Water retention

At Water retention or Water retention (med .: edema, Dropsy, Hydrops) mostly legs, feet, arms or hands swell due to liquid. Edema is usually the result of diseases such as heart disease or liver disease. This edema is usually not painful, but the cause should be examined by a doctor.

What are water retention?

Water retention or. Edema show up as swellings in body tissue. When pressure is applied, dents appear that remain visible. Water retention often points to illnesses and is part of medical treatment to clarify the underlying causes.

Short-term water retention, such as after insect bites or allergic reactions, can be remedied quickly. Water retention that takes up larger parts of the body or affects the whole body is more difficult to treat. It is often difficult to clarify the cause.

causes

If the heart muscle weakens on the right side, kick Water retention or Edema especially on the lower legs and ankles. In left-sided heart failure, the water collects in the lungs.

Kidney weakness can lead to water retention all over the body. Swollen eyelids are particularly common. In inflammation of the liver, liver disease and liver cirrhosis, water is retained in the abdomen.

If fluid is pressed from the veins into the surrounding leg tissue, it is water retention in the legs. Deep-seated leg and pelvic vein thromboses can be responsible for the edema in the legs.

Drugs can cause water retention as a side effect. If too little protein is taken in with the food when dieting, water retention can also occur. During hormonal changes, such as those that take place during the menopause and before menstruation, deposits in the water can also occur.

In the case of allergic inflammatory reactions, water retention can occur locally on the skin or on the conjunctiva, in the nose, throat and bronchial area. Other causes can be found in high blood pressure and an underactive thyroid, in venous diseases or in pregnancy.

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Diseases with this symptom

• Heart failure
• Menopause
• high blood pressure
• Liver disease
• Quincke's edema
• Nephrotic Syndrome

• Myocarditis
• Renal failure
• Hypothyroidism
• Insect venom allergy
• Circulatory disorders
• Chronic venous insufficiency

• Cirrhosis of the liver
• Inflammation of the kidneys
• Progressive systemic scleroderma
• allergy
• Lymphatic filariasis
• Lymphedema

Complications

Water retention or edema have various causes that can result in various complications. On the one hand, increased blood pressure (hypertension) can cause edema. Chronically high blood pressure, along with other factors, increases the risk of atherosclerosis.

The calcification of the vessels can lead to an occlusion and thus to an insufficient supply of downstream organs with blood. This can lead to peripheral arterial occlusive disease, heart attack, or stroke. In addition, heart failure (heart failure) can lead to water retention.

If left untreated, heart failure can, in the worst case, lead to a heart rhythm disorder (arrhythmia). Atrial fibrillation encourages blood clots to form on the wall in the atrium. These thrombi can loosen and be carried away with the bloodstream, which can lead to embolisms, especially a pulmonary embolism if the thrombus is in the right heart and a stroke from the left atrium.

Ventricular fibrillation can lead to cardiac arrest and eventually cardiac death. A disturbance of the liver function such as in hepatitis or liver cirrhosis also leads to edema. In addition, there are usually disorders of coagulation and an enlargement of the spleen.

Depending on where the accumulation of fluid is located, there are characteristic consequences. In the lungs, edema leads to chest pain and shortness of breath, while in the brain, paralysis and respiratory failure are possible.

When should you go to the doctor?

Water retention should always be examined by a doctor and, if possible, treated. In most cases, the water retention is caused by certain diseases of the heart and should definitely be resolved. Subsequently, a causal treatment of the heart disease must also be carried out. A doctor can then be seen if there is water retention in different regions of the body. In most cases these are relatively easy to recognize from the outside and can appear as swellings.

If these swellings occur for no particular reason, a doctor should usually be seen. A doctor must be contacted in any case if there are heart problems in addition to the water retention. These can lead to serious complications, so that in the worst case scenario the patient dies from them. Treatment must also be given for kidney problems. In the event of unconsciousness or sudden cardiac arrest, an emergency doctor must be contacted in any case. Without treatment, the water retention usually leads to a reduced life expectancy.

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Treatment & Therapy

Basically, persistent and larger ones belong Water retention in medical care. Cooling with compresses has a supportive effect if inflammation is responsible. Raising the legs to remove water is helpful on the legs. If the water retention results from a weak vein, compression stockings and lymphatic drainage can be used to help.

Physical and medicinal treatments help with mild heart muscle weakness, during pregnancy and when there is a lack of protein. If the causes are heart muscle weakness, kidney failure or liver dysfunction, medication is usually the first choice. Herbal remedies can help. Horse chestnut seeds, red vine leaves, aescin, butcher's broom root and rutoside help with venous weakness. Nettle and horsetail (horsetail), birch leaves, grouse root, bean pods and juniper berries also drain as tea.

Aescin is one of the over-the-counter medications, which has a decongestant effect after operations and sports injuries. Bromelain, papain and rutoside help in general and in combination. The natural heparin helps with bruises and bruises. Red vine leaves are effective for varicose veins and swelling in the legs. Hydroxyethyl rutosides are used for weak veins. Troxerutin prevents edema and reduces swelling in the legs. In addition, Schüssler salts should also help.

For drug therapy, thiazides and thiazide-like dehydrating agents can be prescribed as prescription drugs. Loop diuretics and osmotic diuretics are also used. Pulmonary edema in cardiac or renal insufficiency and edema due to liver cirrhosis are medical emergencies and must be treated differently.

Outlook & forecast

A uniform prognosis for water retention cannot be made. In order to assess the prospects of water retention, the cause of swollen legs or arms must first be clarified, because the success of the therapy depends on the cause and the degree of the disease.

If edema occurs as a result of hormonal fluctuations, such as before your period or during pregnancy, the prospect of improvement is good. This type of swelling often has a tendency to regress. Especially if you do a lot of sport and pay attention to a low-salt and healthy diet. Even putting up your legs or taking alternating baths can lead to success in this case.

However, if there is heart failure or kidney disease, the underlying disease must first be eliminated before the edema regresses. Therefore, before making a prognosis, the cause of the swelling must always be found first. Chronic edema can lead to increased skin pigmentation or ulcers in the future.

If there is water retention due to lymphatic drainage, the symptoms can be alleviated with regular lymphatic drainage, baths or compression stockings. However, the success always depends on the severity of the edema and how the patient reacts to the treatment.

This means that the prognosis for water retention cannot be standardized. The cause and severity of the edema must always be considered.These factors are clarified as early as possible so that a prospect of improvement can be established.

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Prevent

Simple home remedies such as treading water, soaring footbaths, rubbing rubbing alcohol and putting your legs up against a wall can help. Fruits such as pineapple, mango, kiwi and citrus fruits provide minerals and vitamins, enzymes and trace elements. Strawberries, asparagus, parsley and lettuce have a dehydrating effect. Drinking plenty of water, a balanced diet and regular exercise, and everything that is good for the body and the circulation stimulates the metabolism.

You can do that yourself

If the water retention is due to a weak vein, you can first use compression stockings or bandages to relieve the veins. If the intake of draining medication - so-called diuretics - is essential, attention must be paid to a mineral balance. Therefore, a diet rich in vital substances should be ensured. Taking food supplements could also be helpful.

Exercise therapy is generally indicated for all causes of water retention. It is sufficient to integrate short walks, running or walking, exercises on the trampoline or yoga units firmly into your everyday life. The movement stimulates the metabolism as well as blood and lymph flow. Avoiding salty foods and animal proteins - at least temporarily - also reduces water retention in the body. Many people are also affected by hyperacidity of the body. This also leads to water retention. A change in diet is necessary here. Base powder, alkaline body care and baths provide quick help with over-acidification.

Another possibility is to cleanse the lymph. This can be used as a cure and includes the intake of various medicinal plants such as: birch, field horsetail (horsetail), cat's beard, dandelion, nettle, sweet clover, butcher's broom or horse chestnut. These plants are available in the form of tea, plant sap, tincture or capsule as a dietary supplement. It is also advisable to drink plenty of still water. This increases the amount of urine and stimulates lymph and blood flow as well as blood formation.