By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

I remember flying to Thailand a few years ago. The flight is over 20 hours long. There you are, squished in with about 300 other passengers, so being able to move about and stretch your legs was a bit tricky. When I got off the plane, I was shocked to look down and see that I had ‘cankles’—you know, when your ankles are so swollen, you can hardly tell them from the rest of your leg? YIKES! Even my feet were swollen!

This is called edema—which is a collection of excess fluid in your tissues. Long flights and sitting too long are one of the causes of edema. There are many other reasons that people swell up and retain fluid–some minor, and some very serious or life-threatening.

What is Edema?

Edema means swelling, and it happens when the tiny blood vessels, or capillaries, begin to leak fluid into the nearby tissues. That extra fluid starts to build up and your body swells.

Edema often shows up in the arms, legs and feet, but it can also show up in the abdomen, and excess fluid can even collect in the lungs, which is a very serious type of edema, called “pulmonary edema”.

What Causes Edema?

While some of the causes of edema can be relatively minor, some edema is the result of serious—or even life threatening— health conditions.

Inflammation—Inflammation due to an allergic reaction, trauma, infections, rashes or even some illnesses, can cause inflammation, and as a result, edema.

Medications—Certain medications can change the body’s electrolyte and fluid balance, or cause the kidneys to be less efficient at removing excess fluid. Medications that can cause edema include corticosteroids, NSAIDS such as ibuprofen, insulin, or blood pressure medications.

Vitamin or nutrient deficiencies—Malnutrition due to a protein deficiency can cause the body to retain fluid, especially in the abdomen. Kwashiorkor is a type of malnutrition that causes a swollen, distended abdomen. Kwashiorkor most commonly affects children in developing countries where protein is scarce. Certain B vitamin deficiencies can also cause fluid retention and edema.

Electrolyte imbalances—Electrolytes are electrically charged minerals in our body fluids that help conduct electrical impulses necessary for muscles, especially the heart. Electrolytes also maintain the balance between sodium, potassium and water. When any of these essential minerals are out of balance, edema can result.

Other causes of edema include: long periods of inactivity, low thyroid, pregnancy, being on the pill, too much salt/sodium in diet, and excess sugar and carbohydrate consumption.

Treatment for more minor cases of edema include increased activity, getting thyroid and other hormones checked for imbalances, and making necessary changes in diet and nutrition.

Serious Health-Related Causes of Edema

Congestive Heart Failure—This is a common, but serious cause of edema, often in the feet and ankles. In fact, it is a hallmark symptom of heart failure. Heart failure occurs when the heart is not strong enough to efficiently pump blood throughout the body, and when the blood pools, it increases blood pressure. When this happens, fluid begins to leak out of the capillaries into extremities. More severe heart failure can cause fluid to build up in the lungs, which is called pulmonary edema. This becomes a medical emergency.

Kidney Disease—The kidneys are one of the primary fluid-regulating organs of our body. They also regulate sodium and potassium, two primary electrolytes that govern water retention. When the kidneys cannot filter enough water and sodium out, this causes a buildup of fluid in the body, which in turn causes edema.

Diabetes—Higher than normal blood glucose from high carb, high sugar consumption and poorly controlled diabetes causes fluid retention. In addition, elevated glucose damages arteries causing inflammation and stiffening—which results in atherosclerosis. When blood flow is impaired, fluid can accumulate in the lower extremities. Diabetes can also cause kidney disease and heart failure, both of which cause further edema.

Venous Insufficiency—Veins contain valves to help push blood back towards the heart to help it circulate. Over time, the valves wear out and blood can tend to pool in the legs. This pooling of blood causes varicose veins and edema. The slow-moving blood can also cause blood clots to form—which can be very dangerous, especially if they break loose and travel to the heart or lungs.

Lymphedema—Lymphedema is a type of edema related to the lymph system. The lymph system basically runs parallel to the circulatory system and helps to fight infections and filter toxins out of the blood. When there is damage to any area of the lymph system or lymph nodes, fluid will not drain properly, often resulting in swelling and edema.

Cancer, cancer treatments, surgery, trauma, and injury can cause blockages or poor lymph drainage in certain areas of the body, usually the extremities. An example of this is a woman who has had breast cancer surgery with removal of lymph nodes may have extreme swelling in the arm near the surgery, due to lymphedema.

Lymphedema can be a serious health condition because of the likelihood of the thin, delicate skin becoming injured and infection setting in. Trapped fluid also provides a fertile area for bacteria or fungus to grow. This can lead to cellulitis, which is an infection under the skin. Untreated, this kind of skin infection can spread to the bloodstream and cause sepsis, which is a life-threatening systemic infection.

Severe swelling from lymphedema can also cause the skin to crack or break and fluid can leak out. Long term, lymphedema can cause thickened and hardened skin that won’t go away. There is also a risk of a type of cancer that grows on untreated lymphedema.

Treatment for edema aims at finding the root cause of the swelling. Health care professionals should look at lab work, examine urinary and kidney function, monitor blood sugar levels, make changes in medication or diet if necessary–and in some cases, prescribe diuretic medication.

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I love trail running, and living in Boulder, Colorado with the mountains literally just outside my door, there are plenty of great trails. Thing is, they are pretty rocky and steep. I was running down a steep rocky trail the other day, and just happened to put my foot down on a rock the wrong way, and BOOM—sprained my ankle!

It was a long walk back home, and given the current controversy about whether to ice injuries, I decided not to ice it, but to take some arnica that I keep around. I went from barely walking and in a lot of pain to walking normally on day three! I was amazed!

The arnica not only helped the swelling and trauma, but it helped the pain immensely—I didn’t even have to resort to Ibuprofen or Tylenol, both of which have serious health and liver implications.

Arnica, on the other hand, is a completely natural homeopathic remedy that is so effective and widespread, that even physicians and surgeons now recommend it to their patients to reduce pain, trauma, swelling, bruising and inflammation. Arnica helps to naturally speed healing to the affected area.

Arnica has been recorded as being used all the way back to the 12^th century as a healing agent. It has been used extensively in Europe for literally thousands of years.

The most common type of arnica is Arnica Montana which is part of the daisy family. The daisy family contains several members which are used medicinally, including echinacea, calendula chamomile, yarrow, and dandelion.

Arnica contains a substance called helenalin, which is a potent anti-inflammatory. It can be used for traumatic injuries, surgery, or even just aches, pains, insect bites, and sore muscles. Since Arnica helps to decrease swelling, it also decreases pain associated with swelling. Arnica also stimulates the body’s healing processes and actually speeds up the time it takes injuries to heal.

Arnica is available in a variety of different forms, including topical oils, creams, gels, and ointments; as well as oral capsules and sublingual. Generally, the topical forms work best for superficial injuries and inflammation, and the oral capsules or tablets work for deeper injuries or trauma.

Arnica is excellent for treating the inflammation of osteoarthritis as well as injuries. This study done in 2007 and published in the Rheumatology International shows topical arnica as effective as an NSAID drug like ibuprofen in the treatment of the pain and stiffness of arthritis. Got sore, achy knees? Try arnica. Another study from Switzerland showed arnica’s effectiveness for moderate arthritis in knees, as well. In addition, arnica is effective at treating the pain, inflammation and stiffness from carpal tunnel syndrome in the wrists.

For us athletes, especially aging athletes, arnica oil is a godsend for inflammation, muscle soreness, and exercise-related injuries like sprained ankles. Applying arnica topically after a hard workout or training session can be very effective at reducing inflammation and muscle damage. In this study, participants who used arnica had less pain and muscle tenderness 72 hours after intense exercise, according to the results published in the European Journal of Sport Science.

Arnica is also known to stimulate white blood cells and to help flush out the toxins that accumulate in an injured joint or wound, speeding healing and easing pain. Arnica contains thymol (also found in thyme) which is a vasodilator. In other words, it dilates the blood vessels and even the tiny capillaries, which helps to increase circulation, cleaning out the wound and easing swelling.

Other uses for arnica include treatment for headaches, back pain, mouth and gum pain, and even leg cramps. One odd use for arnica oil is that it actually can stimulate hair growth, so it may be effective to add to your daily hair routine. Regular scalp massages with arnica oil can actually stimulate the hair follicles to grow new, healthy hair.

How to Purchase Arnica

Arnica is available in oil, tincture, homeopathic ointment, cream, salve and pills or capsules.

Since arnica is considered a homeopathic treatment, the potency is important. Lower dilutions are shown by smaller number next to the numeral X, C, etc., which means it has a higher concentration. For pills, look for homeopathic pills with 30x dilution. For oral products, potencies usually range from 4X-200C depending on the manufacturer.

Topical Arnica can be much higher, and it is common to find higher potencies such as 1X to 6X. (1X being the stronger potency.)

Arnica is toxic if it gets inside the body. Never apply arnica in any form on broken skin or on an open wound. Never take arnica internally unless it is homeopathic pills or capsules that contain too little arnica to cause harm.

Arnica oil can be found at health and supplement stores or online. Look for arnica oil that has few other added ingredients, but generally it will need to be diluted with a high-quality base oil such as olive oil, almond or grapeseed oil.

Some people may be sensitive to the compound helenalin found in arnica. If you develop a mild rash, then you may be helenalin-sensitive and should stop using arnica.

Arnica is one of the best, natural, pain-killing, trauma-soothing, healing substances you can use. It’s certainly a good idea to always keep some topical arnica and some homeopathic lozenges in your medicine cabinet. It is simply amazing!

Along with stocking up on Arnica, there is one food that you probably already have in your household that is a anti-inflammation game changer…

Before you go…

30-second Himalayan practice fixes knee and joint pain (try it tonight)

Doctors were stunned to discover that a remote Himalayan tribe had almost zero cases of joint or knee pain.

And that’s despite a diet rich in inflammatory foods and drinking copious amounts of alcohol (things that are supposed to make knee pain and inflammation worse).

Their secret?

A simple, 30-second trick they practice at 6:45 each morning that can not only prevent — but reverse creaky and stiff knee joints. Here’s how to do it:

> 30-second Himalayan practice “cures” knee and joint pain (try it tonight)

References:
http://www.arnica.com/category/arnica-uses/
https://draxe.com/arnica-oil/
https://www.drweil.com/vitamins-supplements-herbs/herbs/arnica/
https://www.britishhomeopathic.org/charity/how-we-can-help/articles/homeopathic-medicines/a/arnica-montana/

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