What causes swollen leg joints in the elderly?

When the joints of the elderly are swollen, it is important to analyze the causes. Common heart failure or leg phlebitis can cause this symptom. Hypothyroidism, pericardial disease, and kidney disease can also induce these symptoms.

1. Heart failure, leg phlebitis

① Phlebitis will only cause swelling of one leg of the patient, while heart failure will cause swelling of both legs.

② Phlebitis can cause pain, but swelling caused by heart failure will not cause pain.

2. Hypothyroidism, allergies, pericardial disease, trichinella infection, kidney disease

If both the face and legs are swollen, it may be due to: hypothyroidism, certain allergic reactions that cause systemic discomfort, pericardial disease that compresses the heart, trichinellosis caused by eating meat infected with Trichinella spiralis (trichinellosis), or kidney disease.

3. Hypothyroidism

Leg swelling in the elderly may be caused by these diseases

Severe hypothyroidism can also cause generalized swelling of the body, including the legs. In order to balance the protein content in blood vessels and tissues, fluid flows out of the blood vessels and into the tissues, causing swelling.

4. Late stage liver disease

① Because liver cells are damaged and cannot produce enough protein, in order to balance the protein content in the blood vessels and the tissues around the blood vessels, the fluid in the blood will flow into the tissues and cause tissue swelling.

② Scarring of the liver prevents blood from flowing from the legs to the heart from passing through the liver, causing blood reflux.

③Enlarged glands or tumors in the abdominal cavity may also compress the veins and cause leg swelling.

5. Drug reaction

Methyltestosterone (the most commonly used drug to treat impotence), steroids (for the treatment of arthritis, asthma, cancer, etc.), estrogen (oral contraceptives), antidepressants, antihypertensive drugs, methyldopa, and the recently invented calcium ion blockers used to treat cardiovascular disease can all cause leg swelling.

6. Heart disease, hypertension, viral infection, heart valve disease

Diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, viral infection or heart valve disease can weaken the myocardium. The heart cannot deliver blood to the lungs smoothly, so the blood begins to flow back into the veins and then flows into the liver, an organ located below the heart, causing the liver to become congested and swollen. If the condition does not improve, blood will eventually back up into the leg veins and cause leg swelling.