- What causes swelling in the feet and hands
- How to deflate feet and hands
- Swollen feet and hands in pregnancy
- Warning signs to go to the doctor
- How to prevent swelling
The main cause of swelling in the hands and feet, which arises on waking up or after walking, is poor blood circulation due to excessive consumption of salt or sodium, and a lack of regular physical activity, because these factors are sufficient for one day heat can cause swelling even in young people.
In that case, just drink more water, take a 20-minute walk and have a diuretic tea, such as parsley, to combat swelling in your hands, legs and feet.
What causes swelling in the feet and hands
In addition to poor circulation, other causes include diabetes, high blood pressure, heart or kidney failure, which is why you should watch when your feet or hands become swollen and if there are other symptoms such as too little or too much urine, tachycardia or even excessive tiredness by making small efforts.
In any case, taking a diuretic diet, maintaining physical activity regularly and consuming less salt and sodium are of great help to deflate, but if the symptoms persist, it is advisable to go to the general practitioner or cardiologist to identify the cause and start the treatment that it can be done with taking diuretic medicines, for example.
How to deflate feet and hands
When your feet or hands are swollen, what you can do to deflate is:
- Sit and put your feet on top of another chair, to favor the blood circulation of your feet towards the heart; Open and close your hands, bending your fingers, because this simple exercise helps to drain excess fluids; Eat diuretic foods all the days is also an excellent way to eliminate excess fluids from the body, see here which are the best natural diuretics; placing your feet or hands in a basin with hot and then cold water is also an excellent strategy. See the steps to do this technique correctly in this video by the physiotherapist Marcelle Pinheiro:
The main cause of swelling in the extremities of the body is the fluid retention that happens in people with high blood pressure, hypertension or diabetes, but this can also happen when the person has only poor blood circulation. Although this symptom is common during pregnancy, it is more common after the age of 40, affecting men and women equally.
Swollen feet and hands in pregnancy
It is very common for swollen hands and feet to appear during pregnancy, due to poor blood circulation, which at this stage is due to the excessive presence of the hormone relaxin, which causes the dilation of veins and hinders the return of blood to the heart.
- What to do: Exercising during pregnancy, increasing water consumption and reducing salt and sodium in your diet are very important to deflate your feet and hands during this phase. The pregnant woman should walk daily, at least, for 40 minutes at the beginning or at the end of the day and should drink plenty of fluids, especially water or clear sugar-free teas because the more water she ingests, the more urine she will produce, favoring deflating.
It is also recommended to avoid standing in the same position for a long time, either standing or sitting, as this increases the swelling of the feet. Thus, it is best to remain seated with your legs under another chair or, lying with your feet under cushions or the arm of the sofa to facilitate the return of fluids to the heart.
Warning signs to go to the doctor
It is recommended to go to the doctor when in addition to the swollen hands and feet, other symptoms such as tingling are present; when only 1 hand or 1 foot is very swollen; if you have difficulty breathing or a fever.
How to prevent swelling
So that your feet and hands do not get swollen again, what we advise you to do is:
- Practice some type of physical activity, such as walking 3 to 4 times a week; Drink at least 2 liters of water or tea, without sugar, every day; Avoid eating sugar-rich foods such as biscuits, cookies, cakes, sweets and ice cream; Decrease the daily consumption of salt, avoiding packet snacks, putting less salt in meals and not adding fine salt to the salad, for example; Decrease the consumption of processed foods because they are full of toxins and sodium in their composition; Eat daily diuretic foods like cucumber, pumpkin, melon, orange, lemon and parsley;
Another good tip is to drink a glass of diuretic juice, such as watermelon with lemon, for example. See another example in Home remedy for swollen hands and feet.
