Today's topic
Today on A.Vogel Talks Menopause, I take a closer look at swelling during perimenopause and menopause, including swollen hands, feet, ankles, and legs.
Unfortunately, this is quite common. A lot of women, at some point in perimenopause and menopause, may find that their hands and feet or legs get swollen on a regular basis so, I'm going to look at what can cause this and also, what you can do to help yourself.
What causes swelling during menopause?
Firstly, let me tell you about a few things which could be causing or contributing to this uncomfortable menopause symptom:
Fluid retention - pure and simple fluid retention can be caused by changing hormones. A lot of women would get slightly swollen feet or hands on the run-up to their normal period. Very often, this is caused by fluctuations in oestrogen levels. When you are going towards menopause, your oestrogen levels are all over the place, and this can trigger fluid retention.
Dehydration - this is such a common one. I know it sounds a bit strange that dehydration would cause fluid retention and swelling. It's because if your body gets dehydrated, it will hang on to as much fluid as it can wherever it can because you cannot survive without water. The main places for this to happen are the hands, feet, ankles and legs. For a lot of women too, the breasts can be affected as well, so that's just another side to this.
High blood pressure - that can cause swelling especially in the feet and ankles.
Weight gain - this, again, can cause fluid retention.
Too much salt – this can cause retention so check if you have changed your diet or are using more salt in your cooking than usual.
Other medical conditions - changing hormones can affect thyroid function, either creating over-activity or under-activity. Poor circulation can cause swelling especially in the ankles, feet and legs. Swelling can also be a symptom of diabetes.
How can you reduce swelling during menopause?
There are lots of simple things you can do to help reduce swelling. Here are a few things which I recommend:
Elevate your feet, legs and ankles –swollen feet, legs and ankles can be helped by keeping your legs elevated while sitting. If you are watching TV or reading, put your feet up on a stool, maybe with a cushion, just to keep your legs up. If you do a lot of sitting at a desk at work, maybe have a footstool under your desk that will raise your feet and legs.
Increase circulation in your hands and fingers – you may find just opening and closing them is enough to get the circulation going. You can get hand exercise balls or even just a little rubber ball that you can keep squeezing, maybe for a few minutes every hour.
Try a hot and cold treatment - have a bowl of hot water and a bowl of cold water and put your feet or your hands in the hot water for 30 seconds and then put them into the cold water and keep doing that for a few minutes. That is really good for getting the circulation going.
Increase your water intake – this is an important one. Drink loads of water daily. That water would be over and above other drinks too – things like tea and coffee don't count in this situation.
Venagel - this is a gel that's made with the herb, Horse chestnut. It helps to cool, soothe and relieve legs that feel tired, heavy and uncomfortable.
A.Vogel Venagel Horse Chestnut Gel | for The Relief of Tired, Aching Legs | 100ml
- Made from extract of fresh Horse chestnut seeds
- For the relief of tired, aching legs
- Helps to cool, soothe and relieve legs that feel tired, heavy and uncomfortable
- Prepared from Horse Chestnut seeds, harvested at their prime and used within 24 hours
"Very soothing and makes legs comfortable"
Are you Menopausal? Need help with your symptoms? Try our Menopause Symptom Checker.
Answer 3 question to find out if you could be menopausal and get personalised tips and advice straight to your inbox based on your results.
Dandelion – this herb is known as the gentle diuretic. Again, you need to remember to drink plenty of water if you're taking it.
Eat water-based foods – certain foods have a large proportion of water in them and these will contribute to your daily water uptake. This includes melon, cucumber, pineapple, bell peppers, and a lot of your salad vegetables. Dark green leafy vegs, if taken raw, can contain a lot of water as well. These can all help to keep your water balance much healthier.
Exercise - exercising increases your heart rate and improves your circulation. For a lot of people, it's sitting so long every single day that's causing water to basically pool in your feet and ankles. If you're sitting at your desk on a regular basis, it's really important to get up at least once an hour. Have a little walk around the room or around your office, just to get your circulation going again. Swimming can be really helpful too.
Reduce your salt intake - look at your diet to see whether there may be areas where you're consuming too much salt on a regular basis.
When should you consult your doctor?
It's important to know when swelling in your hands and feet should be checked by your doctor. A good indication is if your hands, feet, ankles or legs are swelling continuously and not reducing. If you're getting this day after day, and have tried all the things that I've mentioned and nothing seems to shift it, it's really important to go and see your doctor.
High blood pressure is so common in menopause and it's a silent symptom. There are very few symptoms of high blood pressure, and an awful lot of women end up with high blood pressure in menopause just because of all the hormonal changes.
Hormonal changes can also predispose you more to diabetes, so again this is something that really needs to get checked out.
If you're worried at all about swelling, please just double-check with your doctor. Hopefully, they can give you a good health check and get treatment if it's actually needed.
I hope you found this one helpful. If you have any other tips about how you managed to help with swelling in your hands, feet, ankles or legs, please share them with us.
Until next week, take care.
