Weight Gain

Many people get confused when they gain weight. They don’t know whether they actually gained several pounds or they are just swollen up a little bit. In the case of actually gaining several pounds, people can lose it by simply controlling their meals and working out. However, in the case of being swollen, people have to have different solutions.

Everybody must have experienced waking up with a puffed-up face in the morning. Also, hands and feet get tumid once in a while so that people find it difficult to fit in their shoes. It is said that when a person gains about 7~9 lbs simply because of edema, it must be considered as a serious problem. Therefore, these people will be well advised to see a doctor.

There are many reasons for edema. However, most of the cases are related with bad circulation of the blood resulting from bad habits.

Get rid of bad habits-

The reason people get swollen is because they have excessive amount of water inside their bodies. It is said that the right amount of water in a person’s body is 60 percent of the weight in the case of men and 50% in the case of women. In a normal condition, two thirds of the water inside people’s bodies should stay inside the cells. However, if there is too much water, it comes out of the cells and stays in between the cells resulting in swollen bodies. To avoid getting bloated, people should stay away from salty and hot food. Professor Park Gi-heon, who teaches at College of Medicine, Pochon Cha University, says, “When people eat salty food, they drink lots of water. In this way, people will not only have puffed-up faces but also puffed-up bodies. Also, people should not drink more than 1.5L of water per day and should not drink water right before they go to bed.”

Using a high pillow or facing the pillow while sleeping may cause edema. Also, people suffering from sleep-deprivation because of stress and insomnia may experience edema because of metabolic problems. Especially, when people are under pressure, antidiuretic hormone, which stops people from urinating, comes out and that may result in edema too.

People who went through extreme weight loss programs will have similar problems. It is because when they go back to their normal life, the intake of water increases suddenly and the body systems cannot afford it.

Relaxing may be a possible prevention to edema since it helps people to urinate. Also, people can use tight socks or stockings to prevent waking up with a swollen body in the morning. It is because the socks and stockings presses the body and lets the body fluids flow out by veins.

Professor Park says, “Doing free gymnastics or stretching can prevent the problem. Also, walking around will help since it promotes the circulation of the blood.”

Who has to see the doctor?-

Easy ways to find out how swollen you are is to press your ankle or heel. If your skin does not find its place again, it means that almost 4-5L of water is inside of your body. People who have to go to see the doctor may show sighs of suddenly gaining weight even though they did not each much, extreme weight fluctuation during a day, sudden decrease of urinating, waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, tight rings, puffed-up eyes in the morning, tight shoes, difficulty in breathing while exercising, or laying down.

People with those symptoms should visit a doctor and find out what the cause of the edema. The most well-known illnesses which come along with edema are liver diseases, heart failures, and kidney diseases. Also, thyroid gland diseases, pregnancies, malnutrition, and menstruation can cause edema too. When only one side of the legs gets swollen, this may mean a more serious problem. In this case, lymph or vein problems can be involved. People can get swollen by taking some medicines. Some painkillers increase the amount of salt inside a person’s body. Professor Hwang Young-hwan, who works at Eulji Hospital, says, “Intake of painkillers for a long time may cause kidney failures. Then, people’s body will get swollen more. In this case, people should stop taking the medicine or switch to another one.”

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