Foot Swelling: Find Products to Help Ease Your Foot Swelling

Do you suffer from foot swelling? Do you know what could be causing your foot swelling? FootSmart has teamed with The Podiatry Institute to bring you the facts on foot swelling and how you can find relief from foot swelling.

Why You Have Foot Swelling

You may hear your doctor refer to leg and foot swelling as edema, the term used to describe an abundance of fluid found between tissue cells. Edema typically causes lower leg, ankle and foot swelling, but can really impact any area of the body.

Many factors contribute to your likeliness to develop foot swelling. Some causes of foot swelling can be quite serious, so please take note of any body or foot swelling and talk to your doctor about it.

The causes of foot swelling, according to The Podiatry Institute, include:

• Serious conditions of the kidney, heart, liver or blood vessels can contribute to foot swelling and edema in other parts of the body.
• Eating a poor diet high in salt and carbohydrates can cause foot swelling.
• Abusing laxatives can contribute to foot swelling.
• Abusing diuretics may cause you to develop foot swelling.
• Abusing drugs can lead to foot swelling.
• Taking birth control or hormone replacement therapy pills may cause foot swelling.
• Pregnancy and PMS can lead to foot swelling.
• Sodium retention may contribute to foot swelling.
• Varicose veins and a history of phlebitis (inflammation of a vein’s wall) can lead to foot swelling.
• Allergic reactions may cause foot swelling.
• Neuromuscular disorders could lead to the development of foot swelling.
• Any kind of trauma may contribute to foot swelling.

How to Determine If You Have Foot Swelling or Edema

If you have foot swelling or edema, your may first notice that your foot is swelling up more and more as the day goes on. But after a period of time, the foot swelling will set in first thing in the morning and continue to worsen throughout the day.

Long-term foot swelling or edema causes pitting: When you press on the swollen area for a few seconds, you will notice an indentation in that area. Continued foot swelling or swelling in other parts of the body can also cause skin ulcerations (sores on the skin).

Over time, other symptoms of foot swelling and edema will develop:

• High blood pressure is a symptom of edema/ foot swelling.
• Headaches can go along with edema/ foot swelling.
• Increased urination is a symptom of edema/ foot swelling.
• Palpitations can go along with edema/ foot swelling.
• Puffy eyes can go along with edema/ foot swelling.
• Weight gain is a symptom of edema/ foot swelling.
• Swollen hands and/or wrists can go along with edema/ foot swelling.

Tips on How to Relieve Your Foot Swelling and Related Symptoms

The best way to reduce leg and foot swelling is to elevate your legs above the level of the heart, which puts minimal pressure on knees, thighs and lower back. Just sitting in a reclining chair in front of the TV is a great way to elevate your legs to reduce foot swelling. Many products, for use at home or at work, can also help reduce leg and foot swelling.

Other aids to ease leg and foot swelling include:

• Leg cushions , including leg and bed wedges and leg elevators, raise the feet while sleeping and/or resting to help ease foot swelling.
• Support socks and graduated compression hosiery – which come in various gradients (light, moderate, firm) depending on the pressure you need, and various lengths depending on the level of the edema – can help ease your foot swelling.
• Proper fitting shoes and socks can help relieve foot swelling.

Shopping Tip: Remember to buy new shoes in the afternoon to get the best fit, since foot swelling can get worse as the day continues. If you buy new shoes in the morning, and your foot is swelling by the afternoon, your shoes will feel too tight.

The Podiatry Institute recommends the following techniques to help decrease foot swelling and other symptoms of edema:

• Increase muscle activity with walking to help reduce foot swelling and other symptoms of edema.
• Avoid standing in place for long period of time to ease foot swelling and other symptoms of edema.
• Avoid sitting with the feet dependent to relieve foot swelling and other symptoms of edema.
• Limit salt intake to help alleviate foot swelling and other symptoms of edema.
• Do not abuse diuretics, but a short-term course may be helpful to help reduce foot swelling and other symptoms of edema.
• Do not abuse laxatives if you want to reduce foot swelling and other symptoms of edema.
• Drink plenty of water to alleviate foot swelling and other symptoms of edema.
• Avoid contraceptive pills and hormone replacement therapy – if possible – if you want to help reduce foot swelling and other symptoms of edema.
• Use a compression pump to help fluid return to the blood vessels to help ease foot swelling and other symptoms of edema.

If foot swelling or other swelling continues to worsen, please consult your doctor. You may need more specific treatment for your case of edema/ foot swelling.

Information on foot, leg and lower body health conditions like foot swelling provided by The Podiatry Institute, dedicated to advancing the standard of care in podiatric medicine and its effects on muscoskeletal health.