Question: I’m having pain in my bones and swelling in feet and palms. Pain is under the feet which go away after walking.
Answer: What is your age? Is there any family history of cardiac, kidney or lung disorders?
Swelling in palms and feet may be due to various reasons. The medical word used for swelling is called edema. In many cases the cause of edema remains undermined, such cases are termed as idiopathic edema. Idiopathic edema is not dangerous most of the time. A woman may complain of swelling in extremities during or before her periods.
Injury, medications, blockage in lymphatic drainage etc can precipitate swelling. Your hands and feet may become swollen because of buildup of excess fluid in the body. It is often due to retention of sodium in the body. If the swelling is in excess, the skin may get stretched and there may be associated itching and burning. Below are given possible causes of swollen feet and palms.
What Causes Swelling In Hands And Feet?
As mentioned above one of the reasons for swelling in feet and palms is idiopathic edema.
- Swelling in hands and feet sometimes may indicate something serious in the body. Edema in extremities can be a symptom of heart ailment or improper kidney and liver function. There is excess accumulation of fluid due to sodium retention in such conditions. Therefore, swelling in extremities should never be neglected. Person should always consult his doctor even if there is mild edema in palms and legs.
- Traumatic injury can cause swollen hands and legs. This is associated with pain on any attempt to walk or put pressure on the foot, localized redness with evident history of an injury/trauma.
- Arthritis, a condition resulting in inflamed joints also causes localized pain and swelling in ankle and wrist joint. In most cases fingers are also involved. Patient is unable to fold his fingers due to arthritis.
- Varicosity with deep venous thrombosis may have one of its symptoms as swelling in ankle joint. Pain in legs may be a complementary symptom.
- Thyroid disorder often causes swelling in legs and hands. However, absence of pitting edema is one of the most characteristic features of thyroid disorder. This means if you press your thumb on the swollen leg, there is no pit or dimpling formation.
- Certain medications can also cause swelling and pain in legs and hands. These medicines may retain salts in the body.
Natural Remedies For Swollen Legs And Ankles
Treatment of swollen feet and hands depends on the underlying cause. The simplest home treatment to reduce swelling is R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression, and elevation).
- Give rest to your foot as much as possible. Especially if there is history of trauma, avoid walking for too long. Always keep your limbs elevated (above the level of your heart) while sitting and lying down to avoid leg and ankle swelling.
- Don’t sit or stand for prolonged periods of time, take breaks and walk for short span of time to reduce leg swellings. Use cold compression to reduce swelling. However, compresses should not exceed fifteen minutes at one time. Restrict your salt consumption, especially if the underlying cause is some type of liver, kidney or heart dysfunction.
- Barley is considered to be a natural diuretic. Boil 3 to 4 teaspoon of barley in one liter of water. Strain the liquid and drink one glass of this water two to three times in a day. It flushes out accumulated fluid through urine. Watercress and many other water containing vegetables and fruits such as pumpkin, watermelon, ridge gourd etc help to flush out excess of fluid from the body thus reducing swelling in legs and hands.
- Avoid eating processed foods, fried foods, fish, meat etc.
- Regular mild exercise such as walking will help to regulate blood circulation and reduce
- Bryonia 30 every 2 hours will diminish the edema considerably and rapidly.