What are the causes of facial swelling?

Many people have experienced facial swelling. Although facial swelling is a facial phenomenon, it reflects to a certain extent that the patient has certain health problems. Only by addressing these problems can one have a healthy body and a normal appearance. There are many reasons for facial swelling. Lack of protein and poor blood circulation and metabolism can cause facial swelling. If the elderly have facial swelling, it may be because they suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, coronary heart disease and other diseases. Therefore, once the elderly have swelling, they need to go to the hospital for treatment in time. Below, I will give you a detailed introduction to the causes of facial swelling.

1. Lack of protein

The main reason is the lack of high-quality protein, because human cells are composed of 70% water, 28% protein, 2% fat, and 1% sugar. When protein is lacking, cells have a lot of water and thus produce edema. Therefore, you must supplement high-quality protein. You can go to the hospital for a check-up before this.

Key points to consider: kidney disease, hypertension, heart disease, endocrine, electrolyte disorders, etc. If nothing can be found, you can go to the allergy department (don’t be afraid of the name, just think of it as the allergy department). In old age, not only does your appearance appear old, but the functions of your internal organs are also declining. The main reasons are the decrease in cardiac blood output, the decrease in renal blood flow, the relaxation of subcutaneous tissue, the decrease in water evaporation from the skin, the reduction in cell volume, and the flow of fluid in the cells to the interstitial space outside the cells, resulting in edema.

2. Poor blood circulation and metabolism

Facial edema often occurs in people with poor blood circulation and metabolism. The cause is that the blood circulation system becomes less efficient, and there is no time to excrete excess waste water from the body. The water is retained in the capillaries and even seeps back into the skin, causing swelling. This swelling will gradually disappear automatically after you move around for a while after getting up.

3. Causes of facial swelling in the elderly

The elderly person has hypertension and recently developed facial edema. The possibility of renal edema should be considered first.

Renal edema is caused by chronic kidney damage due to acute or chronic nephritis or kidney disease, hypertension, diabetes, etc., which reduces renal blood flow, retains sodium and water, increases capillary permeability, and reduces plasma colloidal osmotic pressure due to protein loss, thus causing edema.

The characteristic of renal edema is that the edema first appears on the eyelids and face, then spreads to the lower limbs and the whole body, and is accompanied by symptoms such as oliguria or nocturia, and polyuria.

Cardiogenic edema usually occurs when there is a history of heart disease or coronary heart disease, or when there is right heart failure, and the edema starts in the lower limbs and feet. Liver diseases, such as cirrhosis, malnutrition, etc. can also be common causes of edema.