If you often find yourself feeling bloated or complaining of frequent swelling in your feet, you’re most likely suffering in silence from water retention. Medically known as a condition called edema, water retention is a result of excessive accumulation and bodily retention of fluids in the body’s tissues. Edema most commonly occurs as water retention in legs and angles, and but can affect any part of the human body.
Water retention has become a very common condition, especially in modern cities where most people lead unhealthy lifestyle or follow wrong food habit. In this regard, an early diagnosis and a holistic healing approach are your best bet at preventing water retention, a condition that has proven to be fatal over prolonged periods of time. For those of you that are already suffering from edema from water retention, it is not only important to flush out any excess fluids from your bodies, but also to seek out professional medical advice to make sure that you’re not suffering from a much worse pathological condition. Such conditions could be anything from disorders in internal organs like the kidneys, the heart or even the liver and lungs. It could be anything ranging from heart, kidney, liver, lungs, or thyroid disorders. But, if you’ve been cleared of all these by a medical test, you can rest assured that all you need are a couple of home remedies and a lifestyle change to make sure that you avoid any hormonal imbalances. Let us now discuss the causes, symptoms and various home remedies for water retention that can take care of this disease.
Causes of Water Retention
Water retention usually occurs because of one or more of the following reasons:
- An unbalanced and unhealthy diet.
- Lack of exercise.
- Reaction or allergies to various drugs.
- Dehydration, because water retention is the body’s way of protecting itself.
- Menopause is also a common cause of water retention in older women.
- Fatal diseases like Thyroid and Arthritis.
- High salt and sugar diets that lack in potassium, protein and calcium.
Symptoms of Water Retention
The most common symptoms of edema include:
- Swelling in face and other parts of the body,
- Swelling in the hands, feet wrists, and ankles,
- Bloating, constipation and a general feeling of uncomfortableness.
Home Remedies for Water Retention
1. Water
As ironic as it may sound, excess water or fluid retention is almost always a consequence of dehydration and not drinking enough water. The body naturally reacts when it doesn’t receive enough water, and retains it in the fear of losing what little it has. So, make sure you hydrate yourself ever 30-40 minutes. Doctors recommend a minimum of 8 glasses of water per day, to make sure that you don’t lose more water than you consume. However, be wary of hyper hydration, poisoning of the body caused by consuming too much water over a short period of time.
2. Ice Packs
Ice packs are a great way of relieving pain instantly and are also effective in curing edema. Tying an ice pack to the swollen or affected area of your body is sure to reduce the amount of fluids that your body retains.
3. Dandelions
A recent article published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine has revealed that the dandelion flower is a diuretic, making them a great addition to the “how to get rid of water retention” handbook. Dandelions are also rich in potassium, which naturally reduces the levels of sodium in the body. If eating an actual dandelion is not in your cards, you could always buy a dandelion tincture or 500 mg supplements. Always make sure that you consult your doctor before going ahead with any herbal cure to lose water weight, as it may have an adverse effect on the body if you’re taking other prescription medicines.
4. Parsley
Just like dandelions, parsley is also another effective diuretic and is a great way to add flavor to food and reduce fluid retention. Two teaspoons of dried parsley, brought to a boil in a cup of water is a great water retention reliever, and can be had as many times as you like.
5. Onions
Onions, apart from being an aphrodisiac, is also another natural diuretic that also helps in blood cleansing. Consuming onions also helps in preventing the formation of dreaded kidney stones.
6. Epsom Salt
Epsom salt or magnesium sulfate is a great way to treat water retention as well as bloating of the belly through reverse osmosis (RO). An Epsom salt water bath will draw out any excess water or other fluids that can become toxins in your body. The relaxing effect of an Epsom salt bath is not just beneficial for water retention, but can also be used to relax sore muscles or even calms nerves.
7. Lemon Juice
Lemon juice is a great anti-oxidant and helps the body flush out any kinds of excess water and unwanted toxins from the body. Two tablespoons of lemon juice mixed in some warm water should be had once in the morning and at night, before sleeping. If you find plain lemon juice to sour for your taste, you could sweeten the drink by adding a dash of natural honey to the mix.
8. Fennel Seeds
Various independent researches have shown that fennel seeds are also an effective diuretic and they help increase the levels of sodium in the body, and also increase level of water output from and to the kidneys. Fennel is also known to prevent the buildup of any kind of toxins in the body. It is also effective for bloating and even aids in digestion! Best consumed as a kind of tea, boil a teaspoon of fennels seeds in hot water and drink 3-4 times a day.
9. Nettle
Nettle is another natural home remedy that works to prevent swelling in the face and legs. Being a natural diuretic, it is a great way to prevent or treat edema. Nettle is most effective when it is consumed from its root, in a cup of boiled water. You can drink as much as you like, until you experience improvements.
10. Herbal tea
Drinking herbal teas have a number of health benefits, right from stress relief to alleviating hypertension. But, herbal tea’s diuretic effects are great for excess water and other fluids from the human body. The most effective herbal tea would be one that is made from plain parsley or tea tree, because it does its job, with minimal to no side effects.
11. Vitamin B-6
Vitamin B-6 is a very helpful vitamin as it assists the body in breaking down simple and complex sugars as well as heaty starches. It is also a very effective cure for water retention. It is especially effective to cure water retention that is caused by any kind of hormone replacement therapy.
When to consult a doctor?
Fluid retention of edema can almost always be cured with the above simple home remedies. But, be warned that you should probably go visit a doctor if:
- If you experience swelling in any body part for more than a week.
- If the skin develops marks or dents when pressed is applied.
- If you suffer from diabetes or any other serious chronic disease.
- If your consume steroids & cortisone on a regular basis.