Water retention

myblueskies

Is there a way to rid the body of excess water without doctors help? I'm holding water in my ankles and lower extremities. Is their a way to balance the body with this water?

AnnPT77

There are generally two kinds of water retention in a healthy body:

1. Localized to some body part(s) that's been injured or needs repair post-workout, or
2. Spread over a wide area when it's related to temporary inflammation, hormone cycles in women, above-personal-average sodium or carb intake, and that sort of thing.

Those kinds of things are how a generally healthy body stays healthy, and we shouldn't try to mess with them, because our bodies know what they're doing.

There are also kinds of water retention that tend to signal some type of concerning health issue, more a symptom in other words.

I'm 1000% not a medical professional, but:

If your feet/ankles have some kind of recent injury or post-workout effect, its possible that what you're seeing could be from that.

Absent some obvious recent trigger like that, if your feet/ankles are retaining a significant amount of water, I'm sorry to say I think it's seriously time to see a doctor, not merely try to self-treat. I don't want to be scary, but there are some potential causes that are quite serious, along with others that are less so. A doctor is who can sort that out.

About all a person in the "see a doctor" category can do - while arranging for that doctor visit soon - would be to elevate the feet (ideally above the heart), avoid high consumption of salt/sodium, use self massage, do foot exercises (pump ankles, wiggle toes, etc.), wear compression socks, and drink adequate fluids through the day (don't go crazy, but try to get to the point where urine is quite pale yellow rather than dark).

But see a doctor, if there isn't an obvious injury-type trigger. Please.