What causes edema?

There are many things that can cause edema.  It may be as simple as gravity just pulling water down into your legs or feet.  The cause of your edema can be totally different from another persons. 

Simple things like sitting in a chair too long can cause edema of the legs, feet and ankles.  Consuming foods that contain a high content of salt could be another "temporary" cause of edema.

Some other things that can cause edema:

• Injury or some sort of trauma to your foot or ankle
• You are more than 20 pounds overweight
• Increased age (elderly)
• Prolonged standing
• Burns (including sunburn)
• Insect bite or sting
• Starvation or malnutrition
• Surgery to your leg or foot

Edema does not run in families and is not catchable from other people. 

There may be some underlying health issues that you may want to get checked out by your healthcare proffessional if you have serious edema. 

Some underlying issues could include; congestive heart failure, liver, kidney or certain thyroid diseases.

Most of the time the cause of edema can be tracked down and dealt with in a small amount of time.  But you should really consult your doctor to be safe.