Do I Have Fluid Retention? How to Spot Symptoms?
A. What is Fluid Retention?
Fluid retention or Water retention; medically referred to as edema; is the retention and accumulation of excess fluid that leaks into the body tissues. It usually leads to the enlargement of organs, skin, or other body structures and causes swelling throughout the body (generalized) or in a certain part of the body (localized), especially in the extremities such as fluid retention in legs, feet, and ankles, although it might occur in the face, hands, arms, abdominal cavity and around the lungs too. fluid retention
Normally,
The excess fluid is drained from the body tissues by our lymphatic system. But, when the amount of the fluid exceeds the ability of the lymphatic drainage system or if there’s damage in the lymphatic system, the system will fail to work and the fluid will be retained in the body tissues. The retention will lead to swelling of the body if the condition continues.
B. Signs and Symptoms:
Symptoms of fluid retention can include:
- Swelling of affected body parts (feet, ankles, and hands are commonly affected).
- Aching of affected body parts.
- Stiff joints.
- Rapid weight gain over a few days or weeks.
- Unexplained weight fluctuations.
- When pressed, the skin may hold the indent for a few seconds (pitting edema).
- in other cases, the skin may not hold an indent when pressed (non-pitting edema).
C. Causes of Fluid Retention:
There are numerous reasons why a person could suffer from fluid retention. Some of the many common causes of fluid retention include:
- Gravity – standing up for long periods of time allows fluid to ‘pool’ in the tissues of the lower leg
- Hot weather – the body tends to be less efficient at removing fluid from tissues during the summer months
- Burns – including sunburn. The skin retains fluid and swells in response to burn injuries
- Menstrual cycle – some women experience edema in the two weeks prior to menstruation
- Pregnancy – hormones encourage the body to hold onto excess fluid
- The pill – oral contraceptives that include estrogen can trigger fluid retention
- Dietary deficiency – such as insufficient protein or vitamin B1 (thiamine) in the diet
- Medications – certain drugs, including high blood pressure medication (antihypertensives), corticosteroids, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
- Chronic venous insufficiency – weakened valves in the veins of the legs fail to efficiently return blood to the heart. The pooling of blood can result in varicose veins.
It Can Occur as a Result of The Following Conditions or Treatments:
Fluid retention may be a symptom of serious underlying conditions, including:
- Arthritis – joints affected by some types of arthritis tend to swell with fluid.
- Heart failure.
- Chronic lung diseases.
- Liver disease.
- kidney diseases.
- Thyroid disease – such as hypothyroidism.
- Allergic reaction.
- Malignant lymphoedema.
- Autoimmune diseases such as lupus.
Risk factors:
Anyone can experience fluid retention, but some risk factors increase the chances of it occurring. These include:
- Contraceptive pills.
- Corticosteroids.
- Pregnancy.
- Malnutrition.
- A sedentary lifestyle.
- Liver, heart, or kidney conditions.
D. Lymphedema
Lymphedema is swelling in the legs caused by a blockage in the lymphatic system, or an inherited condition. The lymphatic system consists of a series of lymph nodes (glands) connected by a network of vessels (lymphatics), similar to blood vessels.
Fluid surrounding body tissues usually drains into nearby lymph vessels so it can be transported back into the blood. But if the lymph vessels are blocked, the fluid can’t be reabsorbed and will build up in the tissue.
Unlike edema, lymphedema is a long-term condition that can cause discomfort, pain, and a loss of mobility. It can’t be cured, but it can be controlled using a number of treatments.
These include:
- Compression stockings.
- Skincare.
- Lymphatic massage.
- Elevation.
Other Types of Edema Include:
- Cerebral edema – a build-up of fluid that affects the brain.
- Pulmonary edema – a build-up of fluid that affects the lungs.
- Macular edema – a build-up of fluid that affects the eyes.
- These types of edema have their own specific treatments.
E. Treatment:
Edema is often temporary and clears up by itself. For example, if you’ve been standing up for too long on a hot day, your ankles may swell up until you get the chance to put your feet up and rest. If edema doesn’t go away by itself, see your Doctor. He will try to find out if there’s an underlying cause that needs to be treated.
This could involve taking medication or following some advice, such as:
- Losing weight (if you’re overweight).
- Taking regular exercises, such as walking, swimming or cycling.
- Raising your legs three to four times a day to improve your circulation
- Avoiding standing for long periods of time
If an underlying condition is causing the fluid imbalance, it should clear up after the condition has been diagnosed and treated.
F. Water Retention And Overweight:
Of course, not everyone does realize. Water retention gained in this way can look very much like fat. The main difference is that you can lose fat with a fat-loss diet and plenty of exercise. But that won’t work for water weight.
You might manage to lose a few pounds, but people with water retention usually hit a plateau that they just can’t overcome. People over 45 years of age are especially affected by this problem and often find it much harder to lose weight than they did when they were younger.
The fact is that the older we get, the less efficient our bodies get at dealing with the wastes and debris that escape from our digestive system into our blood. So the more water tends to collect in our tissues.
How to Reduce Fluid Retention “Naturally?
1. Reducing Salt Intake:
Reducing salt intake can ease fluid retention because salt is often the cause of excess water. Other diet-related changes that you can make for natural water reduction include drinking less beverages, such as coffee and alcohol, that cause dehydration, and ingesting more vitamins A and C.
increasing minerals such as potassium and calcium are also beneficial in reducing swelling caused by water keeping.
Diet changes often get rid of most of the symptoms caused by water holding, but they are sometimes hard to handle. Changing your diet is not the only way to reduce water retention without a prescription from the doctor, however. Keeping the count under 2400 mg/day for healthy people and 1200 for those who already have medical issues can be very beneficial, especially when it comes to water retention.
2. Tincture Dandelion:
Dandelion is a very valuable plant. The leaves can be eaten raw when young or cooked like greens when they are older. The flower is used to make wine, and the root is a fairly powerful diuretic.
About 10 to 20 drops of this tincture is a great way to reduce your water levels. It helps in removing excess fluid from the cells, nourishing and toning your kidneys, the adrenals, and the liver.
3. Exercises:
Exercise and relaxation, although they may seem to contradict, also help alleviate the symptoms of fluid retention. Physical activity helps to detox the body, and can sometimes help with the underlying causes of water keeping.
Relaxation, on the other hand, allows your body to properly handle stress and get rid of the wastes and toxins that your body retains in stressful situations. These toxins can affect water retention just as much, if not more, than an unhealthy diet.
4. Avoid Diuretics:
Though diuretics are effective for flushing out excess water in people with heart, kidney, or liver disease, they can also cause rebound edema. Continuous usage will activate the salt and water retaining hormones and when stopped, these hormones are activated and cause water retention.
5. Increase Fluid Intake:
Water moves through the kidneys and bladder thus diluting the urine. It becomes easier for the kidneys to flush diluted urine out along with the salt contained in it. Plain water is the best option since juices, sodas, and colas have salt content.
6. Herbal Tea:
Many herbs are slightly diuretic. Parsley is the best-known one. Take two teaspoons of dried leaves for each cup of boiling water and steep for ten minutes. Drink three cups a day.
7. Eat Fruit and Vegetables:
Eat Celery or cabbage too, they are natural diuretics so should help remove the excess fluid that’s causing your puffiness. Bananas, which contain potassium, are also useful as potassium is used in eliminating fluid from the body. Eating asparagus, corn, cucumber, grapes, and watermelon may be helpful. Reduce intake of parsley, black tea, and coffee in order to avoid water retention.
Eat Protein too, this naturally aids the body in removing fluid, but avoid a carbohydrate-rich diet that does the opposite. Trying these remedies, including reduced salt intake, will help in reducing water retention.
8. Avoid dehydrating agents :
When the body is dehydrated it doesn’t function right, so substances such as alcohol and caffeine should be avoided if possible. Caffeine is very small doses such as what is found in green tea can be useful as a mild diuretic, but it’s easy to ingest too much and become dehydrated.
9. Get the proper nutrients:
Calcium deficiency may be linked to water retention, as may deficiencies of several other vitamins and minerals. Make sure you get the recommended amounts of calcium every day along with proper doses of fiber and a high-quality multi-vitamin. There are also some studies that have linked melatonin to an improved capacity for correcting fluid retention.
Diet, Foods to Avoid for Edema:
Water retention levels vary and will go up and down depending upon a person’s diet. To stop water retention permanently means committing yourself to drinking water daily, and to eating a low sodium diet. Still, your body may retain a little water, especially if you are a menstruating woman. These symptoms may be reduced but may not always be wholly eliminated.
- Salt.
- Processed grains.
- Canned Vegetables.
- Vegetable juice.
- Processed meats.
- diary.
- Canned beans.
Helpful Foods:
Eating asparagus, corn, cucumber, grapes, and watermelon may be helpful. Reduce intake of parsley, celery, black tea and coffee in order to avoid water retention.
Lowering Sodium Intake:
Controlling your Edema by lowering your daily sodium intake is more complicated than just hiding the salt shaker. To reduce your sodium enough to effectively help reduce the swelling, you will need to drop down to levels even lower than the recommended daily allowance of roughly a teaspoon of salt. In order to achieve this goal, you will need to become familiar with nutrition labels and not be afraid to scrutinize all foods, especially the foods you love.
Note: Watch out for low-fat foods as many are high in sodium:
Here are some general guidelines you can follow that will help you to lower your daily sodium intake.
- Avoid all foods smoked or barbequed, cured, canned, jarred, pickled, brined, or salted.
- Avoid fast food, junk food, soft drinks, etc.
- Eat fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables (no salt added).
- Seek out salt-free snack foods.
- Use salt-free seasonings and salt substitutes.
- By choosing to follow a low sodium diet you should notice fairly quickly the swelling and water retention go down and the signs of edema reduced.
Summing Up:
Finally, some sufferers may need to see a doctor or other medical professional to successfully deal with their cases of fluid retention. This is because in some cases, as has been previously mentioned, edema can occur as the result of problems with some bodily organs – something that all sufferers will agree is not something that simple dietary or lifestyle changes can deal with. So for these people, finding out how to stop fluid retention can only be done with the help of a health professional.
If you find this article useful, don’t forget to share it with your friends and family, as you might help someone in need. Thanks.
Disclaimer: “Nothing in this article makes any claim to offer cures or treatment for any disease or illness. If you are sick please consult with your doctor.”
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