What should I do if my legs become swollen after standing for a long time at work?

Lower limb edema is a very common phenomenon in life, especially for some people who have to stand for a long time due to work. Everyone knows that long-term standing can easily lead to lower limb edema. If you don’t have abdominal edema at ordinary times, there is generally no big problem. If you get edema after standing for a while, it may be caused by poor function of the lower limb venous valves. If you want to relieve it, it is best to walk more and don’t stand for a long time.

How to prevent leg edema

First of all, you need to get enough sleep, have a regular daily routine and exercise regularly, such as jogging or taking a walk. This can help you strengthen your physical fitness and improve your adaptability. This can prevent you from sitting or standing for long periods of time, and you should frequently move your lower limbs and do some lifting movements.

The second is to maintain good eating habits. When choosing food, you should choose foods rich in protein, vitamins and inorganic salts, and eat more foods that are low in fat, cholesterol, sugar and salt, such as celery, radishes, tomatoes, fruits and soy products. You can eat more of these foods on a daily basis.

Finally, edema-type obesity is not obesity in the actual sense, but the bloated feeling it gives people makes others think that you are even fatter. Moreover, it is difficult to find clothes that suit you when choosing clothes. Therefore, we cannot tolerate it when it comes to losing weight. Don't let edema obesity turn into real obesity, as it will be more difficult to lose weight.

How to grade lower limb edema

Clinically, edema can be divided into three degrees: mild, moderate and severe.

Mild: Edema only occurs in the eyelids, infraorbital soft tissue, anterior tibia, and subcutaneous tissue of the ankle. Slight depression of the tissue may occur after finger pressure and it flattens quickly. Sometimes in the early stages of edema, there is only rapid weight gain without any signs of edema.

Moderate: There is visible edema in loose tissues throughout the body. Obvious or deep tissue depression may appear after finger pressure, and it is slow to flatten.

Severe: Severe edema of body tissues, tight and shiny skin on the lower part of the body, and even fluid exudation, sometimes accompanied by pleural, abdominal, and endothelial effusions.

Features of renal edema

Edema first occurs in areas with loose tissue, such as the eyelids, face, feet and ankles. It is most obvious in the morning and can involve the lower limbs and the whole body in severe cases. The nature of renal edema is soft and easy to move, and clinically it presents as pitting edema, that is, depression will appear when pressing the local skin with fingers. Cardiac edema caused by right heart failure first appears in the lower parts of the body. When standing or sitting, edema first appears in the feet and ankles; when lying on your back, edema first appears in the sacrum. Edema caused by cirrhosis is mainly manifested as ascites. Renal edema is manifested by swollen eyelids in the morning, which may also affect the face. When the condition worsens, systemic edema may occur.

Symptoms of lower limb edema

The main symptom is swelling of one side of the limb, starting from the ankle and later involving the entire lower limb. In the early stage, protein-rich lymph fluid accumulates in the interstitial space, forming soft pitting edema, while the skin remains normal. In the late stage, due to the accumulation of protein concentration in the interstitial space, inflammation and fibrosis of the subcutaneous tissue, the edema becomes non-pitting, the skin becomes thickened, dry, rough, pigmented, and warts or thorns appear.

The degree of lymphedema is classified as follows:

1. Mild

Limb edema is pitting and may subside or disappear after the limbs are raised. There is no fibrotic lesion on the skin.

2. Moderate

The edema is no longer concave when pressed, the edema does not disappear significantly when the limb is raised, and the skin has moderate fibrosis.

3. Severe

Skin changes called eczema occur.

Secondary lymphedema often presents with recurrent lymphangitis and gradually worsening lymphedema. When lymphangitis occurs, there will be local redness, swelling, pain, swollen lymph nodes, tenderness, and often accompanied by sudden chills and high fever.