Pitting edema or soft edema is characterized as evident swelling in which an indentation made on the area remains visible for a short while after pressure is released. This condition is triggered by the accumulation of unusually large amounts of fluid in the interstitial tissues.
It is important to note that pitting edema is a symptom and might be caused by systemic conditions involving various bodily systems or localized issues that involves an area where the swelling develops.
Can kidney disease cause pitting edema?
One of the typical causes of pitting edema is kidney disease. It is important to note that the kidneys are responsible for eliminating waste products and excess water from the body which are excreted via the urine.
The elimination of the waste products and water is handled by the nephrons inside the kidney which filter these substances from the blood. A number of conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes or injury due to drugs can impair the nephrons which lead to the development of kidney disease.
Nephrotic syndrome is one of the kidney diseases that can cause an irregular loss of certain proteins from the blood into the urine. The water molecules adhere to the protein. An acceptable amount of certain proteins in the blood is essential to uphold fluid balance. Due to the unusually reduced concentration of protein in the blood, the fluid seeps into the tissues which results to peripheral edema.
Congestive heart failure
Congestive heart failure is characterized by impaired pumping action of the heart. There are various causes such as disrupted blood supply to the heart that can lead to the weakening of the organ.
Over time, the heart could not comply with the demands placed on it to pump blood into the arteries and receive blood. This can lead to the build-up of blood which results to increased pressure in the veins. The increased pressure forces the leakage of fluid into the interstitial tissue which triggers pitting edema.
Chronic venous insufficiency
When it comes to chronic venous insufficiency, the valves within the veins are damaged. They become dilated or the pumping action becomes insufficient which allows the blood to leak backwards. The extra fluid inside these veins results to a merging effect which forces the fluid to seep into the interstitial tissues in the inferior extremities, thus causing pitting edema.