Me again sorry Was just thinking doepsmc with you saying about keeping your feet cool with water, you could give those cool sprays a try, I've heard they're quite good, magicool it's called.

http://www.coolcomforts.com/magicool/whatisit.html

I go on my holiday on Wednesday so I think I will be taking my slippers at this rate. Where were going is up in the high 30's to 42 degrees, so i've got no chance of getting my pretty mules on in the evenings. I have just been and bought a couple of pairs of espadrills that tie up round your leg which are lovely and comfortable and not to high in several different colours and they are also quite a wide fit, so i'm giving that a try this year.

Ooooer just read about the blood pressure tablets, so I checked the side effects and yes it does say it's a side effect.

Might give the Gp a ring tomorrow just to make sure.

Kath x

Colette, does it say on the slip of paper with your tablets that one possible "side effect" would be swollen ankles? If not then you really ought to see your GP. You may be on medication not suitable to you, or the swelling could be the result of something else.

Ankles and feet don't just swell up, there is always a reason, and the reason is usually something to do with poor blood circulation as I have already pointed out. The question you need to ask yourself is what is causing the poor circulation in the first place?

Hey thanks for your reply, it's down as a rare side effect, I am going tomoz to the doctors so I will be asking then, thanks again

Ankles and feet don't just swell up, there is always a reason, and the reason is usually something to do with poor blood circulation as I have already pointed out. The question you need to ask yourself is what is causing the poor circulation in the first place?

this is generally a sign of poor circulation of the blood.the swelling is a result of blood pooling in your ankles and not making its way back through your veins to your heart.

Lets just stop there.
Swelling of the ankles or to give it its medical term oedema is not specifically about the blood and circulation, but also about the lymphatic drainage system....and its not necessarily about blood making its way back through the veins, its about fluid not passing through the capillary walls.

Healthy people can get oedema it is gravity related, this is why when you get up in the morning you have no swelling, this is because during the night the body has had time to redistribute the fluid by the end of the day gravity takes over.
Hot weather causes the blood vessels to expand and this causes fluid to shift into the surrounding tissues.
There are 2 types of oedema and many causes Oedema caused by pooling of the blood is called venous insufficiency and usually affects the legs, one leg can be affected more than the other and causes pain in the extremities....the oedema is usually persistent.
If you can press your thumb into the oedema and it leaves an indentation, then this is "pitting oedema" " non- pitting" oedema is usually related to the lymphatic system.
Oedema occurs when the body's normal balance of fluid intake and output is disturbed this causes an accumulation of excess water under the skin or in the body cells, it occurs primarily because of the body's retention of too much salt
Only when this mineral unbalance in the body is corrected, and the sodium levels and water retention expelled, will you get rid of the swelling.

An increased amount of fluid in the blood vessels causes pressure, this then makes the fluid shift out of the vessels into the tissues or a decrease in the amount of proteins in the bloodstream which makes it difficult for the blood to draw water out of the tissues back into the bloodstream.
Pregnancy and hormone unbalances can affect the rate that fluid enters and leaves tissues.
Diuretics can be used as a short-term measure, but these deplete the body of other minerals like potassium and make the kidneys work harder and in the long term this can be damaging.

You can help yourself by elevating your legs
Cut salt out
Exercise and weight loss.
One of the best treatments for oedema is drinking herbal teas at least twice a day, fennel, nettle or dandelion tea

http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleId=267&sectionId=6894

Sanji

That's not my problem, don't where them

Excellent reply Sanji thanks for taking the time to type that up, the word Venous was used in my blood tests this week. One of my feet looks white, smooth and like a balloon.

Oddly though they are worse when I am sitting down, and have a numb like feeling.

Thanks for the replys, sorry to hog the topic

I have always had swollen feet when flying, but now find that if i drink lots of water and excercise my feet all the time on the flight it helps a lot. I have just got back from Cyprus and found that even though my feet did not swell, my fingers swelled so much that I had to go to a jewellers to have my two rings cut off incase they would stop my circulation. Has anyone had this problem? Iffound that my fingers which looked like sausages tingled all the time, but whenever I got back to the U.K. they were back to normal.

Hi Digby,
Did your fingers tingle on the plain or whilst you were on holiday as this happened to me for the first time last year and again this year, but only for a few days at a time. It also happened last week in England while I was sunbathing in the garden. I never gave it a second thought until I read your post.
Yikes What's that all about!

cassmickntom. No, they didn't tingle on the plane as far as I can remember, but I'd love to know why this happens.

sanji wrote:

Lets just stop there.
Swelling of the ankles or to give it its medical term oedema is not specifically about the blood and circulation, but also about the lymphatic drainage system....and its not necessarily about blood making its way back through the veins, its about fluid not passing through the capillary walls.

As an ex LAS Paramedic I am well aware of the correct medical term for swollen ankles. I chose not to go into such an in depth reply as you have because I am NOT a qualified GP/Doctor, which is why I opted instead to post some links.

Yes, it can be about "blood not passing through the capillary walls", but in a vast majority of cases it is usually as I said it was, blood not returning through the veins usually as a result of a blockage such as a Blood Clot, or an Embolism to give it its correct medical term.

As you say, I could have posted a reply as detailed as yours Sanji, but as I am NOT a Doctor, I thought it in the best interest of the Forum not to.

THIS link confirms what I have already said.

CCF, or Congestive Heart Failure is another possible cause. Ok, what is CCF?......take a look HERE "Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a problem in which the heart does not pump as well as it should. Fluid backs up in the lungs or the legs because of the flow of blood is slowed down"

In some cases, swollen ankles can be a result of COPD or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

As you say, I could have posted a reply as detailed as yours Sanji, but as I am NOT a Doctor, I thought it in the best interest of the Forum not to.

I thought it in the best interest of this forum to state that pooling of the blood is NOT the only reason for oedema.

Yes, it can be about "blood not passing through the capillary walls", but in a vast majority of cases it is usually as I said it was, blood not returning through the veins usually as a result of a blockage such as a Blood Clot, or an Embolism to give it its correct medical term

For a start, blood does not pass through the capillary walls...it is water, lipids and oxygen.

As you say, I could have posted a reply as detailed as yours Sanji, but as I am NOT a Doctor, I thought it in the best interest of the Forum not to.

No you decided to scare the out of people instead.
I`m not going to get into a slanging match with you, but the links that you provided barely touched on the other reasons for oedema including the importance of the lymphatic drainage system....and side effects of drugs, high blood pressure and taking beta blockers to name just a few.

SanJi

I did NOT scare anyone Sanji....that is why I chose NOT to go into any details but rather to post some helpful links.

I could have posted a long list of links if I wanted to. But the links I posted gave sufficient information.

However, to clarify my point, I have posted some mored detailed links above.

BHIC wrote:

Yes, it can be about "blood not passing through the capillary walls",

That was an unfortunate typing error on my part, I meant to say fluids as you mentioned in your post.

Colete1 wrote:

Hey thanks for your reply, it's down as a rare side effect, I am going tomoz to the doctors so I will be asking then, thanks again

I certainly do NOT appear to have "scared" this member
And incidentally, the FIRST link I provided mentioned 'Odema'

This has gone off topic

Hi

Anyone any good advice for swollen feet/ ankles, mine are terrible in the heat they are ok in the morning but by the evening are double the size and cannt get any shoes on

This was the original question. Does anyone have any more practical tips?

Fiona HT Mod wrote:

Does anyone have any more practical tips?

In a nutshell, seek advise from your GP/Doctor. That IMHO, is the best course of action as the swelling can be caused by several possible causes. This would be the best advise IMHO
THIS product might be of some help? And some more useful products are detailed HERE

I did NOT scare anyone Sanji....that is why I chose NOT to go into any details but rather to post some helpful links.

Anyone can post links and then keep editing their posts afterwards.

but in a vast majority of cases it is usually as I said it was, blood not returning through the veins usually as a result of a blockage such as a Blood Clot, or an Embolism to give it its correct medical term

swelling can be caused by several possible causes

Exactly
Over and out.

I think we have exhausted this topic now.

We have established there may be many underlying causes for swollen feet, but I definitely think the weather has been a signifiant fact in bringing it to the fore.

If unsure please consult a professional.

I am closing this topic.

Kath HT Admin