Question: My left ankles became swollen last Thursday and on Friday I noticed that I couldn’t wear the sandals. I put my leg up, tried not to not stand too much and eat a lower sodium diet. Having my leg up seemed to help but condition is not normal yet. I have Multiple Sclerosis and was wondering does it in anyway causes swollen leg?
Answer:
Painless swelling in the feet and ankles is a common problem and affects older age group, suffering from a chronic underlying disease condition. The reasons to observe a foot swelling among suffers of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) include:
- Steroid Treatment: Individuals suffering from MS are often prescribed steroids for management of relapses.Steroids cause edema and swelling in the feet.
- Muscular weakness, spasms and difficulty in movements may also reduce the circulation of the lower limbs, which in turn may be the cause of swelling in the feet.
- Swollen feet and ankles are a sign of liver, kidney or cardiac failure. Do you suffer from any of these conditions?
Swollen Feet and Ankles Treatment:
- If you are overweight, try to reduce your weight to avoid foot swelling.
- Eat whole grain products, which will increase fibre content in your diet. This is help you reduce your weight and is very nutritive.
- Eat protein rich diet comprising of fish, lean poultry, fruits and vegetables. This will also give you the much-needed Vitamin B12, to manage multiple sclerosis. Avoid fatty red meat. Low protein levels are also known to cause swelling in the feet.
- Drink a lot of water and avoid sugar-sweetened beverages.
- Don’t overuse laxatives. Abuse of laxative can also cause swelling of the feet.
- Continue what you are doing. Also try wearing tight stockings and avoid tight footwear.