Water Retention Treatments

Medical Treatments for Water Retention

The drugs which doctors use to treat water retention are known as diuretics. There are several varieties, none of which is a cure for water retention, as they have to be taken every day.

Loop diuretics and Thiazine diuretics
These have names like bumetanide, frusemide, hydrochlorothiazide and metolazone. They encourage your kidneys to excrete sodium. As the sodium is excreted, it takes water along with it. These drugs can also cause large losses of potassium – a vital mineral which you need to replace by drinking plenty of fruit or vegetable juice..

Potassium-sparing diuretics
These have names like spironolactone and triamerine. They work in a similar way to the other diuretics, but do not cause such large losses of potassium.

Side effects of diuretics
Most pharmaceutical medicines change one aspect of our metabolism while at the same time unbalancing others. Diuretics increase your excretion of valuable minerals like potassium and magnesium. Some can cause gout. These medicines are important for treating severe water retention (oedema or edema) caused by a malfunctioning heart or kidneys. But if used in other types of water retention, such as those due to leaky blood vessels or histamine (see Causes of Water Retention), diuretics could aggravate your water retention; your body will hold on to fluid to avoid becoming dehydrated. In these situations, diuretics, whether of the pharmaceutical or herbal variety, are counter-productive. The best solution is to address the causes of your water retention with the Waterfall Diet.

Herbal Diuretics

These include herbs like dandelion leaf and boldo. They are much less powerful than pharmaceutical medicines but can still cause mineral losses. The Waterfall Diet book recommends several herbal medicines, such as red clover. But these are not diuretics, and do not stimulate your kidneys to release water. They help the Waterfall Diet to prevent problems such as swollen legs.

Tags: diuretics, herbal diuretics