After sitting for a long time, such as during a car or plane ride, one might find that your feet and legs feel heavy or swollen. This usually goes away after walking for a bit or elevating the feet.
Swelling or edema in the legs (manas) is often not a serious health threat, although if left untreated it can become painful and disabling.
Leg swelling is frequently due to a disorder in the veins. Veins are blood vessels that carry blood from all parts of the body back to the heart (unlike arteries that carry oxygenated blood from the heart to other parts of the body). The veins have valves inside them to help keep blood moving in only one direction toward the heart and as blood flows toward the heart the valves open and then close to keep the blood from flowing back.
When the valves are damaged or do not work well, this causes blood to backflow and collect in the legs leading to swelling. If the swelling goes away after elevating the feet, usually overnight it is usually not concerning. This is sometimes called dependent edema. If it persists this vein disease is called chronic venous insufficiency.
The chances of having vein disease can increase with:
Symptoms of vein disease can include:
There are some things you can do to reduce leg swelling:
It is important that you do not take any medications to reduce the swelling unless instructed by your doctor. Indiscriminate use of medications such as diuretics may cause dehydration and kidney injury, as well as electrolyte imbalances that can cause an irregular heartbeat and cramps.
If other regular treatments do not work, there are procedures that can be done where the damaged veins are removed or destroyed so they can no longer fill with blood. These procedures include sclerotherapy, laser ablation, or surgical ligation.
You should also watch out for these warning signs, which can be signal of a more serious condition:
Being short of breath
Swelling that extends to the thighs, abdomen, arms, hands and face
See your doctor immediately if you experience any of these warning signs as your leg swelling may be due to a more serious condition — a heart or kidney problem, an infection, or a blood clot in a vein.