Swelling in the extremities

I have a problem with my feet, ankles, and fingers swelling. It isn't painful, just mildly irritating and uncomfortable. I experience this every spring, just as it begins to warm up. The rest of the year I'm just fine.

I've sipped so much water today, have taken a potassium supplement, and have eaten less than 2000mg of sodium (I was sure it was sodium and fully intended to beat it this year). Yet, tonight the skin on my feet and ankles feels stretched and they are puffy looking. Feels weird to bend my toes. The rings on my fingers are still loose, but my hands feel really tight.

I know, I should go see a doctor. But it's such a hit and miss, I don't think they'd be able to properly diagnose me.

Putting the affected extremities in cold water helps, but elevating them doesn't seem to do much.

Does anyone know if Sodium causes the actually condition Edema...or is Edema caused by something else. (Edit: I just looked up images of Edema it what I'm experiencing is defnitely not that severe).

Does anyone else experience this and what you do to relieve it.

Hi just wanted to say that I experience it too. I mainly get it from my knees to my ankles but doesn't go down to my feet.  Sounds weird eh, I think it weird anyways.  I feel the tightness in my knees when bending and my skin feels uncomfortable.  It's slightly painfull when my kids bang into me or I hit somewhere.  Like you elevating isn't working this time round.  What I found good are natural herb suppliments that control body water fluid. I don't know if you find these in the States I live in Europe.  They're by HealthAid, they're called Aquaflow.  Site www.HealthAid.co.uk  I hope this isn't considered spam I just want to help.  I gave you the site so you can check out the ingredients.  If you can't find anything similar to these you could always try a homopothist (not sure that's spelt right) or check out a healthfood shop instead of the drugstore. I personally prefer herbal over chemical. Oh and if you like parsley and celery they are natural dieretics (again don't know spelling), they help your body extract excess fluid and you could add fresh lemon juice to your water as well. Thing with these be ready to go to the loo a few times extra a day.

Good luck and congrats on your weightloss so far.

Hello!

I just read your post and wanted to tell you what you have is not serious. I had it occasionally while I was pregnant and the day was particularly hot. I have it now when the day is hot, or when I sit too long in a padded chair (the padding acts as a tourniquet and prevents your blood from flowing back to the heart properly; I had that even when I elevated my legs in a certain padded chair; I changed my armchair for a better quality one and now have had no problem in a long while).

The reason why you have fluid build-up in your extremities is because of diffusion. Water gets pressed out of the blood vessels and goes into the surrounding tissue. If the day is particularly hot, your heart can't beat fast enough to clear the fluid and you experience pressure. It gets worse as you age. The best prevention is motion. If you flex your fingers or walk a while, it will diminish. In some people the veins become more porous with age, which explains why some people never experience that.

You didn't tell your age, but I guess you are in your middle years. I never had that (except when I was pregnant) before I turned 40. Now it's a daily occurrence when I walk a while in the heat. Salty foods, dehydration and poor fitness will make it worse. Try to move about as much as you can, drink enough (but not too much), and try to lie flat on a bed, feet elevated, if it gets too bad. I get it worst when I quilt too long!

Hope this helps!

Thanks to both of you.

This is exactly what I was looking for. Eating celery is a great idea. I hadn't known that it was a diuretic.

And now that it's been mentioned, I do remember my Mom's feet swelling up when she was pregnant with my little brother. She called them "Flintstone Feet". Mine don't get that bad, just less defined than normal and they feel a little weird when it happens.

I also posted about Edema and got a great reply. Definitely don't think have anything that serious! That just sounds miserable. But I'll check with Doc.

Thanks again!