Swollen feet, sometimes called edema, is a condition where the muscles in the feet have an excessive fluid buildup. Gravity pulls the fluid to your ankles and feet.

Swelling can be a symptom of a serious problem, a sports injury, pregnancy, heart disease, fluid retention, kidney problems or another condition. If your feet swell chronically see your doctor.

Slight swelling of the lower legs commonly occurs in warm summer months. Slight swelling is more likely to occur if a person has been standing or walking a lot.

Traditional treatment might include any or all of these suggestions:

• Elevate your feet and legs. Place a pillow under your heels, and prop your feet on a chair or high stool. Use a leg wedge to elevate while sleeping.
• Dip your feet into a tub of cold water or sit on the side of the bath with your feet under a cold-water tap. After this put your feet up for a while.
• Reduce your salt intake. Salt causes you to retain water.
• Do not abuse laxatives.
• Take diuretics if prescribed by your doctor. Diuretics increase urination by pulling excess fluid out of your cellular tissues.
• Practice good health habits. Proper nutrition and daily exercise improve the health of your cardiovascular system and your circulation, helping to reduce the tendency of your feet to swell.
• Wear support socks or stockings and well fitting shoes.

People who have difficulty with mobility face many everyday challenges. For some, walking may be the problem. For others, steps are a problem. Some may need extra support or a wheelchair, while others may be able to stand and walk but only for a short time.

Space Requirements

Your specific mobility needs determine your living and work space requirements and furniture arrangements. For example, a person using a wheelchair needs about 5 feet to turn. Narrows hallways leading into rooms are nearly impossible for these people to maneuver through, as are doorways less than 32 inches wide. People who use crutches and walkers also require extra room for movement.

Installing sliding doors, which move out of the way and require less effort to get around, is one way to improve your living and work spaces. Removing doors on closets and cupboards is another important improvement if you have difficulty maneuvering.

Ways to Carry Items

If you are on crutches or use a walker, you are likely to have difficulty carrying items. A sturdy cart may be used to load dishes, appliances, or other tools and may serve as support when walking. If this method does not work, try attaching baskets to the crossbar of your walker or, if you are on crutches, carrying a bag over your shoulder. If you use a wheelchair, a lapboard enables you to transport several articles at one time.

How low can you reach comfortably and still maintain your balance? How high? How far in front and to the sides? Answering these questions will help you determine the best places to store frequently used articles. If you cannot reach the floor, for example, you should store your clothes in the middle and upper drawers of your bureau. Tong-type gadgets, which are available in various lengths and weights, extend your reach. A wooden stick with a magnet on the end enables you to retrieve metal objects without bending.

More tips for reaching and storing items:

• Hang pegboards on which to store equipment and utensils.
• Install Lazy Susans, pullout drawers, and open shelving. Many variations of these accessories are available in stores.
• Attach long handles on dustpans and brooms to pick up trash from either a sitting or standing position.
• Install electrical outlets on the front of cabinets at a convenient height.

Counters

If you use a wheelchair, you may find counters in the home to be too high. From a sitting position, most people find a 29- to 31-inch-high counter to be most comfortable. Because many people generally use the same work space, lowering all the counters would be uncomfortable for some workers.

You might install one work surface or table of a suitable height for you and use tabletop appliances, such as an electric skillet, in place of the range. Counters or tables with open areas underneath allow you to pull your wheelchair closer and reduce strain on your back and shoulders.

If you use crutches or a walker, you may find it convenient to have a high stool handy for sitting while you work. A mirror mounted at the back of the range and tilted to reflect the inside of pans is also helpful.

Choosing Appliance Features

You will probably find appliances with controls in the front most convenient. This eliminates the need to lean across the range, washer, etc., to set the dials.

Microwave ovens offer many advantages, including a shallow cooking cavity; side opening doors; and a cool interior, which minimizes your chances of burning yourself.

Side-by-side refrigerator/freezers reduce maneuvering around the doors. Water and ice dispensers located within the doors are also helpful.

Self-cleaning ovens eliminate another difficult task.

In the laundry area, front loading equipment is easier to reach from a wheelchair if the equipment is raised on a platform. For those who use walkers or crutches, top-loading appliances may be easier to use. Tongs will help to reach into the top-loading machines if bending or reaching is a problem.

Small changes in how you perform tasks and simple adaptations can make your life easier and increase your independence.

In 2004, the most recent year statistics are available, almost 15,000 people 65 and older died from falls and about 1.9 million were treated for injuries in emergency rooms, said Judy Stevens, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“I think the magnitude of the problem is something that people don’t recognize,” Stevens said. “It really is a serious issue for older adults.”

Making sure that people over the age of 65 know how to avoid falling or being injured by a fall is the goal of a campaign launched this month by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

The organizations say in addition to exercise, older people can make their homes safer by installing night lights, bathroom grab bars and slip- resistant floors.

“If we continue to exercise, especially strength training, we decrease the loss of bone density. Just by working on strength training, you’re working your muscles to keep strong,” said Joe Scott, a NATA member who is outpatient orthopedic team leader for Southcoast Hospitals Group in New Bedford, Mass.
Scott said that as people get older, they’re less active so they lose strength. Also, sight and balance problems can creep in.

Stevens also said it’s a good idea for older people to have a doctor review their medicines each year to look for things like drug interactions that could lead to dizziness.

Experts say certain exercises — yoga, tai chi, and trying to balance on one leg with your eyes closed — can help improve balance.

If a younger person slips, they’ll usually catch themselves, but older people often have less strength and slower reaction times, experts say.

Injuries from falls in the elderly can include broken wrists, elbows, arms and hips, said Dr. Jay Mabrey, chief of orthopedics at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.

Low back pain can affect the back anywhere below the ribs and above the legs. The lower back is the connection between the upper and lower body, and it bears most of the body’s weight. Because of these roles, it is easily injured when you lift, reach, or twist.

Almost everyone has low back pain at one time or another. The good news is that most low back pain will go away in a few weeks with some basic self-care. But if your pain is severe or lasts more than a couple of weeks, see your doctor.

Low back pain is often caused by overuse, strain, or injury. For instance, people often hurt their backs playing sports or working in the yard, being jolted in a car accident, or lifting something too heavy. It is more likely to become long-lasting (chronic) if you are under stress or depressed.

Depending on the cause, low back pain can cause a range of symptoms. It may:

•  Be dull, burning, or sharp.
• Be felt at a single point or over a broad area.
• Come on gradually or suddenly.
• Occur with muscle spasms or stiffness.
• Cause leg symptoms, such as pain, numbness, or tingling, often extending below the knee. These symptoms can occur on their own or along with low back pain. Leg symptoms are often caused by lower spine problems that place pressure on a nerve that leads to the leg.

A rare but serious problem called cauda equina syndrome can occur if the nerves at the end of the spinal cord are squeezed. Seek emergency treatment if you have weakness or numbness in both legs, along with loss of bladder or bowel control.Doctors say back pain is:

•  Acute if a spell (or episode) of pain lasts less than 3 months. Most back pain is acute and goes away with 4 to 6 weeks of home treatment.
• Recurrent if acute symptoms come back. Most people have at least one episode of recurrent low back pain.
• Chronic if your back bothers you most of the time for longer than 3 months.

Swollen feet, sometimes called edema, is a condition where the muscles in the feet have an excessive fluid buildup. Gravity pulls the fluid to your ankles and feet.

Swelling can be a symptom of a serious problem, a sports injury, pregnancy, heart disease, fluid retention, kidney problems or another condition. If your feet swell chronically see your doctor.

Slight swelling of the lower legs commonly occurs in warm summer months. Slight swelling is more likely to occur if a person has been standing or walking a lot.

Traditional treatment might include any or all of these suggestions:

•  Elevate your feet and legs. Place a pillow under your heels, and prop your feet on a chair or high stool. Use a leg wedge to elevate while sleeping.
• Dip your feet into a tub of cold water or sit on the side of the bath with your feet under a cold-water tap. After this put your feet up for a while.
• Reduce your salt intake. Salt causes you to retain water.
• Do not abuse laxatives.
• Take diuretics if prescribed by your doctor. Diuretics increase urination by pulling excess fluid out of your cellular tissues.
• Practice good health habits. Proper nutrition and daily exercise improve the health of your cardiovascular system and your circulation, helping to reduce the tendency of your feet to swell.
• Wear support socks or stockings and well fitting shoes.

People who have difficulty with mobility face many everyday challenges. For some, walking may be the problem. For others, steps are a problem. Some may need extra support or a wheelchair, while others may be able to stand and walk but only for a short time.

Space Requirements

Your specific mobility needs determine your living and work space requirements and furniture arrangements. For example, a person using a wheelchair needs about 5 feet to turn. Narrows hallways leading into rooms are nearly impossible for these people to maneuver through, as are doorways less than 32 inches wide. People who use crutches and walkers also require extra room for movement.

Installing sliding doors, which move out of the way and require less effort to get around, is one way to improve your living and work spaces. Removing doors on closets and cupboards is another important improvement if you have difficulty maneuvering.

Ways to Carry Items

If you are on crutches or use a walker, you are likely to have difficulty carrying items. A sturdy cart may be used to load dishes, appliances, or other tools and may serve as support when walking. If this method does not work, try attaching baskets to the crossbar of your walker or, if you are on crutches, carrying a bag over your shoulder. If you use a wheelchair, a lapboard enables you to transport several articles at one time.

The flow of blood leaving your legs is rather sluggish when you’re stuck motionless in a seat during air travel. It tends to encourage an accumulation of fluid in your feet (gravitational edema). Ordinarily, the muscles of the leg, and particularly the calf, act as pumps to encourage the main veins in the leg to empty upwards. Just walking does most of the work in this respect.

To minimize the problem during air travel, it is suggested that you keep your feet moving, constantly stretch and flex your calf muscles, get up and walk about the airplane every half an hour or so.

An additional option would be to wear support stockings for the duration of the flight. It is best to use an above-knee stocking that has been measured to fit properly. There are a few folk who should not use support stockings. They tend to be older people with poor arterial blood supply to the legs.

If, however, you are getting swollen legs in your everyday life, then that is something you need to discuss with your own doctor so that it can be investigated further. I hope this helps.

Each year, 35-40% of older adults fall at least once. The best preventative measure is to take steps to improve bathroom safety to help avoid a fall, but you should also plan for a fall in the event that it occurs. Falling down is not just the result of getting older; it can be caused by a variety of circumstances.
Knowing how to help reduce injury, and to have a plan in place in advance when a fall occurs will help the older adult cope.

•  Improve Your Body Balance with Exercise - lack of exercise leads to weakness in the body
• Increase Your Home’s Accessibility and Safety - install grab bars and shower and toilet safety products
• Watch Out for Medication Side Effects - many medicines can cause diziness or fatigue
• Have Vision Checked Regularly - have regular eye exams to keep eyeglass perscriptions current

Before using your breast pump for the first time, read the entire instruction manual. Wash your hands with soap and dry thoroughly with a clean paper towel. You don’t have to wash your breasts before you pump unless you use creams, ointments or other products on your breasts. Check your products’ labels and ask your doctor for advice. Assemble your pump using the manufacturer’s instructions. Then find a clean and comfortable place where you can relax and not be distrubed. Position the breast-sheilds using your instruction manual for tips on positioning your nipple. Adjust the breast-shield until it feels comfortable, and begin pumping. Adjust the speed until you find one that is comfortable.

Since the amount of milk produced is different for everyone, you should consult with a qualified health care professional to help you dterming the best pumping method for you. A typical pumping session lasts about 10-15 minutes per breast, but you should only pump as long as it is comfortable and productive.

When you are finished pumping milk, gently insert a finger between your breast and the breast-shield to break the vacuum seal. Remove the bottle of milk and label with the date and time of pumping before storing in the refrigerator or freezer.