Re: Swollen Feet, Ankles and Legs...

One guess might be Edema.

Edema is caused by fluid in your body’s tissues, and it typically involves swollen feet, ankles and legs. Usually fluid retention is noticed in the peripheral areas, but it can happen anywhere in your body.

Causes of edema include  Heart Failure, Anemia, Kidney disease, Low protein level in the blood, Liver disease, Malnutrition, Starvation for longtime, Thyroid disease, Weak veins, Medications, Pregnancy, Menstrual cycles, Immobility, Lymph node issues, Sunburn and Standing/walking in warm weather.

Sometimes even a healthy person can get edema but it gets cured automatically after some time. Heat and hot weather can also cause edema. Edema causes abnormal accumulation of fluid beneath the skin causing tingling sensation. Increased hydrostatic pressure can be the chief cause for pulmonary edema. Several factors including reduced oncotic pressure causes pitting edema. Know what causes pitting and non pitting edema.

Since there are so many possible causes of edema, I would suggest that a good first step would be to get a diagnosis from a medical professional rather than try to play guesswork with alternate remedies.  Once we know the underlying causes then we can better use natural and alternative remedies to address them instead of mainstream medicines which may ultimately cause more harm than good.

Salt causes body to retain water, so avoid salty food. Eat food that has low carbohydrate in it, because carbohydrate has more water content. Eat protein and fat rich food. Avoid fruits and vegetables because they increase the fluid level in the body. Eat low-sodium diet because medicines will be ineffective if you eat high-sodium diet.  And you might want to give “simple sugars” the boot from your healthy diet, as it may be causing you fluid retention.

Some treatment methods for relief of your feet, ankles and legs edema swelling are:

• use a footrest
• exercise regularly
• limit your salt intake
• apply cold water compresses
• don’t cross your legs when sitting
• take breaks and sit with your feet up
• wear supportive compression stalkings
• avoid standing or sitting for long periods
• stay cool because heat can make the swelling worse
• elevate your legs slightly with pillows while sleeping

Here are some remedies and herbs for edema:

Mustard oil is an effective home remedy for edema. Take some warm mustard oil and rub it on the affected areas. Soak 2 teaspoons of mustard seeds in water and apply the solution to the affected areas. Apple cider vinegar helps to remove excess fluid in the body cells and cavities.

The lymphatic circulation in the body is stimulated and aided by the Common melilot. This herb can be used in the form of an herbal pillow on the affected and swollen areas or it can alternately be used as an external topical salve. Stimulating the renal activity can increase the levels of eliminated water; this is achieved through the use of the berries of the juniper plant. Dosage of these berries can be five dried juniper berries chewed carefully on the first day of treatment, followed by six on the second day and increasing this until the eleventh day, finally utilizing a total of fifteen berries. This increasing berry count must now be decreased steadily a berry less every day form the eleventh until the twenty-second day, again coming down to five berries as the treatment regimen ends. People with any sort of kidney inflammation must not use the juniper berries. To promote the rate of urination and to increase water removal, use can be made of diuretic herbs like the horsetail, the common parsley, the yarrow, the stinging nettle, and the watercress or even the leaves of the birch tree. These herbs can be made into a tea by the addition of a tsp. of herbs to a cup of boiling water, alternately if you prefer a single tbsp. of any of the juices of the herbs mentioned used on a daily basis can also suffice.

Another cause of the swelling could be diabetes.

My suggestions, besides getting a professional diagnosis and the information above, are to make sure to take steps to protect, cleanse and regenerate your liver such as are included in my natural anti-cancer protocol and to take a look at my article on natural help for diabetes if that is a possibility (and it contains some good advice in any event).

All the best,

Tony