Water Retention in Legs | Natural Remedies for Water Retention

Excessive Water Retention in Legs

Many people become aware of the swelling around the ankles and the feet when the shoes feel tight. This often happens when they are traveling or have been standing for long. Such people are usually women who have weak veins.

How to get rid of Water Retention

Following measures will help to reduce water retention in legs

  • Tie elastic crepe bandage below knees.
  • Legs should be raised on a foot-rest while traveling and when doing the desk job in the office.
  • Sleep with legs raised and resting on a pillow.

The above instructions have to be followed more or less permanently.

What causes Water Retention in the Legs

Many overweight people demonstrate the mild edema of the legs by producing a dimple on the bony portion on the front of the legs by pressing hard with the tip of a finger. Such minimal edema is often found in many fat people. Though it will temporarily respond to natural diuretics like barley water daily, it will disappear permanently only with the reduction of extra weight.
Many women experience generalized puffiness or swelling of the body, like rings become tight, feeling of tightness in breasts and face looks and feels puffed up.

Often this type of swelling is present just before the start of the menstrual cycle. Barley water reduces such type of swelling. Such swelling may come and go for a number of years.
Nutritional anemia can also cause excessive water retention in legs. Hypothyroidism is also one of the causes.

If the excessive retention of water is present even after excluding above given conditions, the person should undergo a thorough medical examination as well
as investigations that includes urine examination, liver function tests and ECG.

5 comments


  1. L Z

    I am avoiding sodium as much as possible, and I have cut out caffeine. I drink an average of 6 liters of water a day cardio 5x a week, oh, I am a 42 year old female, not on any birth control. I am going to the doctors tomorrow and would like a strong diuretic to help with the retention. Any advise you can give me would be very appreciated.

  2. PUP

    Swollen legs, or edema of the ankle joint, and lower legs have many causes;
    - Overweight,
    - hypothyroid,
    - filariasis,
    - certain cardiovascular disease,
    - kidney disease,
    - liver cirrhosis,

    Local cause in the ankle and legs are boils and abscess, varicose veins, certain drugs causing water retention.
    Since the edema is not reducing even after taking diuretics, let me know your weight, if you have excess weight try to reduce it. Thyroid test will help in detecting hypothyroidism. Reduce salt intake. Control fat intake.
    Keep your legs under the pillow, while lying down on a bed.
    Even after all this precaution and preliminary cure, if the swelling does not reduce, a physician opinion is valuable.

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