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Swollen feet and hands are symptoms that can arise due to poor blood circulation, excessive salt consumption, standing in the same position for a long time or lack of regular physical activity, for example.
The swelling in your hands and feet usually goes away during the night and with simple measures like raising your legs or raising your arms by opening and closing your hands, but in some cases it can be a symptom of diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure or heart or kidney failure. In such cases, it is necessary to follow up with a doctor to make the most appropriate treatment.
In addition, you need to be aware of the symptoms that may accompany swelling of the feet and hands such as sudden onset, redness or shortness of breath and seek medical help immediately.
The main causes of swollen hands and feet are:
1. Poor circulation
Poor circulation is the most common cause of swelling in the feet and hands and occurs due to the natural aging process of the body, in which the veins lose elasticity and become more rigid, making it difficult to take blood from the legs and arms towards the heart accumulating in the legs and arms, causing swelling in the feet and hands.
This type of swelling usually occurs at the end of the day in adults, the elderly or pregnant women, as they sit or stand for a long time.
What to do: in cases where work requires sitting for a long time, you should move your legs, feet and hands every hour or walk for 5 minutes inside the office, for example. In the case of working standing up, bending your legs and ankles, making circular movements with your feet and raising your arms by opening and closing your hands, you can help prevent swelling in your feet and hands. You can also do massage or lymphatic drainage to activate the circulation. Learn how to do lymphatic drainage at home.
2. Excess salt
Excessive salt in the diet can cause swelling in the feet and hands and this is because the salt contains a lot of sodium which retains water and therefore, if it is in large amounts in the body, it increases fluid retention.
What to do: A good option to avoid the accumulation of liquid in the feet and hands is to use low sodium salt or to use aromatic herbs to reduce salt consumption or avoid adding salt to meals.
Watch the video on how to prepare herbal salt.
3. Lack of physical activity
The lack of physical activity influences the blood circulation that slows down, being more difficult for the blood to return from the legs and arms to the heart and for this reason it can cause swelling of the feet and hands.
What to do: regular physical activity helps prevent and improve swelling in the hands and feet by improving blood circulation, making blood circulate more efficiently in the body, preventing the accumulation of fluids in the hands and hands. foot. Therefore, physical activities should be performed for at least 30 minutes, 3 times a week, such as light walking, swimming or water aerobics, for example.
4. Long trips
Sitting for a long time during a flight or on long trips by car or train, for example, causes blood to accumulate mainly in the legs and feet, causing swelling, in addition to increasing the risk of thrombosis.
What to do: move your feet up and down, walk the plane or train every hour, or stop every two hours in case of car travel. In addition, compression stockings can be worn before travel to avoid swelling of the feet and raise the arms, opening and closing the hands to stimulate blood circulation and prevent swelling of the hands.
Watch the video for more tips on how to prevent swollen feet and hands while traveling.
5. Diabetes
Diabetes can cause swelling mainly in the feet because of blood circulation that does not work efficiently, especially when blood sugar levels are out of control. In addition, the instep and toes may become red.
What to do: feet and toes should be evaluated daily, mainly because diabetes can cause diabetic foot and increased risk of foot infections. It is important to measure glucose daily to control blood sugar levels and thus prevent swelling of the feet and maintain the health of the feet. Check out the remedies to help control diabetes.
6. High blood pressure
High blood pressure is a common disease, especially in the elderly, and occurs due to a natural aging process in which the arteries become less flexible and more rigid and the heart needs to beat harder to take blood to other parts of the body.
When blood arrives at the extremities such as the feet and hands, it can be due to a difficulty in the blood vessels taking the blood back to the heart, causing the hands and feet to swell.
What to do: High blood pressure should be treated with drugs prescribed by the cardiologist. However, physical activities such as walking, losing weight, decreasing salt intake can help control blood pressure and reduce swelling in the hands and feet.
7. Heart failure
Heart failure occurs when the heart is not strong enough to pump blood that can accumulate in the legs and arms causing swelling.
Swelling of the feet and hands is usually accompanied by excessive tiredness, shortness of breath and a feeling of pressure in the chest.
What to do: heart failure should always be treated with medications prescribed by the doctor and, therefore, it is advisable to follow up with a cardiologist. In addition, salt consumption should be reduced and light physical activities should be practiced, always under the guidance of the cardiologist.
8. Use of medicines
The use of some medications can cause swelling in the hands and feet, such as corticosteroids, minoxidil or medicines to treat high blood pressure, such as captopril, enalapril, lisinopril, amlodipine, nimodipine, for example.
What to do: follow up with the doctor who prescribed one of these drugs to assess the dose or if it is necessary to change the treatment, for example. However, simple measures can be taken at home, such as raising your legs, raising your arms, massaging or lymphatic drainage, or taking light walks to improve blood circulation and prevent swelling of your hands and feet.
9. Renal failure
Renal failure is a condition in which the kidneys do not function properly and therefore do not eliminate body fluids in the urine, which can lead to swelling of the feet, hands and face.
What to do: kidney failure must be monitored by a nephrologist to ensure the most appropriate treatment. In some cases where renal failure is at a more advanced stage, hemodialysis may be necessary, as prescribed by the doctor.
10. Liver failure
Liver failure is a decrease in liver function and can cause swelling in the hands and especially the feet, due to the decrease in a protein in the blood, albumin, which helps to keep the blood inside the vessels.
This disease can be caused by alcoholism, hepatitis or even use of medication with paracetamol.
What to do: Liver failure should be treated by a hepatologist. In addition, alcohol consumption must be stopped and the consumption of salt and protein in the diet should be reduced to avoid swelling of the hands and feet, and the accumulation of fluid in the abdomen.
11. Venous insufficiency
Venous insufficiency occurs when the valves in the veins in the legs and arms do not work properly and cannot bring blood back to the heart, causing buildup in the arms and legs and swelling in the feet and hands.
Usually, the swelling occurs at the end of the day and usually disappears in the morning, being more common in obese or overweight people or the elderly.
What to do: you should do light physical activities such as walking, moving your legs and arms during the day, lying down and raising your legs above the level of your heart before going to sleep for 20 minutes, help to reduce the swelling. Venous insufficiency should always be evaluated by a cardiologist or cardiovascular surgeon to indicate the best treatment that can be with medication, surgery or the use of compression stockings, for example.
12. High summer temperatures
During the summer, it is very common to have swollen feet and hands and this is because when the temperature is higher, there is a dilation of the blood vessels in the feet and hands, bringing more blood to these regions, causing swelling.
What to do: to avoid swelling, you can raise your arms, opening and closing your hands and lie down with your legs raised to facilitate the return of blood towards the heart, massage your hands and feet or lymphatic drainage. In some cases, compression stockings or elastic cuffs may be used, with medical guidance. In addition, it is important to maintain a good fluid intake during the day and to eat a balanced diet to avoid fluid retention and swelling of the hands and feet.
When to go to the doctor
Some symptoms may accompany swelling of the hands and feet and require medical attention as soon as possible and include:
- The swelling happens suddenly;
- Swelling only in one foot or one hand;
- Redness of the swollen foot or hand;
- Shortness of breathe;
- Cough or sputum;
- Other symptoms like fever or tingling.
In these cases, the doctor may order tests such as blood or Doppler, for example, to identify the cause of the swelling of the hands and feet and recommend the most appropriate treatment.