Types of edema: description and treatment

What are the types of edema? What are their differences and what are their causes of development? The answers to all these questions you will find in this article. Also we will tell you how to get rid of such unpleasant phenomena.

Basic information about swelling

Types of edema depend on their location and the causes of development. This condition is characterized by an excessive accumulation of fluid in the tissue extracellular spaces and human organs. Most often, swelling is observed after waking up, as well as at the end of a work day.

Description of edema

Types of edema are determined depending on the causes of their occurrence. However, all of them are similar to each other. Ointment is a strong or moderately swollen. Very often after contact with it (for example, when you press a finger), there are traces on the skin that can disappear after a few seconds or after a few hours.

Causes of edema

Puffiness can develop for various reasons. Most often, such a pathological condition undergoes lower extremities. Types of edema of the legs depend on the causes of their onset. They include the following:

• Large load on the lower limbs;
• Excessive use of fluids, including before bedtime;
• Flat feet;
• Impaired metabolism;
• Frequent crossing of legs in a sitting position;
• Prolonged sitting on too soft or low seats;
• excess weight;
• Poorly selected shoes (for example, on high heels or flat soles, with a tight top and the like);
• Varicose veins (especially often such swelling is noted in the evening, and after sleeping - disappear).

It should also be noted that edema on the legs can develop as a result of a violation of blood flow and hydrostatic pressure in the veins.

Other reasons

In addition to the listed reasons for the development of edema, their occurrence may be due to:

• Violation of cardiovascular activity;
• Kidney disease;
• Diseases of the intestine;
• Acute respiratory infection;
• Violation of lymph flow in the subcutaneous tissue and skin;
• Diseases of the thyroid gland;
• Acute thrombophlebitis and others.

Types of edema

The main types of edema include the following:

• Generalized (congestive or cardiac, as well as renal, endocrine and cachectic).
• Localized (inflammatory, toxic and allergic).

Consider all the listed types of edema tissue in more detail.

Cardiac edema and their treatment

They arise as a result of the development of heart failure. With such a pathology, the minute volume of the heart decreases, and arterial hypotension also increases.

Venous hypertension and venous congestion play an important role in the pathogenesis of cardiac edema. The latter breaks the normal metabolism in tissues, in which under-oxidized metabolites accumulate, and acidosis also develops. As a result, the structure of the cementing intercellular substance of the vessels is broken and their permeability is increased. This phenomenon, combined with high pressure, provokes the movement of sodium, proteins and water from the cavity of the capillaries into the interstitium. After that, edema develops.

How to treat this pathology? Treatment of cardiac edema should be aimed at increasing myocardial contractility by taking cardiac glycosides, as well as increasing the excretion of water and Na from the body by administering diuretics.

Renal edema and the way to eliminate them

The cause of this condition is a decrease in oncotic pressure in the blood plasma. This process is due to proteinuria, which is observed in the defeat of the glomerular apparatus of the kidneys. After a significant increase in the filtration of water from the arteries and capillaries into the interstitium, its resorption in the veins drops sharply. Thus, the fluid accumulates in the tissues, and edema develops. How it can be eliminated?

Renal edema only go away with diuretics. However, it should be remembered that the fight against such swelling is not capable of leading to normal functioning of the affected organs. Therefore, all the main efforts of medicamentous influence should be directed to direct treatment of kidney pathology.

Marant or cachetic edema and their therapy

This pathological condition develops with severe and debilitating diseases, as well as extreme conditions, including malignant tumors, severe diarrhea, protein starvation, avitaminosis, and others.

The main cause of the appearance of the murine or cachectic edema is a significant reduction in the synthesis of soluble plasma proteins and the development of hypoproteinemia, as well as a reduction in the synthesis of proteins in connective tissue. Also for this pathological condition is a significant increase in the permeability of capillaries for electrolytes and water, which subsequently accumulate in the interstitium.

How to treat such types of edema? The treatment of the miraculous or cachectic pathologies is reduced to the therapy of the underlying diseases, which were listed above.

Endocrine edema and therapies

The reason for the development of such a state is an increase in the hydrophilicity of protein structures of muscles and skin. Very often, this pathology occurs with myxedema (that is, hypothyroidism). For such a disease, protein catabolism is characteristic, as well as distortion of their synthesis. As a result of this process, a huge amount of mucin is formed, that is, a hydrophilic colloid, which, accumulating in muscles and skin, causes water retention in them, and, accordingly, development of swelling.

How are edema of this type? To eliminate them, doctors recommend the use of thyroxine, that is, the thyroid hormone.

Now you know the main types of edema. They can not touch the faces, since these are generalized edema that result from internal disruptions in the body. If the swelling is noticeable to the naked eye, then this is a localized swelling. Consider its types, features and methods of treatment right now.

Inflammatory swellings

Can this condition be preceded by an allergy? Edema due to such a reaction is quite real. According to reports of specialists, inflammatory and allergic swelling arises from local disorders of capillary permeability. Also, the cause of this phenomenon may be hypertension in the lesion focus.

To eliminate such conditions, you should remove any contact with the allergen, and take anti-inflammatory and antihistamines.

Toxic edema

The main types of pulmonary edema are very often caused by the inhalation of toxic chemical vapors. This pathological condition can also be associated with insect bites and bacterial toxins. Under the influence of such agents, the permeability of blood vessels suddenly increases and tissue metabolism is disturbed. As a result, the components accumulate in the affected tissues, which increase the osmotic pressure and promote the swelling of the colloids. In combination with increased capillary permeability, this causes the development of swelling.

Medical measures to eliminate toxic edema should be aimed at normalization of all metabolic processes in tissues and stabilization of capillary membranes.

Let's sum up the results

As you can see, there are many kinds of edema that can have completely different causes of occurrence and require different ways of treatment. But, no matter what kind of swelling on the body does not disturb the patient, you should first turn to the therapist. After examining the patient, the doctor must refer him to a more narrow specialist who will confirm the diagnosis and prescribe the necessary treatment.

One can not help saying that tightening with the therapy of edema can aggravate an already difficult condition of a person. After all, generalized and localized edema can even lead to death.