6 Things Your Feet and Ankles, Tell You About Your Health

1. Your veins may be blocked.

When your blood vessel system functions properly, the valves in your veins don’t let the blood pool down in your legs. As we age, the valves tend to figure less expeditiously, and that we might retain the blood in our feet.

Deep-vein occlusion is another vein-related problem which will cause leg swelling. Blood clots block the return of blood from the legs to the heart, keeping the fluid down in your feet. while not treatment, this condition might get dangerous, as blood clots will travel in your body, if they get loose. These traveling blood clots may reach the lungs causing a embolism, or perhaps lead to an ischemic stroke if they block an artery that supplies blood to the brain.

2. Your heart may be working improperly.

Leg swelling, or edema, can also be caused by heart failure. once the heart doesn’t have enough pumping power, it fails to push the blood from your feet to the upper part of the body.

Leaky heart valves is also one of those kinds of heart disease that cause feet and ankles puff up. Be particularly careful if you notice the other symptoms of heart disease that might include chest pain, fatigue, and shortness of breath.

3. You may have kidney disease.

One of the most functions of our kidneys is getting rid of the additional fluid in our body. once the kidneys cannot fulfill this function, additional fluid and sodium stagnate in the body and cause swelling.

This condition could also be caused by urinary infections that do harm to the system of the kidneys (for example, pyelonephritis). edema caused by kidney disease usually happens in the legs and around the eyes.

4. There may be problems with your liver.

Apart from its other functions, the liver produces a protein known as albumin. This protein keeps fluid in our bloodstream and doesn’t let it leak into our tissues. Some liver diseases could lower the amount of albumin in the blood, and cause fluid to pass from the bloodstream into the body’s tissues. in this case, swelling might not only occur within the feet and ankles, however in different parts of the body as well.

5. Your lymphatic system may fail to drain bodily fluids.

Together, with blood vessels, our lymphatic vessels deliver oxygen and nutrients to tissues and organs and remove waste and carbon dioxide. once lymphatic vessels get blocked and fail to perform their drainage function, this could result in an abnormal buildup of fluid known as lymphedema. lymphedema will occur due to infections, surgery, trauma, radiation, cancer treatment, and other factors.

6. The medications you are taking may be unsuitable for you.

Quite often, swelling in the feet and ankles may be a side effect of the medications you are taking. These medications include NSAIDs, oral contraceptives, oral steroids, and others. If your legs are swollen, try to figure out whether it may be connected with taking a particular medication.

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If feet and ankle swelling are caused by uncomfortable shoes or prolonged standing, this is easily treated at home by just getting proper rest and lifting your legs. If the symptoms don’t seem to disappear after a long rest, or if you suspect more serious health issues are behind them, you should immediately schedule an appointment with your doctor.

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