Home remedies for swollen feet in Pregnancy
Are you finding your feet jumbo, styles, and swollen out by the end of the day? Finding it harder to fit into your shoes? Or finding it harder to tie your shoes? Welcome to yet another common pregnancy discomfort swollen feet and ankles.
It’s common to say that a woman is pregnant. So let’s understand today what makes the feet and ankles become heavy in full and in pregnancy. Is it serious? And what can you do at home to take care of this? What causes the swelling of the feet and legs?
Medically, it is called edema. It affects squee in four pregnant women, though it commonly starts in the late second trimester, it can start as early as the first trimester. Also, it tends to become more severe as the day progresses and is seen more in warm weather. It is more severe in case your weight gain has been on the faster and higher side. And it is more obvious in case you are carrying twins.
Due to pregnancy-related hormonal changes. The water content in your body increases. This extra water goes towards the growing baby’s placenta amniotic fluid and towards increasing maternal blood volumes. The growing uterus also exerts pressure on the pelvic veins and your vena cava.
So what’s vena cava? It’s the large vein on the right side of your body on the back, that returns blood from your lower legs to the heart. Now this, the big uterus, obstructs the blood flow back to the heart, thus pulling the blood and the fluid in the lower legs. So we spoke about this in detail in our video on what’s the right sleeping position in pregnancy. So do watch that also. Is the swelling of the feet and ankles serious?
No, not really. Most of the time it’s actually harmless. However, if your face becomes puffy, if you notice more than two kgs of weight gain in one week, or if the swelling persists for more than a day at a time, which means it does not improve overnight, please report this to your doctor. Excessive swelling can be one sign of preeclampsia. It’s a serious complication in pregnancy where the mother’s blood pressure becomes high, kidneys are leaking 14 in urine and there could be serious effects on the health of the baby.
Too rarely, the swelling in the legs could be a sign of deep vein thrombosis. It’s a potentially life-threatening condition that occurs when a blood clot forms in a deep vein. Swelling from the DVT tends to affect. Usually, one leg only might cause a feeling of heaviness when you stand up, might cause pain in the calf when flexing your foot, or cause the skin over there to become red or warm to the touch. Rarely, the sudden swelling of the feet could be a sign of an undiagnosed preexisting cardiac condition.
In that case, the swelling will be associated with other symptoms like difficulty in breathing or pain in the chest too. So what should be done for the swelling? Obviously, your doctor would first investigate if the swelling is normal and if there is no serious reason behind this. So today, let’s talk about a few home remedies you can do to take care of this.
Reduce sodium intake. One way to reduce swelling during pregnancy is to limit your sodium or salt intake. Salt makes your body hold on to extra water, so try to avoid canned or processed foods, as these are especially high in sodium. Also, try not to add extra table salt to your food, like on salads, curd, or ricer. Avoid pickles chutneys, high-salt cheese, fingertips, and street food.
Increase potassium intake. Not getting enough potassium also can make the swelling worse. This is because potassium helps your body balance the number of fluids it holds onto. So try to include foods that are naturally high in potassium, like potatoes with the skin on sweet potatoes, also with skin on bananas, spinach, beans, some fruit juices, like pomegranate, orange and carrot juice, beetroot, yogurt, and lentils. Third, reduce caffeine intake. Now, while occasional caffeine during pregnancy isn’t that harmful, drinking too much caffeine isn’t considered great in pregnancy.
It can also make your swelling worse. Caffeine is a diuretic, which causes you to pee more, which then makes your body think that it needs to hold onto fluid. Drink more Water now, you might think, how would this work? If your body thinks you are dehydrated, it will hold on to even more water to try to compensate. So try to drink at least ten glasses of water every day to keep your kidneys flushing out the bad stuff and to keep your body well hydrated.
You can flavor your water with lemon, mint, or orange peels to make it more enjoyable. Elevate your feet and rest. Now, this is the law of gravity. Sitting with your feet elevated for a little while in between during the day and especially at the end of the day, can help drain all the fluids that have been pulling in your legs throughout the day. Try flexing your ankles up and down, rotating your feet, and moving your toes while you keep your legs elevated.
You can even permanently slightly elevate the foot end of the bed by keeping pillows under the mattress. Sleep on your left-hand side. Sleeping on your left side whenever possible can improve blood flow, which reduces the swelling of the feet. Wear loose and comfortable clothing. Wearing tight clothing, especially around your waist and ankles, can make the swelling worse.
Basically, it keeps the blood from circulating as easily as it could. Try to wear loose and comfortable clothes, or at least avoid tight elastic bands, for example, in your socks. Maternity maxi dresses in the summers and flowing cardigans or sweaters with jog or pants in the winters can both look smart and comfortable. Wear comfortable shoes wear well-fitting comfortable shoes during pregnancy. Avoid high heels and avoid totally flat shoes too.
Block heels are safe and great to use. The right footwear will reduce the swelling and also prevent backaches, hip pains, and leg pains. In pregnancy. You might need to buy one or two new pairs of shoes, as your old beloved shoes might not fit now, but this is an excellent excuse to find some new favorites. Also wear waist-high, not knee-high compression stockings.
If you have persistently swollen feet or you have to be on your feet most of the time, you should wear waist-high compression stockings. Now, these stockings gently squeeze your feet and legs to help keep the fluid circulating. Try to avoid knee-high compression stockings as they may be too tight in the middle of your leg and can actually make your swelling worse. Stay cool now by that I mean to stay cool temperature-wise. So swelling of feet and ankles tend to be more in heat or summer months.
So staying indoors during the heat of the day during summer months and avoiding vigorous exercise can help you keep cool and reduce swelling. Putting your feet in a hot water tub to reduce the swelling is not a good idea and can actually make it worse. If you love swimming, try that. Many people do find relief from the swelling when they spend time in the pool, so if you love water, do spend time in the pool. You will feel lighter and cooler.
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