There are various reasons behind swollen ankles and feet. Usually, it occurs due to two main causes – injury or edema. Edema is a medical condition in the body when excess fluid is accumulated. This situation specifically appears in the lower portion of legs and feet. Here, in this article, we are going to discuss various causes of swollen ankles and its various treatments.
1. Injured Foot
If any person’s feet get injured, then he may experience inflammation in that region. This situation results in swollen feet. To get rid of pain and swelling due to injury, use the following tips:
- Take a rest for a few days
- Start wearing an ankle brace for some time
- Take some ice cubes and wrap them in a thin piece of cloth. Apply this on your feet for 20 minutes only.
2. Infected Skin
A person who is suffering from cellulitis-bacterial infections in the skin will experience swollen feet. Mostly, diabetic patients are prone to this type of skin infection.
This bacterial infection results in various types of symptoms along with swollen feet such as redness and warm skin.
- The best way to treat this problem is to take antibiotics. If after taking medicines, swelling is not reducing, consult your doctor again.
3. Side Effect Of Medicine
Sometimes medicines can result in swollen feet. There are various medicines that leave this kind of side effects. Some of them are:
- antidepressants and steroids
- calcium channel blockers for high blood pressure
Well, you do not need to worry because it can be easily treated with proper treatment and diuretic medications. The doctor may also suggest some other methods to reduce swelling. Such medications include:
4. Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI)
Chronic venous insufficiency is one of the most common types of edema. A person affected by CVI swollen legs and ankles. It is so because due to CVI condition, valves in the leg veins are affected.
These valves help in blood flow regulation, but when they are affected, they start malfunctioning and let the small amount of blood to flow in a backward direction. This situation results in the accumulation of blood in the lower legs. CVI can be highly painful for the patient.
For treating this situation, you can use the following tips:
- Raise your legs for sometimes to increase the blood flow
- Wear tight stockings to maintain right blood flow
- Wear edema boot for pain relief.
- Use Diabetic Swellsox to get relief from its painful symptoms.
- Take medicines as prescribed by your doctor
Take radiofrequency ablation treatment. This treatment will help in curing the affected veins.
5. Thrombosis
A person may experience a blood clot in one of the veins. Another name for this situation is deep vein thrombosis (DVT). This medical situation needs urgent care and treatment.
DVT resists the blood flow back to the heart. This results in the accumulation of blood in the affected limb.
To treat this situation, implement the following tips:
- Elevate the affected portion for some time in a day
- Wear tight stockings to maintain right blood flow
- Take medicines as prescribed by a doctor such as anticoagulant medications, or blood-thinners
