Lower leg edema?

[Heather1234]

Im obsessively checking for lower leg edema. If I press firmly on my shins it does leave a shallow dent for a second or two. I don't think it looks swollen, but now im questioning everything. My shins feel lumpy. Im not sure if it's always been this way always, or not. Ugh....never should have googled, I know. Does anyone have lumpy feeling shins? Does edema usually show up more obvious than this? My shins did feel tight earlier, then I elevated them & the tightness went way.
Really consumed by this, just wish I could let it go. :(

[swajj]

Anyone who presses their skin will leave a dent for a second or 2. If you had edema the dent would remain there for much longer than a couple of seconds.

[12daughertye]

Edema can be caused by a lot of things. You need to be making sure you exercise. The lymph nodes in your legs have no physical way to move the fluid. It relies on blood flow and movement.
If that doesn't help you should see a doc.

[Heather1234]

I do get exercise enough I think. I am constantly on the go with 3 kids.lol in my head I know logically they would look swollen if there was something sinister, but I still check. I also think maybe I'm causing some of the issue by pressing on my shins and all around my ankles so much. And the dent goes away pretty fast so I feel better about that, thank you :)

[claire92]

Edema can even happen when you're due on your period! There are lots of reasons for it, many of which aren't scary at all. They definitely would look swollen if it was something bad!

[swajj]

Now we are discussing the causes of the Edema that you don’t have. lol

[Heather1234]

Thank you so much for the help. I think ill stick to just visually assessing (if I feel like I hAve to check) and stop presting on them unless they really look swollen. My anxieties have eased some, thank you :)

[Heather1234]

Worried about this again. Last night I pressed firmy on my shin and it left a dent that took at least 20 seconds to go away :/ I looked on Google & it says that could be severe edema. My legs don't really look swollen (but maybe I don't see it), but my shins did feel.a little tight, but could have been in my head....Ugh....
Also I check when I got up this morning and there was a tiny dent when I press hard. And there's no swelling in feet or ankles that I can tell.
I'm due for my monthly cycle in abt a week. Maybe thats it. I also read that mild swelling is usually not serious if it goes away over night. I think only averaging 4-5 hours of sleep is also part of my problem....with the HA too.

[AMomentofClarity]

If you had edema in your legs, you would know it from looking. If you’re legs don’t look swollen, it’s because they’re not.

[Andrash]

No swelling - no edema. As simple as that.

[Heather1234]

Thank you for that. Sometimes i need to hear logic I guess. I thought my HA,would get better eventually bc it only started once my father got very ill with CHF, and passed. But that was over 2 years ago now. My husband thinks I'm crazy, so it's nice to have this group.

---------- Post added at 21:36 ---------- Previous post was at 21:35 ----------

I did want to add that I'm worried I may not notice the swelling. But I guess I probably would.

[Andrash]

Thank you for that. Sometimes i need to hear logic I guess. I thought my HA,would get better eventually bc it only started once my father got very ill with CHF, and passed. But that was over 2 years ago now. My husband thinks I'm crazy, so it's nice to have this group.

---------- Post added at 21:36 ---------- Previous post was at 21:35 ----------

I did want to add that I'm worried I may not notice the swelling. But I guess I probably would.

For starters, steer clear of Google and block all medical sites/queries. You can actually use parental controls on your browser to do that for yourself.

[Heather1234]

I didn't think I could block them. That is a wonderful idea. My husband will be most happy about this.

[Andrash]

I didn't think I could block them. That is a wonderful idea. My husband will be most happy about this.

Yes, you can. Better still, make him do it for you :)

[Heather1234]

Even better idea! Thank you :)