When excess fluid appears in the interstitial space, edema appears. Pregnant women often suffer from such a pathology, and most often it manifests itself on the legs. Expectant mothers should try to use chemical medicines as little as possible, since they harm not only their health, but also the baby’s development. After reading this article, you will learn about the most effective folk remedies for edema during pregnancy. To begin with, we offer to understand why these unpleasant edema are found in women in position.
Why do edema appear during pregnancy?
During pregnancy, the work of many systems and organs of a woman is rearranged. All these changes directly or indirectly affect the accumulation of a large amount of fluid near the cells, and there are edema of varying degrees, which accompany expectant mothers at all periods of expectation of the child.
There are several reasons for the appearance of edema: harmless to health and those that indicate serious violations.
Non-dangerous causes of edema
Edema caused by natural factors that are present in every pregnancy are not harmful to a woman's health:
- The amount of blood circulating in the veins increases. And to facilitate its flow, more fluid is required.
- Pregnancy hormone - progesterone - promotes the accumulation of sodium in the body, which is needed in large quantities to retain fluid in the body.
- The appearance of amniotic fluid.
If pregnancy proceeds without pathologies, then swelling appears only in the legs, and not earlier than 30 weeks.
Causes of edema, indicating a pathology
If puffiness manifests itself on the hands, lower back, abdomen, face, hips, then this signals serious violations in the work of internal organs or pathology:
- If the kidneys do not do their job perfectly, and you retain the excess fluid in the body, then edema begins to appear under the eyes, on the arms, in the legs. This is evidence of kidney failure.
- During pregnancy, a woman gains weight, the uterus begins to put pressure on the vessels of the pelvis, the hormonal background changes dramatically, and all this can cause varicose veins. The first symptom is the appearance of edema due to a violation of the outflow of blood.
- During pregnancy, many women confuse concepts such as toxicosis and gestosis. If toxicosis is the norm during pregnancy and appears in the first trimester, then gestosis is a dangerous pathology, which manifests itself at the end of the second trimester and in the third. Gestosis is nausea, heartburn, swelling throughout the body, fainting, high blood pressure. Gestosis indicates a violation in the circulatory and cardiovascular system. It is because of these disorders that excess fluid appears.
- Edema during pregnancy before 30 weeks and swelling not only in the legs can indicate an allergy that can begin even with the use of familiar foods.
If edema of any kind occurs, you must consult a doctor who is pregnant. He will identify the cause of the pathology, prescribe a treatment that will help cope with the disease. It is strictly forbidden to take any medicine without a prescription! If for some reason it is not possible to consult your doctor, then it is better to use folk remedies for edema during pregnancy to alleviate the condition. But in the future, you still need to come to the reception to identify the reason for their appearance.
How to determine the presence of edema?
Edema does not have to be such that it is visible to the naked eye. They are completely small, and many women simply do not notice them, believing that this is just overweight.
To understand if edema is present, you can conduct a small experiment: press with your thumb on the skin of the "suspicious" area. If the dent remains for 2-3 seconds, then this is swelling. If the skin quickly returns to normal, then there is no edema.
Edema is indicated by footprints from socks and shoe fasteners. If there are rings on the hands, then they become small during the day, and can even cut into the skin. Do not leave everything as it is, you need to get rid of edema during pregnancy. Treatment with folk remedies will not harm either the expectant mother or her baby. Next, we suggest considering options for alternative therapy.
Do folk remedies for edema help during pregnancy?
The treatment with the means that our ancestors used while carrying babies is aimed not only at eliminating excess fluid from the body. They have a much wider spectrum of action. Folk remedies for edema during pregnancy help strengthen the walls of blood vessels, normalize the work of the cardiac and urinary system.
Folk recipes are completely safe, since the products consist only of natural ingredients. It is recommended that not only future mothers use folk remedies for edema during pregnancy. Reviews of gynecologists about such methods are also the most positive. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with recipes recognized by doctors.
But, despite the safety of such therapy, you should consult your doctor before using any prescription. He will identify the cause of puffiness, its degree, assess the risks, prescribe the best prescription for the individual body of a woman.
Herbs
A folk remedy for edema during pregnancy based on herbs is an excellent diuretic. Unlike synthetic preparations, decoctions created from diuretics of natural origin do not contribute to the elimination of a large number of electrolytes and essential minerals from the body.
To remove swelling during pregnancy with folk remedies is no less simple than with medications. To create a safe diuretic, use one of the following recipes:
- Take two tablespoons of pharmacy chamomile, pour 250 ml of boiling water, brew in a water bath for 20 minutes. Next, cool the broth, strain, take 2-3 times a day in the amount of 100 ml at a time.
- Pour a tablespoon of chicory root with a liter of water, put on a slow fire, cook for 10 minutes, cool and strain. You need to take half a glass no more than 3 times a day. The drink has a pleasant coffee taste, but there is no caffeine in it, so do not worry and refuse chicory.
- Dry leaves and buds from birch in the amount of 2 tablespoons pour a liter of boiling water. You need to insist at least half an hour, take 250 ml 4 times a day.
- A tablespoon of dried linden flowers, pour 250 ml of boiling water, let it brew for 40 minutes. You need to drink 3 times a day in a glass.
- A teaspoon of leaves or roots of a lovage pour 250 ml of boiling water, leave for half an hour. Drink three times a day for a tablespoon.
Strawberries, parsley root and juniper are also natural diuretics, but it is strictly forbidden to take them during pregnancy, since they help to reduce the uterus, and this can cause premature birth.
Decoctions, fruit drinks and juices
Among the natural diuretics that nature gave us, there are, in addition to herbs, many berries and vegetables that will remove excess water and relieve swelling during pregnancy. What to do? Folk remedies are very simple to use. We offer several recipes for juices and fruit drinks, which, in addition to getting rid of edema, will give the body a lot of trace elements and vitamins.
For the preparation of fruit drinks you can use:
- cranberries;
- chokeberry;
- Strawberries
- Blackberry
- lingonberries (both berries and leaves);
- viburnum.
To prepare any fruit drink you need to take three liters of water and a pound of berries. Crush the fruits, add water, put on gas. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, let stand for 3 hours. You can drink fruit drinks per day no more than 2 glasses!
Also take freshly squeezed juices, for the preparation of which take:
- cabbage;
- Tomatoes
- carrot;
- cucumber;
- radish;
- pumpkin.
In spring, find natural birch sap for sale, drink half a glass twice a day.
In addition to juices and fruit drinks, decoctions of rosehip berries, as well as hawthorn, will help. Pour a pound of raw materials with a liter of water, cook for 10 minutes. Filter through the day, that is how many fruits should be infused in a decoction. You need to drink twice a day in half a glass.
How to get rid of edema at home quickly? Some women may be advised to eat a watermelon, as you often want to use the toilet from it. But is this method so safe? We suggest to sort it out.
Can pregnant women eat watermelon?
Watermelon is a general strengthening, diuretic, biliary and anti-inflammatory natural product. During pregnancy, it helps relieve puffiness, improve the general well-being of a woman. But here there are criteria, and they are all in the choice of berries.
You can buy watermelons only those that matured in August. You also need to pay attention to the naturalness of the product. Watermelon without nitrates has an even beautiful pattern on the peel, without the presence of yellow veins.
The chemicals that are used for the rapid growth and ripening of these huge berries can cause poisoning in women, damage the health of her baby.
You need to eat a watermelon a pound at a time, so that it helps get rid of edema. You need to do this only an hour or two before meals or after it and an hour before bedtime!
Folk remedies for leg edema during pregnancy
In addition to funds for oral administration, it is necessary to influence the tissues and blood vessels from the outside to remove puffiness. To do this, we will prepare pleasant foot baths. How to get rid of edema during pregnancy with folk remedies? You need to add something from the list to the basin with warm water:
- decoction of linden flowers;
- sea salt;
- nettle infusion;
- St. John's wort broth;
- collection of hemp, elderberry and mint.
Keep the legs in the bath for 15 minutes. After that, they need to be wiped, lie down on your left side to rest for 30 minutes, slightly raise the legs up.
Diet for edema during pregnancy
We talked about how to get rid of edema during pregnancy at home quickly. Reviews about all the prescribed methods are only positive. The reviews also state that neither folk remedies nor drug therapy will give a good result if you do not follow a diet. Proper nutrition will help prevent the appearance of new edema, will contribute to the speedy elimination of those that have already manifested.
Coffee, lemonade, tea and sweet soda should be ruled out. Drink water at least 2 liters per day, it is only pure water, freshly squeezed juices, fruit drinks and decoctions.
Refuse fatty fruits, replace them with dried fruits.
Eat sour-milk products, and also do not refuse foods rich in animal proteins.
It is recommended to add baked potatoes, baked green apples, eggplant, pears, plums, tangerines, ginger, sorrel, dill, garlic, tomatoes, beans, cabbage, carrots, melon, cucumbers, radish, celery, rice, oatmeal, oats to the daily diet , replace sugar with honey, eat prunes, peaches, bananas, beets.
Conclusion
We have described methods to combat edema using folk remedies. They will help not only pregnant women, but also all people prone to this manifestation.
In any case, the first thing you need to visit a doctor is to identify the cause of the appearance of edema and eliminate it.