Swelling of the legs after childbirth: reasons for what to do
The content of the article:
-
Why do leg edema after childbirth occur?
- Varicose veins
- Kidney disease
- Heart pathology
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Swelling of the legs after childbirth: what to do
- What can you do at home
- Folk recipes
- Drug treatment
- Video
Swelling of the legs after childbirth occurs in every second woman. They appear as an adaptive reaction, since after the birth of a child, a woman's body is rebuilt. Normally, the swelling goes away within the first week after childbirth. If the puffiness after childbirth persists longer, you need to look for another cause of the disorder - the pathology of the vessels, kidneys, liver, heart, for which you should consult a doctor.
Swelling of the legs after childbirth can have both natural and pathological causes.
Why do leg edema after childbirth occur?
Carrying a child is a difficult period for a woman's body. During pregnancy, the body of the expectant mother is rebuilt - the volume of circulating blood increases, the load on the cardiovascular and excretory systems increases.
After giving birth, the body needs time to rebuild back. This applies to all changes, including the accumulation of fluid in the tissues. But the cause of edema on the legs after childbirth may be more serious - various disorders of the internal organs or blood vessels.
Varicose veins
Pregnancy and childbirth often provoke the development of varicose veins. The disease occurs due to a malfunction of the venous valves, in connection with which there is a reverse flow of blood and varicose veins.
Puffiness is a common occurrence for varicose veins. Other symptoms also occur:
- bulging veins;
- pain along the veins;
- heaviness in the legs.
In the initial stages of the disease, not all symptoms may be present, but only swelling and heaviness in the legs.
Kidney disease
In the postpartum period, the excretion of fluid from the body increases. In this regard, the load on the kidneys increases. The risk of developing diseases of the excretory system increases:
- chronic pyelonephritis;
- acute and chronic glomerulonephritis;
- nephrotic syndrome;
- renal failure.
Puffiness can be a symptom of kidney damage. This is especially true for those diseases in which the excretion of proteins in the urine increases.
Heart pathology
Pathology of the cardiovascular system often manifests itself during pregnancy and in the early postpartum period. This is due to the fact that during the period of gestation and during childbirth, the load on the heart increases significantly.
One of the symptoms of heart disease is peripheral edema. Mainly the lower limbs swell. At the same time, the edema is dense, increases in the late afternoon, and disappears in the morning. Additionally, there are other symptoms of heart damage - shortness of breath, dry cough, pain in the chest region.
Swelling of the legs after childbirth: what to do
Treatment depends on the cause of the swelling. If the legs swell for several days, and the state of health is not disturbed, correction of the regime, nutrition, folk remedies are used. If the puffiness after childbirth does not go away after a week, you should consult a doctor.
What can you do at home
Edema of the lower extremities indicates fluid retention in the tissues. You can also reduce these manifestations at home. To do this, you need to follow the general recommendations:
- Limit salt intake. This applies to pure salt, as well as foods with a high salt content. Salt retains water in the body, which provokes the formation of edema.
- Add light physical activity. Walking and walking in the fresh air is suitable for young mothers. This is enough to activate blood flow in the legs without overloading the body.
- Choose comfortable shoes. Shoes that compress your foot or have an uncomfortable lift can cause swelling. In the postpartum period, you need to choose comfortable shoes that do not create additional stress on the foot.
It is not recommended to limit fluid intake. With edema, signs of dehydration often develop, as fluid accumulates in peripheral tissues. Therefore, you can drink 1.5–2 liters of water a day, but you must limit drinking plenty of fluids before bedtime.
Do not restrict fluid intake
Folk recipes
To reduce swelling on the legs, medicinal plants are often used that have a diuretic effect:
- dog-rose fruit;
- birch leaves;
- mint leaves;
- lingonberry leaves;
- sage;
- Melissa;
- thyme.
Plant-based diuretics are milder than drugs and have fewer side effects. Teas, decoctions and infusions are prepared from plants.
To reduce puffiness, you can use other recipes, for example, rubbing your feet with an ice cube, a contrast shower. Warm baths with herbal decoctions or sea salt also help.
Drug treatment
For severe swelling that does not go away within 1–2 weeks, you should see a doctor. The doctor will conduct an additional examination and prescribe treatment based on the results obtained.
Treatment of edema in the postpartum period includes the following methods:
| The cause of the swelling | Treatment |
| Varicose veins | Conservative and surgical methods of treatment can be used. Phlebotropic drugs are used, for example, Detralex. Compression therapy is shown - wearing special stockings, elastic bandages. |
| Kidney pathology | Treatment depends on the diagnosis. With pyelonephritis, antibacterial agents are prescribed. In acute glomerulonephritis, antibiotics (for infection) or glucocorticoids (for autoimmune) can be used. Diuretics are used for symptomatic treatment. |
| Heart pathology |
To quickly reduce swelling in heart disease, diuretics of three groups are used: Loop diuretics. They allow you to quickly reduce swelling, diuresis when using loop diuretics increases 2-3 times. This group of drugs includes Furosemide and Torasemide. Thiazides. They also belong to strong diuretics, which increase diuresis several times. The main representative of this group is Hypothiazide. Potassium-sparing. The peculiarity of these diuretics is that they do not excrete potassium. The main representative is Veroshpiron. Additionally, other drugs are prescribed - ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, cardiac glycosides. |
Medication should be prescribed only by a doctor, after establishing the cause of the edema. Self-medication in this case can only harm.
Video
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Anna Kozlova Medical journalist About the author
Education: Rostov State Medical University, specialty "General Medicine".
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