Swollen Ankles: Can you Remedy These?

Many people throughout the world have dealt with swollen ankles. These swollen ankles are a nuisance, to say the least.

It is important to note that swollen ankles are not often a disease, but they are often considered an underlying issue of something else wrong when this happens. There are several causes of swollen ankles.

These causes include:

1. Dependent swelling
2. Pregnancy
3. Medications
4. Injuries to the ankle or foot
5. Diseases such as congestive heart failure, alcoholism and liver failure
6. Infections
7. Lymphedema
8. Blood clots

There are several other issues as well that could be causing this. This is something that you will want to bring up to your doctor about so they can find the main reason behind this happening.

It should be noted that those who are sitting or standing for long periods of time are more likely to have ankle swelling.

The key is to find a happy middle in which you are doing an even amount of standing and sitting.

A Few Interesting Tidbits about Swollen Ankles

There are several facts about swollen ankles that many people are not aware of.

However, through knowing the causes, what you could be feeling, and the like, you are more likely to find the underlying issue that is causing this.

A few of these interesting facts include:

1- Symptoms of the swollen ankles can be painless or they can be painful. In addition, a person may notice a discoloration of their skin, the texture of one or both ankles may chance as well. The ankle that is swelling could also be warm to the touch.

2- When swollen ankles are an issue, they are almost identified by a doctor after several tests are ran to find the underlying issue.

3- The most common causes of swollen ankles include:

1. Side effects of medications
2. Pregnancy
3.  Having trauma to the foot or ankle
4. Having an infection at the location
5.  Having blood clots

Are you at Risk?

Are you at risk for developing swollen ankles? You could be. However, most doctors find that there are three main groups of people who are more at risk for developing swollen ankles.

These groups include:

1. Dependent swelling otherwise known as edema. These are people who are walking, standing or sitting for long periods of time.
2. Those women who are pregnant, especially if they are in their last trimester.
3. Those who are taking medications such as NSAID’s, hormones, diabetic medications, antidepressants and calcium channel blockers.

Of course, for anyone who has had an injury to their ankle, they are going to find that the swelling they feel is normal whenever any injury happens.

The key to dealing with this is to get the diagnose the injury so that you can ensure you are getting the right type of treatment for this swelling.

Treating these Swollen Ankles

There are several ways in which swollen ankles can be treated. The treatment that is chosen is really going to depend on the underlying cause for why this is happening.

However, many people find that raising their feet above their heart or getting off of their feet is one of the best ways to help with the swelling of the feet.

Other treatments that a doctor may recommend include:

• Infection pills if the cause is an infection
• Use a splint or wrap for those who have suffered an ankle injury
• Taking medications to help with gout or other issues that could be causing this ankle swelling

There are also some home remedies that many people find helpful.

These home remedies may include:

• Utilizing an ice pack if you have injured the ankle and this is swelling
• Magnesium supplements are meant to help with swelling relief
• Yoga can be great for improving circulation, and those who suffer with ankle swelling may find that this is one of the best ways to get the swelling to go down.
• Utilize tonic water and soak your foot and ankle, this has been shown to help with swelling.
• A salt water soak with Epsom salts can be great for swelling when you are pregnant or having some other issue.
• A massage can be great to get the blood flowing and reduce the swelling that the person is feeling
• For women or men, support hose can be a great way to stop this from happening constantly. This is especially true for pregnant women.
• Be sure that you are drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water per day as having too much salt in your system can cause swelling. This also means that you should avoid excessive salting of food as this can cause swelling to get worse.

When to Seek Medical Help

If you find that your swollen ankles are occurring frequently, then it may be a sign that something is wrong.

For those who have occasional swollen ankles, they often find that this is due to what they are doing rather than an underlying issue. If you have:

• Pain associated with the swelling
• This is affecting your daily life in that you can’t walk
• You feel that the skin is warm to the touch
• You have any type of fever associated with this swelling
• You are having other issues aside from the swelling that points to an underlying issue

These are signs that you will want to take serious and then visit your doctor. You are going to find that your doctor can perform tests in order to determine if there is a disease that you need to have dealt with or the like.

Of course, if you even suffer an injury then this is something that you should immediately have checked out, as you never known when you have done damage to the bones, muscles or the nerves in the foot or ankles.

If you are dealing with swollen ankles, do not just think this is normal. There is usually always a reason for this to happen. Be sure that you check with your doctor.