Water retention is a problem that many people struggle with on a daily basis. One of the common methods for treating the problem is to use laxatives. Unfortunately, using laxatives to treat water retention can be very harmful if you do not know what you are doing. In this article, I will discuss some of the things you should know when using laxatives to treat water retention.
Water retention is commonly caused by changes in hormones during your monthly period. For instance, taking estrogen for a long period of time causes more water retention during your period than you may realize. Cranberry juice and other natural diuretics can be used to reduce the amount of water retention caused by hormone changes. Instead of taking estrogen, you can replace a glass of cranberry juice with a single glass of water daily to reduce water retention caused by hormone changes.
Other common causes of water retention are poor diet, smoking, obesity, stress, and congestive heart failure. Laxatives may sometimes help to treat water retention caused by one of these conditions. A poor diet that causes fluid retention can range from eating too much fat, low fiber and dehydration to drinking too much alcohol, coffee, or tea. Stress can cause fluid retention to be increased. If you find that you have stress in your life at all, you may sometimes want to consider a relaxation technique such as yoga or meditation to help relieve stress.
Pregnancy and childbirth are also common causes of increased water retention in the body. During pregnancy, the growing baby places a lot of pressure on the pelvic area. The increased weight of the baby often causes swelling and inflammation of the veins. Excessive swelling comes from fluid retention caused by the increased fluid and tissue mass placed on top of the swollen and inflamed legs. This can often be reduced during labor and delivery by applying pressure to the swollen legs until it falls off. If you experience pain during labor or delivery, consult with your doctor to make sure there is nothing physically wrong with you.
Liposuction may also be recommended for patients with swollen ankles due to many of the same reasons as stated above. One of the more common complications of excessive blood placed on the skin is that it thickens and shrinks the skin underneath. This can cause problems when the skin doesn’t heal properly after surgery. If you are scheduled for liposuction, talk to your doctor about any other potential causes water retention that may be affecting you.
Diuretics can also increase retention by drawing fluid out of the body. If you suffer from high blood pressure, a side effect from diuretics is that they can draw excess fluid out of the kidneys causing the kidneys to work overtime. This can also increase the risk of kidney failure. To minimize the effect of diuretics, doctors may prescribe anti-diuretics along with the anticoagulants to help reduce blood pressure so you don’t retain water.
Sometimes pregnancy and hormonal birth control pills can cause water retention. The progesterone and estrogen in birth control pills can increase fat deposits around the stomach and decrease fluid loss through sweating. As a result of the increased fluid retained by these medications, some women can sometimes end up with six pack abs that they aren’t proud of. Although losing weight through pregnancy is normal, if there is an excessive amount of weight that has been retained this may be a signal of an underlying condition.
Fluid retention can also be caused by increased body fluid or decreased body fluid. If you start to feel constantly thirsty throughout the day, have your blood checked to see if it is because your body holds more water than usual. A low blood volume or low blood sugar may be the cause.