What causes women's swollen legs

If a woman has swollen feet and legs, the first thing to know is whether she is pregnant. Because in the late pregnancy, women's blood circulation slows down and the water content in the body is high, edema is very likely to occur. Of course, if a woman experiences swollen feet and legs outside of pregnancy, it is likely caused by long-term standing or walking.

1. Heart failure and leg phlebitis are the two main causes of chronic (long-term) leg swelling. According to clinical practice, phlebitis will only cause swelling of the patient's legs, while heart failure causing congestion will cause swelling of both legs; phlebitis will cause pain, while swelling caused by heart failure will not be painful; various diseases that cause leg swelling have their own different pathogenesis and characteristics.

2. Diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, viral infection or heart valve disease make the myocardium weak and powerless. At this time, the heart cannot smoothly deliver blood to the lungs. The blood begins to flow back into the veins and then converges into the organ located under the heart - the liver, causing the liver to become congested and swollen. If the condition does not improve, blood may eventually back up into the leg veins and cause leg swelling.

3. People with severe kidney disease will experience swelling all over the body, including the legs, face, and fingers. The reason for the systemic swelling is that too much protein is lost in the urine.

4. In the later stages of more severe liver disease, leg swelling may occur due to two mechanisms. One is that liver cells are damaged and cannot produce enough protein, resulting in the same situation as protein loss caused by kidney disease; in order to balance the protein content in the blood vessels and the tissues around the blood vessels, fluid in the blood will flow into the tissues and cause tissue swelling. Another possibility is scarring of the liver, which prevents blood flowing from the legs to the heart from passing through the liver, causing blood reflux. Additionally, enlarged glands or tumors in the abdominal cavity may compress veins and cause leg swelling.

5. Hunger causes abdominal and leg swelling because of a lack of protein in the diet, which causes fluid in the blood to seep out of the blood vessels and enter the body's tissues. When the abdomen swells, it means that the abdominal cavity contains this type of fluid, which is the same situation when the kidneys and liver are diseased.

6. Severe hypothyroidism can also cause systemic edema, including the legs. The reason for this symptom is the same as when the kidneys and liver are diseased as mentioned above, which is to balance the protein content in the blood vessels and tissues, causing fluid to flow out of the blood vessels and into the tissues, causing swelling.

7. Drug-induced leg swelling: Testosterone (most commonly used to treat impotence); long-term use of steroids (to treat arthritis, asthma, cancer, etc.); estrogen; oral contraceptives; certain antidepressants (Nardil sulfate); antihypertensive drugs, methyldopa (AIdomet); and recently invented calcium ion blockers for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, etc.