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.

Adapted from the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 1996

The change from the recumbent position to standing produces acute hemodynamic changes that are exaggerated during pregnancy. The result is that in the third trimester, standing can produce a decrease in blood pressure and cardiac output, followed by increases in maternal heart rate and systemic vascular resistance. To compensate for the positional change, chemical compounds derived from the amino acid tyrosine, catecholamines, are released to increase vascular resistance and normalize blood pressure and heart rate. Graduated compression stockings have been shown to reverse these effects.

The authors conclude that the use of support stockings during pregnancy is associated with favorable cardiovascular effects. They point out that support stockings may be useful clinically to reduce contractions that occur in pregnant women on standing. Thus, use of compression stockings during pregnancy appears to promote beneficial hormonal, mechanical and cardiovascular effects.

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.

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.

Adapted from the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 1996

The change from the recumbent position to standing produces acute hemodynamic changes that are exaggerated during pregnancy. The result is that in the third trimester, standing can produce a decrease in blood pressure and cardiac output, followed by increases in maternal heart rate and systemic vascular resistance. To compensate for the positional change, chemical compounds derived from the amino acid tyrosine, catecholamines, are released to increase vascular resistance and normalize blood pressure and heart rate. Graduated compression stockings have been shown to reverse these effects.

The authors conclude that the use of support stockings during pregnancy is associated with favorable cardiovascular effects. They point out that support stockings may be useful clinically to reduce contractions that occur in pregnant women on standing. Thus, use of compression stockings during pregnancy appears to promote beneficial hormonal, mechanical and cardiovascular effects.

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.

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