Edema

“Edema” is the medical term for swelling from fluid trapped in your body’s tissues. It happens most often in your feet, ankles and legs. But it can affect other body parts, too, like your face, hands and belly.

Edema is common because many conditions can cause or contribute to it. It can also affect anyone, but it most often affects people with heart, liver or kidney disease. It can also happen in pregnant women, adults over 65 or people who spend a lot of time on their feet.

There are two main types of edema:

• Localized edema: This affects a smaller area around a single part of your body. It’s a normal part of your body’s immune and healing processes. A common example of this is swelling from an injury that you can treat with ice or a cold compress.
• Generalized edema: This type is more serious. It affects a larger area or multiple body parts at the same time.

Generalized edema can be a symptom of serious health conditions. You should contact a healthcare provider if you have edema without an injury or obvious cause.

What edema looks and feels like

Edema’s effects can include:

• Part(s) of your body look puffy, enlarged or swollen
• Skin that looks shiny, stretched or feels tight
• Discomfort, soreness or pain in the affected area
• Difficulty using affected body parts because they’re bigger or don’t move as well
• Feeling like clothes or shoes are too tight or don’t fit, and trouble putting on or taking off jewelry, like rings or bracelets
• Weight gain, usually slow, from fluid trapped in your body
• Swelling that makes it hard to do certain tasks, like closing your hands all the way

Specific forms of edema

There are several forms of edema, including:

• Brain swelling (cerebral edema)
• Fluid in your lungs (pulmonary edema)
• Fluid around your lungs (pleural effusion and hydrothorax)
• Fluid around your heart (pericardial effusion)
• Fluid in your abdomen (ascites)
• Swelling under and around your eyes (periorbital edema)
• Lymph fluid-related swelling (lymphedema)

What are the most common causes of edema?

Edema can happen for many reasons. Some of the possible causes and contributing factors include:

• Inflammation from injuries and illnesses, or from allergic reactions
• Pregnancy
• Long, unbroken periods of either sitting or standing
• Organ failure conditions, like heart failure, liver failure or kidney failure
• Chronic conditions, like thyroid disease
• Medication side effects
• What you eat (especially foods with a lot of salt [sodium], like chips, processed meat, cheese, canned soup and fast food)
• Alcohol overuse
• Circulation disruptions, like venous insufficiency, or blood clots that cause conditions like deep vein thrombosis
• Sleep apnea

How is this symptom treated?

Edema treatments mainly depend on the cause. When your edema comes from an underlying condition, treating that condition may help.

Other examples of possible treatments include:

• Changing what you eat, especially switching to a low-salt (sodium) diet
• Adjusting how active you are
• Quitting tobacco use or drinking less alcohol
• Taking medications that reduce inflammation
• Taking medications like prescription diuretics (“water pills”) that help your body get rid of excess fluid
• Receiving hanging medications (if they’re causing or contributing to your edema)
• Using cold packs or ice for swelling from minor injuries
• Getting treatment for sleep apnea

Because treatments can vary, you should talk to your healthcare provider about treatment options. They can tell you more about treatment options that are most relevant and likely to help you.

What you can do about edema

There are several things you can do to manage your edema. Managing it can help with swelling and ease its effects on you. Things you can do include:

• See a primary care provider regularly (at least once a year for check-ups, and more often if recommended).
• Manage your chronic conditions as recommended.
• Don’t sit or stand for long periods without going for a short walk.
• Elevate affected areas when you can, especially your legs and feet, to help fluid drain.
• Lower your salt intake and ask your primary care provider for recommendations about managing what you eat.
• Reach and maintain a weight that’s healthy for you.
• Use special shoes and garments, like compression socks (but be sure to ask your provider before using them).

What are the possible complications or risks of not treating edema?

Edema causes decreased circulation and can lead to:

• Pressure wounds
• Wounds that heal slowly or don’t heal at all
• Infected wounds that can spread and cause serious problems, like sepsis, bone infections and heart valve infections, or lead to amputations
• Feeling tired or “heavy”
• Shortness of breath
• Decreased blood flow to important organs, resulting in organ damage and serious illness

When should edema be treated by a doctor?

It’s very important to see a healthcare provider if you experience swelling in multiple places in your body or body parts. This is even more important when the swelling happens suddenly or unexpectedly.

Call a provider if you have swelling and any of the following:

• Severe pain
• Shortness of breath
• Fever
• Coughing or vomiting blood
• Swelling that affects only one limb (especially a leg)
• Swelling that stops you from going about your regular routine and activities
• Yellowing of your eyes or skin (jaundice)
• A personal or family history of heart, lung, liver or kidney disease

Swelling throughout your body from an allergic reaction, especially around your face or mouth, is a medical emergency. If you or someone you’re with has it, call 911 or your local emergency services number right away.