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"Swelling" that causes water to accumulate in the body such as the feet and face and causes rubber marks on socks. I'm sure some of you have experienced it many times. However, many people may have wondered, "I don't know how to get rid of swelling after all ..." "I want to prevent it, but what should I do?" This time, we will introduce in detail the causes of painful swelling, countermeasures, and preventive care methods under the supervision of a doctor. Updated November 18, 2021
table of contents
- What is "swelling" that causes dullness and traces of the feet?
- 5 causes of swelling in different parts of the body
- Most of the causes are "transient swelling" that occurs in daily life.
- Don't miss it! "Swelling" that leads to illness
- Countermeasures and elimination methods for "swelling"
- What you can do to prevent "swelling"
Supervisor of this article

Department of Sports Medicine, Shinshu University Sports Medicine, Orthopedics, Emergency Department. Graduated from Shinshu University School of Medicine and obtained a doctorate in sports medicine from the same graduate school. While conducting clinical work at a city hospital, he is conducting research at the same graduate school. He specializes in circulatory, neural regulation, and physiology of brain function.
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What is "swelling" that causes dullness and traces of the feet?
And this water is divided into three, "water in blood vessels", "water in cells", and "water between cells". Swelling is a condition in which excess water accumulates between these cells and the skin becomes swollen. In medical terms, this is called "edema".
Check the swelling mechanism!
As a method of judging swelling at the hospital, "confirmation by pressing and holding the front of the shin or the hard bones such as the forehead for 5 seconds or more" is performed. At that time, if there are marks and it remains as it is for a while, it is considered that "water accumulates between cells". Alternatively, in the case of feet, if there are marks such as socks, or if the shoes you were wearing become tight after the evening, you can judge that they are swollen.
If "swelling without scars" does not heal even if you exercise, swell even if you wake up in the morning, or returns to its original state with elasticity even if you press it for 5 seconds or more, you may have lymphedema or thyroid disease. We recommend that you visit a hospital.
5 causes of swelling in different parts of the body
(1) When the amount of water circulating in the body becomes too much or the flow becomes poor, the water stays in a specific place and leaks out of the
blood vessels. ( 2) The protein concentration in the blood decreases and the water is retained in the blood. eliminating Te, extravascular leakage of moisture
③ inflammatory and allergic reactions, it is the vessel wall due to the influence of hormones easily through water, extravascular into water leak
flow ④ lymphatic deteriorates, lymph stagnates
⑤ Side effects of drugs
Most of the causes are "transient swelling" that occurs in daily life.
Keep sitting or standing for a long time
This is the most common cause of the swelling.
When a person lives on the ground, he cannot resist gravity, and water (blood) tends to accumulate in lower places. It can cause swelling if you don't move for long periods of time, sitting or standing, and even while sleeping.
For example, if you are sitting or standing, your feet will temporarily increase in water, and if you are sleeping, your face, which is usually dehydrated, will temporarily increase in water, causing swelling.
The basic solution is to put on compression stockings or socks, move small swelling areas, or raise them high.
Too much salt
Do you eat salty meals daily, such as alcoholic drinks and a little fast food?
When the amount of salt in the body increases, the body becomes thirsty and drinks more water, resulting in excess water. Then, the water between the cells increases and swells.
Also, salt promotes the reabsorption of water from the urine in the kidneys (which makes it difficult for water to get out), resulting in excessive water and swelling.
Cold
When the circulation of peripheral blood is stagnant, you may feel cold at the same time.
This corresponds to (1), where the flow of water becomes poor, but in reality, it is not the direct cause of swelling because it gets cold. It is often thought that the cold itself is the cause of swelling, but when the cold comes first, the blood vessels shrink and the amount of blood (water) in the periphery decreases, so swelling is less likely to occur.
Drinking too many alcoholic beverages
Alcohol naturally contains a lot of water, so overdose can lead to overdose.
Also, alcohol has the effect of dilating blood vessels and making it easier for water to pass through the walls of blood vessels due to inflammation and allergic reactions that cause (3), so water leaks between cells. Alcohol, on the other hand, has a diuretic effect, which is only seen when you start drinking and your blood alcohol levels are increasing. Furthermore, if you continue to drink and the alcohol concentration becomes excessive, the amount of urine will decrease. Therefore, if you go to the morning as it is, it often swells until the next day without being able to collect the water leaked out of the blood vessels.
Low leg muscle mass
When muscles contract due to exercise, they push the surrounding tissues, and excess water between cells is pushed back into the blood vessels. Also, the walls of the veins are pushed at this time, so blood also returns toward the heart.
In other words, the muscles act as a pump to circulate the water between cells that have stagnated due to gravity on the blood.
It is related to "sitting or standing for a long time", but even in this case, swelling occurs because the pumping action of the leg muscles is not working. Also, women have less muscle mass on average than men, so their muscle strength is weak by nature, which causes swelling of the legs, which are especially prone to water retention.
Menstruation
There are many mechanisms of swelling due to increased female hormones, but the main ones are the action of storing water and the action of facilitating the passage of water from blood vessels. Especially before menstruation, the number of female hormones secreted changes. Women are more likely to swell before menstruation because the amount of water in the body increases and it becomes easier for water to leak out of the blood vessels.
Stress / fatigue
Regarding swelling caused by stress and fatigue, the direct causal relationship is not clear in some parts, but it has been pointed out that the effect of the hormone (cortisol) produced during stress may make it easier for water to accumulate between cells. I will.
Also, since blood flow may be impaired due to stress, it corresponds to (1) impaired water flow.
Medicine, Chinese medicine, supplements
Drugs, Chinese medicine, and some supplements may reduce the function of the kidneys that control water in the body, or swelling may occur due to side effects of the drug. It is said that it is often found in certain anti-cancer drugs and anticonvulsants, but it can also occur in some cases such as cold remedies.
Also, there are many cases of improper use of Kampo, so if you experience any physical problems such as swelling, stop taking it immediately and go to the hospital.
Don't miss it! "Swelling" that leads to illness
Injuries, burns and other injuries, insect bites
Even if you are injured or bitten by an insect, if the area is wide, the surrounding area will swell or swell. If you have a fever and swelling, cool it and place it above your heart to rest.
Allergic reaction
If you have allergies, the area may swell or swell when allergens come into contact with your skin. Also, if you are allergic to food or medicine, taking them may cause swelling throughout your body.
Lower limb vein thrombosis
This illness is the so-called economy class syndrome. Blood stagnation in the veins of the feet creates blood clots. Then, blood stays at the toes, leading to swelling.
As the name implies, it may occur if you are in a sitting posture that does not move at all for a long time even in daily life, because it occurs when you are in the same sitting posture for a long time on an airplane. Even in the event of a disaster, it often happens when you sleep in a car. If this happens, drink plenty of fluids and move your legs diligently.
Lymphedema
It is a representative of the swelling that returns even if you press the swelling part for 5 seconds or more, which was already explained at the beginning.
Typical examples are diseases such as cancer that occur after surgery or on one side apart due to a tumor, and hypothyroidism in which both legs are swollen. Both are swellings caused by the stagnation of lymph rather than water. It is easy to determine the cause after surgery, but be careful if the part on one side swells without any warning.
Also, hypothyroidism is accompanied by other symptoms such as weight loss and malaise even though it is swollen.
Undernutrition
Protein in the blood has a water-retaining effect, so it is unlikely to happen normally. It may not be able to retain water and the whole body may swell.
Heart failure / renal failure / liver failure
2 ) When the protein concentration in the blood decreases and water cannot be retained (
3) Inflammation, allergic reaction, and hormones make it easier for the walls of blood vessels to pass water. When
It swells when each organ does not function properly. The causative illness varies, but it is usually accompanied by symptoms other than swelling. Make sure you have a good health check for early detection.
Idiopathic edema
⑤ When side effects occur due to drugs
Women in their 20s and 50s have regular swelling of the whole body, even though they are not affected by illness or medicine.
Possible causes include excessive dietary restrictions and dieting regularly, abuse of diuretics to prevent swelling, abuse of laxatives, and constitutional easy passage of water through the walls of capillaries. It has also been pointed out that it is related to mental illness such as depression.
It can be improved by improving eating habits, reducing diuretics, and eating a low-salt diet.
Characteristics of swelling that should be consulted with a doctor
If you have other symptoms such as fatigue and fever besides swelling, see a doctor immediately. Also, be careful if there is no possible cause for the swelling mentioned here.
Countermeasures and elimination methods for "swelling"
1. Eat a well-balanced diet to remove swelling
"Nutrients really" that are said to be good for removing swelling
Protein is said to have the effect of maintaining water in the blood.
Since swelling also occurs during the disease that corresponds to cause (2), protein is important for water maintenance and is also a basic nutrient, so an appropriate amount is required. However, if you are a healthy person, unless you have an unbalanced diet, protein is maintained in your body as it is, so it is desirable to take an appropriate amount.
★ Protein-rich foods: meat, fish, legumes, etc.
Beriberi caused by a deficiency of B vitamins also causes symptoms of swelling, so vitamin B has come to be called a nutrient for eliminating swelling. However, this is also one of the diseases that can hardly occur in modern times if you eat a normal diet.
★ Foods rich in B vitamins: pork tenderloin, brown rice, cod roe, pork/beef liver, almonds, garlic, stains, seaweed, etc.
It is said to be good for swelling, but in fact, potassium itself does not have the effect of draining water.
There is a mechanism in the kidneys where sodium and potassium are exchanged inside and outside, and sodium attracts water, so it is misunderstood that taking a lot of potassium is good for swelling, but just because you ingested potassium, urine Higher potassium levels in the body do not increase water excretion.
Also, unlike protein and B vitamins, potassium can lead to arrhythmia, etc., so caution is required.
Foods you want to refrain from as a measure against swelling and when to eat
Avoid overdose of salty snacks, food, and alcohol. Also, at night, hormones that reduce body water and normal urine output are released, so taking these before going to bed may make you more likely to feel swelling in the morning.
2. Drinks that help eliminate swelling
Tea (other than barley tea and caffeine-less tea) has a diuretic effect on caffeine, which has some effect on water balance. Also, coffee may be good when it is over-hydrated.
Grapefruit juice is also said to be good for swelling, but potassium contained in grapefruit does not drain water, so it is not a drink that affects swelling.
3. Effective massage for swelling
To improve swelling, not only an internal approach but also an external physical approach is effective. Massage is especially effective.
It is recommended to return blood from the part far from the heart to the part near it. Do it to the extent that it doesn't hurt.
4. Stretching that can be done while standing or sitting
A stretch that is especially effective for swelling feet. You can easily try it without taking up space and time even when you are busy, such as in the office or during housework ♪ Rather than slowly stretching it, let's do it with the image of moving the muscles of the part where you want to cure swelling.





























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