Swollen Legs and Ankles | Causes and Treatment
Swollen legs and ankles are caused by water retention. When your circulation has problems working against the effects of gravity, your blood collects in the lower part of your body. The extra pressure on your blood vessels makes them leak fluid into the tissues of your legs and ankles. This causes swelling, and your skin can become very discoloured; in severe cases your skin may even weep fluid. Large veins on the surface can become swollen and painful - a condition known as varicose veins.
The technical name for this condition is “chronic venous insufficiency” (CVI) but not all swollen legs are caused by CVI. Get your legs checked by a doctor just in case you have a heart or kidney problem, which can also cause water retention in legs and ankles. Swollen legs are also common in pregnancy and are caused by the pressure of the baby on the veins in the pelvis.
Another condition which can cause swollen legs (as well as swelling in other parts of the body) is idiopathic cyclic edema (ICE). ICE occurs mostly in young women after sitting or standing for a long time. Idiopathic simply means “of unknown cause”.
Diuretic Medicines
The best treatment for swollen legs due to a heart or kidney problem is diuretic medicines. These will normally be prescribed by your doctor. If your heart and kidneys have a clean bill of health, then be very wary of taking diuretics. With both CVI and ICE, the fluid that leaks from blood vessels into the tissues carries protein with it. This protein sits in the tissues, drawing water out of your blood. If you take diuretics, you will also urinate more, leaving your blood dehydrated. Your body will adapt by producing hormones which slow down urination, and this aggravates water retention and makes the swelling worse.
“I haven’t seen my legs this small in a long time”
Exercise is important to prevent swollen legs, and your doctor has probably already recommended wearing support or compression stockings. But what is not so widely known is that CVI and ICE can often respond very well to eating the right foods. There are many foods which can help to strengthen the blood vessels in the legs and start to break down the proteins which have leaked into your tissues. Avoiding certain foods can also reduce levels of histamine in your body. Histamine tends to increase the “leakiness” of blood vessels and to aggravate water retention.
Based on these principles, British naturopathic nutritionist Linda Lazarides has designed a diet specifically to release water retention. Known as the “Waterfall Diet” it involves following a plan which takes 2-3 months and has had many good reports. The instructions for the Waterfall Diet can be found in the book of the same name, available from Amazon.com or from Amazon.co.uk.
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Comments
Comment from Linda Lazarides
Time August 31, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Any persistent symptoms should always be reported to a doctor. Sometimes swollen legs can be caused by a lack of exercise but as described in the waterfall diet book, there can also be a number of other causes, depending on the individual.
Comment from matthew
Time September 9, 2009 at 5:05 pm
when I push in on my shin right leg it leaves an impression that stays depressed for a time. If I press down with my finger and run it up my shin it wiil leave an impression. Should I be concerned?
Comment from Linda Lazarides
Time September 10, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Yes, this is a sign of water retention.
Comment from Cheryl
Time September 12, 2009 at 2:46 pm
I woke up about 2 months back with swollen, stiff and tingling hands, fingers and feet — there is an anti-inflamatory that I have found that will reduce the swelling for a little while, but it comes back. Could this be water retention? You mention legs and ankles, and not hands and feet.
Comment from Linda Lazarides
Time September 13, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Yes, this sounds very much like water retention. By all means try the Waterfall Diet but if it doesn’t help within a couple of weeks you should get your doctor to check in case there is a specific medical problem.
Comment from babes
Time October 19, 2009 at 12:30 pm
I play badminton 2 to 3 times a week and had been sprained in the same ankle twice but I completed my theraphy session. Afterwhich, I am using a bandage everytime I play to support my ankle. However, this past few days I noticed that I often experience swollen legs and feet. By the way, this started after I had a thai massage. Did the massage trigger my already injured ankle? I also focus on eating fish for the whole week, once a day and I also drink coffee 1 cup a day. I hate drinking plain water so I drink green tea instead. I hope these infos could help detect the cause of it. By the way, I work in an office which often makes me sit for long hours, however I haven’t had that problem before….
Comment from Linda Lazarides
Time October 19, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I have not heard of a massage triggering swelling of hands and feet. If you’re keen to get to the bottom of it you might want to read the printed version of the Waterfall Diet book. It has a number of questionnaires which you can fill in to see what type of water retention you have.
Comment from Albert Andrews
Time October 26, 2009 at 7:12 pm
My wife’s legs and ankles swells during the day. She goes to bed at night, and by next morning they are back to normal. She is not ill. She is over 65.
She eats frugally, does not smoke or drink. She works as a nurse. Why are her legs swelling and unswelling. Thank you.
Comment from Linda Lazarides
Time October 27, 2009 at 4:40 pm
During the night, the circulation in the legs does not have to fight gravity. This is why your wife’s legs are better in the morning. The longer she is upright, the more her blood is pooling at the bottom of her legs. This is sometimes known as chronic venous insufficiency. The veins in her legs need to be made stronger by eating more of the right foods.
Comment from Diane
Time December 3, 2009 at 1:36 pm
My son is 35 y/o AA, 6′ 3″, 240 lbs. He is very active. He has been experiencing swelling of the legs and ankles (more and less) for the past two weeks. Today, in addition to the swelling, he has reddish spots on his lower legs that appear more like welts rather than insect bites. He says his legs are tight and tender to the touch but not hot. I understand the swelling may come from water retention, but are the welts associated with any particular condition that you are familar with?
Comment from Linda Lazarides
Time December 3, 2009 at 5:22 pm
This does not sound like simple water retention, it needs to be checked out by a doctor.
Comment from Oka
Time December 6, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Several months ago (possibly more than one year), I noticed that my two legs are swollen, even around the ankle area. When I depress it, it leaves an impression. I’d gone for ECG and was told I was normal. The doctor had also told me this was not a case of pitting, but it’s still there and I still feel worried. Also, I do feel unwell most of the time. I am driving almost all the time, without any atom of exercise. i also bend over my lap top for long periods, most times in awkward positions and also do a lot of talking. Sometimes I also notice that I feel physical pains on my head when I have severe heaches. Please what can I make out of these conditions?
Comment from Linda Lazarides
Time December 8, 2009 at 5:34 pm
It is excellent that your doctor says nothing is wrong. This means you have a form of water retention called idiopathic oedema (edema) which simply means water retention of unknown cause. The waterfall diet is particularly designed to help this. It may or may not help your headaches, especially if you know that your posture is faulty.
Comment from Claudette
Time December 27, 2009 at 9:13 pm
I am not in pain but I do like shoes so I am very frustrated when I can not fit into my shoes. The TOPs of my feet do puff up after a very short while sitting at the computer. This condition disappears with the onslaught of the cold weather and I can zip up my nice boots. Also, after a brisk walk of at least an hour, I can see the veins on the tops of my feet again
Comment from Ajna
Time January 13, 2010 at 10:10 am
Hi Linda,
The Waterfall Diet sounds very interesting! I just recently started retaining water and my legs and ankles are swollen like they have never been before. I just recently did a water fast and lost 20 lbs. I was on it for 26 days. After I broke my fast, I started out very carefully, eating fresh fruits and veggies before eating any kinds of cooked foods. Now, I am eating normal again but it seems I have been craving salty foods. I don’t usually even eat salty foods because I was used to eating without seasoning my food with extra salt ever since my mother had to cut down on her salt intake because of her blood pressure, and our family got used to ‘no salt’ in our diet. At any rate, I blew up like a blow fish shortly after my fast and my face, legs, ankles and abs are swollen so big it looks and feels like I gained all the weight back again. I haven’t even been on the scale since I started retaining water! I don’t even want to look! A couple questions, can the waterfall diet apply to vegans and will a steam or dry sauna help reduce the water retention?
Comment from Linda Lazarides
Time January 13, 2010 at 7:07 pm
Ajna, such water loss after beginning to fast is a sure sign that your water retention responds to removing certain foods from your diet. The Waterfall Diet will help you find out what your problem foods are so that you can keep the water retention away without having to fast. It is the only permanent solution to water retention. You can try saunas if you want but even if they help they will only have a temporary effect. Yes, the waterfall diet can be adapted for use by vegans.
Comment from Aida
Time February 12, 2010 at 11:35 am
Hi
I can’t wait for my own copy of The Waterfall Diet to arrive. I ordered it after reading your articles. Based from the articles it seems my 20+ years of struggles with my tree trunk size legs are due to lupus, histamine n kidney problems. I hope to get the normal size legs soon…
Comment from Linda Lazarides
Time February 12, 2010 at 7:01 pm
Wishing you all success with the diet Aida - let us know how you get on.
Comment from Dacee
Time February 12, 2010 at 10:40 pm
I had swollen legs and was put on a diuretic, and it helped my condition, which lasted about 1 year, then it disappeared after that. Now, if I do any excersize at all, low impact or anything, my legs swell afterwards. Several times I also experienced a red rash around where my socks had cut into my legs. I have Lupus, which is controlled by medication. Do you think that this is a Lupus problem or do I have some other circulation problem? I really love to excersize, but it is hard to fight this condition when I do.
Comment from Linda Lazarides
Time February 13, 2010 at 11:13 am
This is a tricky one, Dacee. I don’t think I can answer without doing a complete assessment of your current diet and health. The best I can suggest is that you get the waterfall diet book and start the diet on a ‘try it and see’ basis. I’d say it has a pretty good chance of helping this problem by generally strengthening the walls of the small blood vessels in your legs.
Comment from phoebe
Time August 31, 2009 at 9:23 am
how long does it normally take for the swelling to get back to normal after sitting for a long time? …for you to know whether to see a doctor or if it was just due to sitting and will be fine again?