When You Shouldn't Ignore Swollen Legs and Ankles

Your plane is about to land and you go to put your shoes back on, only to find the fit is a little tighter. Or, you're in your second or third trimester of pregnancy and your ankles are starting to swell up. These are examples of perfectly normal and often harmless swelling in your lower legs.

There is a much darker side of leg swelling, which is also called peripheral edema, that includes complications like slow-healing wounds that open the door to infection.

To help you differentiate between harmless and potentially problematic leg swelling, we turn to double board-certified foot, ankle, and leg wound specialist Dr. Thomas Rambacher and the team at Foot Ankle Leg Wound Care Orange County. In this blog post, we dive into leg swelling, what it means, and when you should take action.

Edema basics

Let’s first take a broader look at peripheral edema and why it develops. The puffiness that people experience in their lower legs comes from fluid buildup. This fluid builds up because of pressure on the blood vessels that forces liquid out and into neighboring tissues.

Causes of leg swelling

Now let’s first look at common, but relatively minor and temporary, issues that can lead to peripheral edema, including:

Pregnancy: about 80% of women develop edema during pregnancy thanks to extra pressure on the blood vessels
Sitting for long periods, which can slow blood flow to the lower limbs
Hormone changes that lead to fluid retention
Excessive sodium intake
Certain medications

Now let’s look at more serious and chronic issue that can lead to peripheral edema, such as:

Obesity
Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), which affects about 25 million American adults
Kidney failure
Heart failure
Blood clots
Pulmonary hypertension

This list is far from complete, but it gives you an idea about some of the more serious conditions that can lead to leg swelling.

Of this list, CVI is the most common cause of peripheral edema and a condition that we want to describe in more detail. Leg swelling related to CVI occurs because the veins in your legs are struggling to pump blood back up to your heart thanks to weak and faulty valves. When blood can’t get up to your heart easily, it can stall in your legs and lead to issues like varicose veins, as well as edema.

The dangers of peripheral edema and CVI

When you have chronic edema in your lower legs, the pressure of the fluids in your tissues can make your skin more fragile and prone to wounds and ulcers. Making matters worse, the pressure of the fluid can also prevent healing resources from reaching the wound, which leaves you open to infection and gangrene.

Taking action when you have chronic edema

If you’re experiencing leg swelling that’s showing no signs of going away, it’s important to get checked out so that you can identify what’s behind the issue.

If CVI is involved, then it's important to take steps to manage the edema so that you don’t develop a chronic and slow-healing wound. As wound experts, we can tell you that any preventive steps you take now can save you from a host of problems down the road. And these steps may be as simple as elevating your legs and wearing compression stockings.

If you have more questions about peripheral edema, we’re here to help. You can start by calling our office in Mission Viejo, California, at 949-832-6018 or requesting an appointment online today.