deli meats, frozen dinners, and soups, which often require large amounts of salt to improve the flavor and shelf life of the food.
Exercise
Whether you are limited in movement during the day due to work, staying in one place, or sitting for too long can increase your risk of swelling. When you move, your leg muscles force blood and fluid from your leg muscles toward your heart. If you stay still for too long, fluid builds up in your legs and causes swelling.
Exercises that work against gravity help the body pump fluid from the feet back into the upper body.
Put your feet up
Elevating your feet above heart level is an effective way to relieve leg swelling. You can relax with your feet on a mat or try yoga. The yoga pose "legs up the wall," also called viparita Karani, involves lying on your back and pushing your legs against the wall. This can reverse the effects of gravity, which pushes fluid down toward your legs and causes swelling.
Drink enough water
You might think that drinking fluids could make a condition involving fluid retention worse, but that's not the case. When your body is dehydrated, it sends signals to retain the fluid present, which also causes swelling. Staying hydrated and drinking the recommended eight to ten glasses of water daily helps your body flush out toxins and maintain a healthy fluid balance.
What about other pharmaceutical drugs?
Interesting reading: Stiff legs
Interesting reading: Swelling of the leg - CAUSES
