Get Rid of Water Retention
Firstly, though, if you haven't already done so, it's extremely important to be able to determine that your edema isn't due to a serious health problem. Edema is a condition that can have many potential causes, from relatively benign ones such as having been on one's feet for far too long, to life-threatening ones such as organ failure. It may be important for one to head to a health professional to see if one's edema is not the side effect of such a serious problem. If that is really the cause of one's edema, then one will need to have special treatment for one's condition. But people suffering from edemas caused by non-life threatening conditions can make use of the techniques outlined here.
At the root, edema is nothing more than the retention of water or other fluids that would normally make their way out of the body via natural means. So in cases where this edema is due to non-serious causes, the body can be stimulated to release some of this excess fluid. One good way to do so is to simply increase the rate at which the body releases fluid from its systems. You can increase the rate at which you sweat by exercising more. As a matter of fact, doing so will also increase your metabolism, which can also help in eliminating excess water from the system. You can also try other tactics such as reducing the amount of salt you are eating, if you are taking in too much of it – salt being a substance that can stimulate water retention – or, strangely enough, by increasing the amount of water that you drink. This may very well seem counterproductive, but keep in mind that the body holds on to the water it contains if it senses that water consumption is extremely low, in order to maintain enough water to sustain life for as long as possible. So if you normalize your water intake, it will also normalize the rate at which water is processed.
You can also try taking diuretics to help you excrete more water. A diuretic is defined as a substance that increases one's rate of urination. There are quite a few natural diuretics available – tea and coffee are two of the more common ones that are commonly consumed – but one can also try drinking herbal remedies. Many herbs such as golden seal, dandelion, nettle and parsley have very good diuretic effects, and these can be put to good use to relieve edema. Preparations containing certain amounts of these and other herbs, or combinations thereof, can be bought in capsule or tea form. Or you can also buy raw or fresh herbs, or collect them in the wild if you know what to look for, and eat them in meals or drink them in tea.
Lastly, for added quick relief of edema of extremities such as arms and legs, one simply needs to hold up the afflicted extremities in the air to allow gravity to help pull the fluid from the area to other parts of the body. Those struggling with leg and ankle edema can elevate their legs several times a day – a quick and simple way to try to eliminate edema.