How To Prevent Water Retention!

Water retention can be a symptom of a serious illness, which is why this should always be clarified by a doctor!

Water retention is a symptom of various causes: heat, poor nutrition, but also cardiovascular weakness.

The latter is a serious health problem, you therefore lasting unclear fluid retention should please always show your doctor who will then prescribe further investigation.

What causes water retention?

Apart from the cardiovascular diseases already mentioned in the introduction, such as heart failure, there are of course some more harmless causes of water retention.

If you can assign your water retention to one of the following points, our following tips could help you to avoid or eliminate them.

Possible causes of water retention include:

• Tiring venous pump: If your legs and feet are swollen, it is usually because you have been standing for a long time and the venous pump did not work properly. That is normal. Try rocking up and down as you stand to keep the venous pump going.
• Great heat: Even great heat leads to water retention, as the vessels widen and more water can flow in.
• Clothing that is too tight: Another cause could be an impaired drainage of the tissue fluid (lymph), if you are wearing stockings or clothing that are too tight.
• Hormone fluctuations in women : Cycle-dependent hormone fluctuations can also cause water retention – so the morning shock on the scales can really only be water, not fat!
• Diet : Very salty or very sugary foods can also lead to temporary water retention. Reconsider your eating habits and pay attention to how much salt and sugar you eat!

Prevent water retention

If you know that you tend to accumulate water in your tissue, you should learn a few rules of conduct to avoid this unpleasant, unsightly and unnecessarily burdensome accumulation of water.

In the following we list particularly effective methods of prevention:

Wear support stockings!

Admittedly, the tip doesn’t sound particularly attractive. However, support stockings are proven to be the best and most effective way to prevent water from accumulating in your legs and feet!

Support stockings are also an effective measure to prevent thrombosis, for example on long trips.

Today there are many models of support stockings that are not in “granny beige” and that are visually indistinguishable from normal stockings. Get advice from specialist retailers!

Move!

Anyone who moves little (or not at all) knows the problem of swelling feet and legs.

Most of the time, this is because the venous pump is tired when you stand or sit for a long time and tissue fluid collects in the lower extremities and can no longer be pumped out.

To prevent this, make sure to keep the venous pump running.

It’s easy to do with movement!

Just walking or running helps. If you have to stand or remain seated in one place, you can activate the venous pump by actively pulling your heel and then your toes as high as possible, thereby triggering a pumping movement.

Also ideal on the plane to prevent thrombosis!

Eat right!

To prevent water retention in general, you should avoid all foods that promote water retention in the body.

This includes not only salt, but also sugar. Also watch out for hidden sugars by studying the ingredients of food in detail!

Your diet should be particularly rich in fruits and vegetables with potassium, as potassium helps regulate your water balance. Melons and rice, for example, are good sources for this!

Drink enough and properly!

Drinking a lot promotes a good metabolism, which in turn ensures that the body has a balanced fluid ratio. Drinking a lot does not mean : a lot of water retention, but exactly the opposite!

Please only drink calorie-free drinks such as water or herbal teas in order not to gain weight or store water with sugar again!

What to do when the water is already there

There are situations where water retention occurs because you simply ate the wrong thing, drank too little, stood for too long or was exposed to too much heat.

Then of course it is too late for prevention and you will not be able to put on the support stocking for a long time. First aid can then bring cold showers!

Cold showers are not for everyone, but they are easy on the legs.

The cold water causes the vessels to contract and the stored water is transported away. Alternating showers keep the vessels elastic and are also useful.

In general, the narrowing vessels mean that less water can be stored in cold temperatures. If you have the opportunity to work (or sleep) with air conditioning in summer, for example , then use this!