Edema

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Basics

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• Treatments and Therapies

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• Specifics

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Research

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Summary

Edema means swelling caused by fluid in your body's tissues. It usually occurs in the feet, ankles and legs, but it can involve your entire body.

Causes of edema include:

• Eating too much salt
• Sunburn
• Heart failure
• Kidney disease
• Liver problems from cirrhosis
• Pregnancy
• Problems with lymph nodes, especially after mastectomy
• Some medicines
• Standing or walking a lot when the weather is warm

To keep swelling down, your health care provider may recommend keeping your legs raised when sitting, wearing support stockings, limiting how much salt you eat, or taking a medicine called a diuretic - also called a water pill.

Start Here

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• Edema (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Edema (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• When Body Parts Swell: Taking a Closer Look at Edema (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

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• Diuretics (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)

Specifics

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• Foot Swelling during Air Travel: A Concern? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Hand Swelling during Exercise: A Concern? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Hives and Angioedema (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Leg Swelling (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Pulmonary Edema (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• What Is Macular Edema? (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

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• ClinicalTrials.gov: Edema (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

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• Article: The effect of preoperative low-level laser therapy on pain, swelling, and...
• Article: Evaluation of the usefulness of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) in mandibular third...
• Article: Retrospective comparative study of lumbar spine MRI texture analysis in diagnosing...
• Edema -- see more articles

Find an Expert

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• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Women

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• What Causes Ankle Swelling during Pregnancy -- and What Can I Do about It? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

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• Abdominal tap (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Angioedema (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Foot, leg, and ankle swelling (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Pulmonary edema (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Swelling (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish