The Facts

• The Mayo Clinic defines edema as, "swelling caused by excess fluid trapped in your body's tissues." Edema most commonly appears in the hands, calves, ankles and feet. It can affect both men and women, but most commonly effects pregnant and premenstrationg women as well as the elderly. Some conditions increase your risk of edema. These these include congestive heart failure, cirrhosis, kidney disease, nephrotic syndrome, chronic venous insufficiency, deep vein thrombosis and lymphedema.
  
  

Causes

• Mild edema is typically caused by sitting too long or eating large amounts of salty food. More severe cases of edema, and those common in pregnancy, are caused by fluid leaks in capillaries. The Mayo Clinic explains, "Edema occurs when tiny blood vessels in your body (capillaries) leak fluid. This leakage can result from damage to or increased pressure in the capillaries. When your body senses the capillaries are leaking, your kidneys begin to retain more sodium and water than normal to compensate for the lost fluid from your blood vessels. This increases the amount of fluid circulating through your body, which causes the capillaries to leak more. The fluid from the capillaries leaks into the surrounding tissue, causing the tissue to swell."
  
  

Symptoms

• Symptoms of mild edema include tight fitting clothing, rings and shoes. In more serious cases a patient will notice red sock imprints at the ankles and may have difficulty removing jewelery. In the most serious cases, if you touch the area with your finger, a dimple will remain at the site of contact long after the finger is removed.
  
  

Treatments

• For mild cases, home remedies tend to be all that is necessary. Successful remedies include drinking more water, eating less salt, drinking parsley tea, eating watermelon and drinking water with fresh lemon juice. More serious cases, or cases that do not clear up within a day of using natural remedies, can often be cleared up using over-the-counter diuretics. For extreme cases, a physician can prescribe effective medications for the expansion of blood vessels, which allows more water to exit the body.
  
  

When to Seek Medical Advice

• If the condition worsens or a patient has an extended abdomen or shiny or stretched skin, or if dimples remain when the skin is impressed, a physician's advice should be sought.