My calf suddenly swelled up. What's going on?

If your calves suddenly become swollen, you should pay attention to it. The reason for the swelling is mainly the accumulation of body fluids in the interstitial spaces between blood vessels, that is, edema. There are many reasons for this phenomenon, the most common of which is kidney disease. If your kidney function decreases or you have chronic nephritis, this phenomenon may occur. In addition, heart failure, phlebitis in the legs, and varicose veins are also important causes of this phenomenon.

My calf suddenly swelled up. What's going on?

1. Heart failure and leg phlebitis

These are the two main causes of chronic (long-term) leg swelling. According to clinical practice, phlebitis will only cause swelling of the patient's legs, while heart failure causing congestion will cause swelling of both legs; phlebitis will cause pain, while swelling caused by heart failure will not be painful; various diseases that cause leg swelling have their own different pathogenesis and characteristics.

2. Heart disease, high blood pressure, viral infection

Or diseases such as heart valve disease make the myocardium weak and powerless. The heart cannot deliver blood to the lungs smoothly, and the blood begins to flow back into the veins. Then it converges into the organ below the heart - the liver, causing the liver to become congested and swollen. If the condition does not improve, blood may eventually back up into the leg veins and cause leg swelling.

3. People with severe kidney disease

Swelling may occur all over the body, including the legs, face, and fingers. The reason for the systemic swelling is that too much protein is lost through urine.

4. More severe liver disease in the later stages

Leg swelling can occur due to two mechanisms. One is that liver cells are damaged and cannot produce enough protein, resulting in the same result as the loss of protein caused by kidney disease; in order to balance the protein content in the blood vessels and the tissues around the blood vessels, fluid in the blood will flow into the tissues and cause tissue swelling. Another possibility is scarring of the liver, which prevents blood flowing from the legs to the heart from passing through the liver, causing blood reflux. Additionally, enlarged glands or tumors in the abdominal cavity may compress veins and cause leg swelling.

5. Caused by hunger

Swelling of the abdomen and legs is caused by lack of protein in the diet, which causes fluid in the blood to seep out of the blood vessels and enter the body's tissues. When the abdomen swells, the abdominal cavity contains this type of fluid, which is the same as the situation when the kidneys and liver are diseased.

6. Severe hypothyroidism

It can also cause general swelling of the body, including the legs. The reason for this symptom is the same as when the kidneys and liver are diseased as mentioned above, which is to balance the protein content in the blood vessels and tissues, causing fluid to flow out of the blood vessels and into the tissues, causing swelling.