# help, my feet and ankles are all swollen **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 21, 2002, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-feet-and-ankles-are-all-swollen/110081 "2002-05-21T13:15:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kalashnikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kalashnikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalashnikov)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2002, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-feet-and-ankles-are-all-swollen/110081/1 "2002-05-21T13:15:40Z")
Yesterday morning I went to put on my work boots and they almost wouldn’t fit. WTF, says I, I wore these boots all winter until about a month ago I switched to sneakers. My feet and ankles have blown up like balloons. And I think it’s gotten a little worse since yesterday. Its a little uncomfortable, and, well, freaky. I haven’t been standing or walking any more or less than usual. I am somewhat overweight but I haven’t gained a noticible amount recently. I haven’t eaten anything unusual or taken any drugs. My hands are not swollen - I can still see and feel the tendons move under the skin as I used to with my feet, and my face looks the same as ever. So what’s going on? ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2002, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-feet-and-ankles-are-all-swollen/110081/2 "2002-05-21T14:44:47Z")
I would suggest seeing a doctor pretty soon. Swollen feet and ankles can be a symptom of some pretty serious stuff dealing with your heart. It can, however, be dealt with with medication. It might be nothing but still, give your doctor a call just to be on the safe side. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2002, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-feet-and-ankles-are-all-swollen/110081/3 "2002-05-21T14:49:38Z")
Ditto to TV time. I’ve heard of higher blood pressure doing this, too. ---
**Author:** ![BF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5ac83/32.png) [@BF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BF)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2002, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-feet-and-ankles-are-all-swollen/110081/4 "2002-05-21T16:26:39Z")
What everybody else said, **K** -man, because this could also be warning signs of diabetes (hypertension and diabetes are entwined, IIRC). ---
**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:** [May 21, 2002, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-feet-and-ankles-are-all-swollen/110081/5 "2002-05-21T16:36:53Z")
Just another vote for “see your doctor”. There are many, many reasons for swollen feet and ankles (_peripheral edema_) and they cover the spectrum of medicine (ranging from mundane and trivial to serious). No one should even attempt to diagnose this over the Net. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2002, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-feet-and-ankles-are-all-swollen/110081/6 "2002-05-21T19:52:58Z")
Pregnant? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Yeah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/dbc845/32.png) [@Yeah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeah)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2002, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-feet-and-ankles-are-all-swollen/110081/7 "2002-05-21T21:31:14Z")
“I haven’t been standing or walking any more or less than usual. I am somewhat overweight but I haven’t gained a noticible amount recently.” This is interesting. When people retain water, their weight generally goes up. Have you actually been losing fat or muscle mass at the same time you are retaining water so that you haven’t “gained a noticable amount recently”? Two things you might want to do while waiting to see the doctor: 1. monitor your weight, 2. keep your feet up (e.g., on an ottoman)