10 Swollen Feet Causes + When To See Your Doctor
When you try on shoes you haven’t worn in ages, you might notice they suddenly don’t fit. Your ankles and calves, which were once slender, are swelling like balloons. Whether the feet are hurting or not, they’re uncomfortable, especially when the only footwear that fits are flip flops and slippers. This swelling could be from a long day in heels or shoes half a size too small, but they could be a symptom of something else. As Britt H. Tonnessen, MD, Yale Medicine vascular surgeon, says, “There are probably 50 different things that can cause feet, ankles, and legs to swell.” Feet and legs are more likely to swell than any other part of the body, because gravity naturally draws bodily fluids to the lower extremities. [1] “I tell my patients, if you were on the moon, you wouldn’t notice it happening as much!” explains Dr. Tonnessen.
The body has two drainage systems:
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The veins, which brings blood from the legs back to the heart, and the lymphatics, which are tiny channels that move liquids around the body These two systems work together against gravity to prevent fluids from pooling into the legs. When something goes wrong and the fluid remains puddled in the feet, ankles, or legs, this causes a form of swelling called edema. [2] “If there’s just a little swelling at the end of the day, that’s very common and probably nothing serious,” Dr. Tonnessen says, “but if it’s starting to progress, where you’re noticing there’s more swelling after a few weeks or months, if the swelling is only in one foot or leg rather than both, or if there’s any association with shortness of breath, you should see a doctor.
10 Reasons for Swollen Feet
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I you have been experiencing swollen feet, one of these 10 reasons could be why.
You’ve been on or off your feet all day.
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Maybe your job keeps you on your toes, you had a busy day running errands, or perhaps you took a long tour through a new city. Whatever the case may be, it can leave you with sore and puffy feet. Conversely, being off your feet can create a similar effect. If you spent the day sitting due to an injury or a new job, you may suffer from dependent edema, which is caused by gravity. Luckily, this condition can be treated by simply propping up your feet on a pillow at the end of the day. Compression socks are another good option and recommended by Dr. Tonnessen. “They go from the foot to the knee and are a little snugger on the foot and ankle to prevent the accumulation of fluid,” she says. [4]
Too much salt
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French fries, pickles, chips, and pretzels are delicious, but consuming too much sodium can cause water retention, which results in swelling and puffiness. “I advise my patients to really look at labels of all their food,” says Dr. Tonnessen, “to see how much sodium is in their diet soda, canned soups, microwave dinners, and to consume no more than 2,000 to 2,400 milligrams per day.” [5] Making sure you get adequate potassium in your diet is also an important factor to consider.
Injuries
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Swelling can also be a result of inflammation from a fracture or tendonitis. These conditions have a clear sign that separates them from other causes: they hurt. While the foot heals, it’s recommended for you to rest the injury, apply ice packs and compression bandages. [3]
Read More: 10 Signs You Should Pay More Attention To Your Thyroid Health
Pregnancy
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There are several reasons why pregnancy leads to swollen feet. The body retains more fluid during this period. Also, the belly adds weight to the pelvic floor, which puts pressure on the blood vessels in the legs. Finally, the pregnancy hormone called relaxin. It makes the pelvis relax and enlarge, but it also loosens the ligaments in the feet. A little swelling is normal and could be treated by exercise, proper hydration, and comfortable shoes. If the swelling increases and is followed by nausea, headaches, or blurred sigh, contact your doctor immediately. This could be a sign of a dangerous condition called preeclampsia. [2]
PMS
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Hormonal changes can give some women headaches, mood swings, cramps, backaches, nausea, and other lovely effects. It also can cause fluid retention a week or two before the period begins. Exercise, hydration, and reducing sodium should fix the swelling in a few days. [5]
Extra weight
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Similar to pregnancy, extra pounds of body weight can press on the legs’ blood vessels and enlarge the feet. “If you’re sitting a lot, that extra weight in your belly sits right on the groin area, and that can disrupt the lymphatic flow that drains fluid from your legs,” says Tonnessen. “But even losing just 10 or 20 pounds can make a difference.” [5]
Medication Side Effects
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If you are trying new prescription drugs, such as oral contraceptives, steroids, antidepressants, and diabetes medications, they may cause fluid retention and therefore, swollen feet. Talk to your doctor if you think this might be true. However, if the medication is otherwise helping, it might be worth it to switch to comfortable flats instead of strappy sandals. [1]
Varicose veins
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This condition occurs when the veins in the legs become weak and lose elasticity. The vein’s valves don’t work as well, affecting the blood flow back to the heart, causing the blood to pool and create the signature blue and red lines on the legs, and puffy feet and ankles. Compression socks, exercise, weight loss, and elevating your legs for 15 minutes throughout the day can help alleviate this condition. [6]
Blood clot
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This is a more serious case. Leg swelling, both or usually one, can indicate a blood clot in the tissue, also called deep vein thrombosis (DVT). “This can happen at any age, and it typically happens after someone has been laid up after an injury or hospitalization, or after a long car ride or airplane flight,” says Dr. Tonnessen.
Symptoms that accompany the swelling may include
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pain
tenderness
a warm sensation
redness or color change in the affected area
fever
Diagnosis
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To diagnose these cases, doctors use ultrasounds and prescribe blood-thinning medications to keep the clot from affecting the brain, lungs, and heart. These cases are usually preventable by avoiding sitting for extended periods of time, exercising, and drinking enough water. [3]
Heart, Liver, or Kidney Disease
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Swelling is often a condition that leaves on its own, but if it becomes steadily worse and is followed by other symptoms like weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, shortness of breath, or pressure in the abdomen, it could be a heart, liver, or kidney disease. “Report your symptoms to your doctor if there’s so much swelling that it leaves an indentation if you press your finger into it, or if it has developed suddenly, lasts for more than a few days, affects just one foot, or is accompanied by pain or discoloration of the skin,” advises Dr. James Ioli, chief of podiatry services at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital and co-editor of the Harvard Special Health Report Healthy Feet. If this is the case, stay on the safe side and visit your health practitioner as soon as possible.
Sources
https://theheartysoul.com/10-possible-reasons-for-swollen-feet/?bc21=true&slide=5
The Old Man Walked Into the Shelter and Asked for the One No One Wanted — “I’ll Take the Mean One,” He Said Quietly, But the Night He Collapsed Alone at Home, It Was the Cat Everyone Feared Who Refused to Leave His Side and Changed Everything
The Old Man Walked Into the Shelter and Asked for the One No One Wanted — “I’ll Take the Mean One,” He Said Quietly, But the Night He Collapsed Alone at Home, It Was the Cat Everyone Feared Who Refused to Leave His Side and Changed Everything
The first time I saw her, she wasn’t just sitting in the back corner of that county shelter—she was watching the world like it had already disappointed her beyond repair, like every pair of footsteps that had ever passed her cage had confirmed a quiet, stubborn belief that nothing good was coming, and that she had better be ready for that.
For 204 days, that’s what she had done.
She had watched people walk in asking for kittens with round eyes and soft fur, watched children press sticky hands against glass while their parents laughed and said, “Something friendly, something easy,” watched volunteers lower their voices when they reached her enclosure as if the mere act of speaking normally might provoke her into proving every rumor they had spread about her—that she scratched, that she bit, that she could not be trusted, that she was, in the softest and most polite way possible, a problem no one wanted to bring home.
Her fur was uneven, not in a way that suggested neglect alone but in a way that hinted at a life that had not been gentle, her left ear carried a jagged tear that never quite healed cleanly, and her yellow eyes—sharp, unwavering, impossible to soften—met every gaze with the same unspoken challenge: I will not beg you to choose me.
Most people didn’t.
And then one morning, when the air still carried that thin, biting edge of early winter and the shelter smelled faintly of disinfectant and stale coffee, a man walked in who did not look like he belonged among hopeful adopters searching for companionship as much as comfort.
He was seventy-six, though he moved with the slow caution of someone who had learned the hard way that a single misstep could change everything, his shoulders bent just slightly forward as if life had pressed on them for years without ever fully letting up, his boots worn in the specific way that suggested decades of standing rather than walking, and tucked carefully into the pocket of his shirt was a small plastic pillbox that he touched every few minutes without seeming to notice he was doing it.
His name, I would later learn, was Leonard Hayes.
Behind him came his daughter, Evelyn, whose voice carried the kind of worry that had hardened into frustration over time, her words spilling out in that careful balance between concern and impatience that only family members seem to master.
“You cannot keep living like this,” she said, not loudly enough to cause a scene but loudly enough that everyone within ten feet understood that this conversation had happened before and would likely happen again.
Leonard did not argue immediately. He shifted his weight, adjusted the paper bag in his hand—a bag of cat food he hadn’t yet purchased, as if he had already made a decision before stepping through the door—and then he exhaled slowly.
“That’s exactly why I need a cat,” he muttered, more to himself than to her, though she heard it anyway.
Evelyn pressed her lips together. “You fell last month. You forget your medication. The house is too big for you. You can’t fix loneliness with an animal.”
He tapped the pillbox lightly. “I forget because nobody lets me remember on my own.”
There was something in the way he said it—not defiant, not even particularly strong, but steady—that made the room feel quieter for a second, as if even the distant barking had paused to listen....
