# Does this woman look like she has oedema?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-woman-look-like-she-has-oedema/647944>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 21, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-woman-look-like-she-has-oedema/647944 "2013-01-21T21:20:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-woman-look-like-she-has-oedema/647944/1 "2013-01-21T21:20:42Z")

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Take a look at the picture of the [woman in this article](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2265897/Racist-woman-banned-speaking-elderly-Irish-neighbours-14-year-campaign-abuse.html).

Those legs look like oedema to me but I am wondering if it could be anything else? I take it there’s not a kind of fat that looks like that, right?

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**Author:** ![applebetty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4af34b/32.png) [@applebetty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/applebetty)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-woman-look-like-she-has-oedema/647944/2 "2013-01-22T02:32:01Z")

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IANAD, yadda yadda.

Looks like plain fat to me, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Skin looks healthy and fairly smooth, no discoloration, no sores, no varicose veins, reasonable shape. The ankles above the shoes would be the tell-all, though.

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**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-woman-look-like-she-has-oedema/647944/3 "2013-01-22T02:44:08Z")

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them’s cankles.

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**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-woman-look-like-she-has-oedema/647944/4 "2013-01-22T02:57:13Z")

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I’d wager that’s some sort of swelling. Unsure if that qualifies for a diagnosis of “edema” (or “oedima”), but she’s not JUST fat, IMO. I’m fatter than her, and have occasional edema in my left lower leg. When it happens, the right leg looks like what it is - a bit fat - but the left leg swells up and looks exactly like that woman’s legs.

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**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-woman-look-like-she-has-oedema/647944/5 "2013-01-22T04:12:30Z")

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An obese 63-year-old woman could quite easily have several conditions each contributing to her ‘large’ legs/ankles.

As has been said, fat itself, may be playing a role. She may simply have fat legs. Still, I suspect that oedema is also present, although its cause may be multifactorial. For example, a woman of her habitus is at risk of [sleep apnea](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obstructive_sleep_apnea) which, in turn, may lead to strain on the right ventricle of the heart, causing [right heart failure and, thus, leg oedema.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_ventricular_failure#Signs_and_symptoms) But, her corpulence also places considerable ‘strain’ on the [veins (and valves therein) of the lower extremities](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_venous_insufficiency). Once more, [edema may ensue](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_venous_insufficiency#Venous_insufficiency_in_the_legs) as a consequence.