By Snježana Horvat |
8 natural remedies for swollen feet and ankles |
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Are your feet swollen? You have difficulties walking and you feel pain or discomfort at every step?
If you have noticed that the swelling appears only after walking or standing for a long time, you have no reason to worry.
Still, this problem may be due to more serious reasons such as poor kidney or cardiovascular functioning.
Possible causes of swollen feet include:
- too much walking or standing
- excessive use of laxatives and diuretics
- excessive intake of salt and carbohydrates
- pregnancy or PMS
- sodium staying in the organism
- heart disease and blood clot
- allergies
- traumas
Alleviate swollen feet naturally
First discover the cause of your condition and then apply some of these good natural solutions.
These natural methods will alleviate the pain and discomfort as well as reduce the swelling on the feet and ankles.
1. Drink plenty of water
Considering hot days ahead, always carry a bottle of water. Drink at least 10 glasses of lukewarm water in small sips.
Apart from hydratizing and detoxifying your organism, you will eliminate excess salt, which contributes to swollen feet.
From time to time enrich your water with antioxidants like vitamin C by squeezing into it a little lemon or lime.
2. Do some swimming!
The pressure of water which you feel while swimming will initiate positive processes in your feet and stimulate the blood flow through your veins.
Occasionally float on water - that will bring you a pleasant rest from the impact of gravity on your circulation.
3. Treat your feet with a bitter salt bath
Bitter salt, known for its relaxing effect and general health benefits, quickly soothes the pain and discomfort caused by the swelling.
It contains magnesium sulphate, which is easily absorbed through the skin, stimulating circulation and reducing swelling.
Add some bitter salt to the water and soak your feet for about 20 minutes.
Among its benefits is alleviating muscular fatigue in the legs and reducing unpleasant foot odour.
4. Try apple cider vinegar
This healthy vinegar, which preserves the best apple ingredients, stimulates your metabolism and circulation.
Thanks to its potassium content, apple cider vinegar prevents accumulation of fluids in the feet and around ankles.
Apart from using it with food, you can add it to a foot bath.
Pour two to three cups of apple cider vinegar (depending on the quantity of water) into a basin with warm water reaching above your ankles.
Soak your feet until you feel they are fully relaxed. Don't wipe your feet with a towel but let them dry in the air.
Make a molasses and anise drink
Molasses, a highly nutritious byproduct of sugar production is much healthier than ordinary sugar thanks to an abundance of minerals such as iron, magnesium, calcium and manganese.
Apart for having a beneficial effect on your feet it will be useful to your overall health.
Cook one to two cups of water with a half of teaspoon of molasses syrup and a spoon of anise.
Let it boil until the quantity of water is halved. Drink two to three times a day and you will notice a decrease in swelling.
6. Make a bath with coriander seeds
Apart from reducing the swelling, coriander soothes the pain in the feet.
Boil two to three spoons of coriander seeds in two cups of water until the liquid is reduced by half. When it has cooled, soak the feet in this bath.
Apart from reducing the swelling, coriander alleviates the pain in the feet.
7. Massage the feet with mustard oil
Mustard oil has a high content of useful minerals selenium and magnesium, which give it anti inflammatory properties.
Treat your feet to a daily massage with this oil in order to stimulate circulation and alleviate the fatigue in the legs.
8. Use fresh cabbage leaf wraps
It is well-known that cabbage leaves extract excessive fluid from the body. First wash the leaves and cut off the hard part. Then pound or knead them lightly to let them release the juice.
Put several leaves of fresh cabbage on the swollen feet and bandage them with a cotton cloth. Tighten and let them act during the night. Soon you will notice an improvement and a decrease of the swelling.
Note:
If the swelling of the feet and ankles is constantly present and painful, and you feel other symptoms like tightness in the chest, make sure you consult your doctor.
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