Urine and Urination—Edema

Also called: Dropsy

Edema means swelling caused by fluid in your body’s tissues. It usually occurs in the feet, ankles and legs, but it can involve your entire body.

Causes of edema include

• Eating too much salt
• Sunburn
• Heart failure
• Kidney disease
• Liver problems from cirrhosis
• Pregnancy
• Problems with lymph nodes, especially after mastectomy
• Some medicines
• Standing or walking a lot when the weather is warm

To keep swelling down, your health care provider may recommend keeping your legs raised when sitting, wearing support stockings, limiting how much salt you eat, or taking a medicine called a diuretic – also called a water pill.

• Abdominal tap (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Angioedema (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Foot, leg, and ankle swelling (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Pulmonary edema (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Swelling (Medical Encyclopedia)

Your kidneys make urine by filtering wastes and extra water from your blood. The waste is called urea. Your blood carries it to the kidneys. From the kidneys, urine travels down two thin tubes called ureters to the bladder. The bladder stores urine until you are ready to urinate. It swells into a round shape when it is full and gets smaller when empty. If your urinary system is healthy, your bladder can hold up to 16 ounces (2 cups) of urine comfortably for 2 to 5 hours.

You may have problems with urination if you have

• Kidney failure
• Urinary tract infections
• An enlarged prostate
• Bladder control problems like incontinence, overactive bladder, or interstitial cystitis
• A blockage that prevents you from emptying your bladder

Some conditions may also cause you to have blood or protein in your urine. If you have a urinary problem, see your health care provider. Urinalysis and other urine tests can help to diagnose the problem. Treatment depends on the cause.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

• Clean catch urine sample (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Frequent or urgent urination (Medical Encyclopedia)
• RBC urine test (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Urinalysis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Urinary catheters (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Urinary Retention – NIH (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
• Urinating more at night (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Urination – difficulty with flow (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Urination – painful (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Urine – bloody (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Urine 24-hour volume (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Urine odor (Medical Encyclopedia)