Water retention Health Dictionary

A bed with a water-?lled mattress can help prevent bed sores (see ULCER – Decubitus ulcer) in patients con?ned to bed for more than a few days. Its ?exibility provides uniform support for the whole body. Air beds are now more often used: they are light and more comfortable and the modern version, called a ripple bed, has a little motor that ?lls and empties tubes in the mattress. The patient’s circulation is stimulated and pressure is regularly changed on susceptible parts of the body – elbows, buttocks and heels – thus reducing the likelihood of pressure sores developing, particularly in the elderly.... water bed

A disorder resulting from excessive retention of water in the brain. Main symptoms are dizziness, headaches, confusion and nausea. In severe cases the patient may have ?ts (see SEIZURE) or lose consciousness. Several conditions can disturb the body’s water balance causing accumulation of water in the tissues. Heart or kidney failure, CIRRHOSIS of the liver and disorders of the ADRENAL GLANDS can all result in water retention. Other causes are stress as a result of surgery, when increased secretion of antidiuretic hormone (VASOPRESSIN) by the adrenal gland may occur. Treatment is of the underlying condition and the judicious use of DIURETICS, with careful monitoring of the body’s ELECTROLYTES.... water intoxication

The term applied to water that contains a large amount of calcium and magnesium salts (lime salts). These form an insoluble curd with soap and thus interfere with the use of the water for washing. Hard water is especially found in districts where the soil is chalky. Temporary hardness, which is due mainly to the presence of bicarbonates of lime, can be remedied by boiling, when the lime is precipitated as carbonate of lime. Permanent hardness is not remedied by boiling, and is due to the presence of a large amount of sulphate of lime. It may be removed by the addition of sodium carbonate (washing soda) or by the Permutit process which involves the use of various combinations of silicate of alumina and soda. In the past, hard water was often blamed for many ills – without any convincing evidence. Epidemiologists suggest that drinking soft water may lead to a greater risk of heart disease.... hard water

See URINE RETENTION.... retention of urine

A useful diluent drink for invalids, similar to barley-water.... rice-water

Nuphar species

Description: This plant has leaves up to 60 centimeters long with a triangular notch at the base. The shape of the leaves is somewhat variable. The plant’s yellow flowers are 2.5 centimeter across and develop into bottle-shaped fruits. The fruits are green when ripe.

Habitat and Distribution: These plants grow throughout most of North America. They are found in quiet, fresh, shallow water (never deeper than 1.8 meters).

Edible Parts: All parts of the plant are edible. The fruits contain several dark brown seeds you can parch or roast and then grind into flour. The large rootstock contains starch. Dig it out of the mud, peel off the outside, and boil the flesh. Sometimes the rootstock contains large quantities of a very bitter compound. Boiling in several changes of water may remove the bitterness.... spatterdock or yellow water lily

Water retention or Edema is an affection which is more commonly found in the legs and hands due to gravity. Generally, water retention makes your organs grow bigger and decrease their action. The swelling may affect the entire body or just a part of it (lungs, kidney, hands and feet) within days or month- a relatively short amount of time. This affection is caused by flu, cold or by overexposing your body to very low temperatures. How a Tea for Water Retention Works A Tea for Water Retention’s main purpose is to eliminate the surplus of water and heal the affected areas. Traditional medicine has developed some very effective drug combinations during the past years, but alternative medicine fans think that herbal treatments remain the real deal and that there’s no reason to stress out your liver. Efficient Tea for Water Retention When choosing a Tea for Water Retention, you must keep in mind the fact that this must be both very effective (contains a large amount of active constituents) and safe (water retention is an affection which takes time to heal so you don’t want anything to interfere with your treatment). If you don’t know which teas to choose from, here’s a list to give you a hand: - Green Tea – contains the right amount of active ingredients capable to flush all water out of your system and calm the affected areas. Don’t take more than 2 cups per day and don’t take it at all if you are experiencing menstrual or menopausal symptoms in order to avoid stomach ulcerations. - Stinging Nettle Tea – this Tea for Water Retention is a natural purgative and diuretic which is generally used to treat prostate problems. However, this is not one of the safest teas, so may want to check with your doctor before starting an herbal treatment based on it. - Dandelion Tea – the decoction is made from this plant’s roots and it’s well known for its curative properties, which include constipation and urinary tract infections. The Dandelion Tea will help your body get rid of the unnecessary water and improve your general health. - Peppermint Tea – this is one Tea for Water Retention one hundred percent safe! You can also take it to treat ailments of the respiratory and digestive systems, such as cough, flu, colds, pleurisy, pulmonary edema, upset stomach and gastritis. If you’ve decided to give up coffee, peppermint tea is a great alternative! Tea for Water Retention Side Effects When taken properly, these teas are generally safe. However, don’t exceed the number of cups in order to avoid digestive tract problems, such as diarrhea (some of these teas have a powerful diuretic effect), ulcers, uterine contractions or vomiting. If you’ve been taking one of these teas for a while and you’ve noticed some unusual reactions, ask for medical help as soon as possible! Don’t take a Tea for Water Retention if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, on blood thinners, anti-coagulants or preparing for a surgery. Due to their purgative action, some of these teas can lead to miscarriage. If you have your doctor’s approval and there’s nothing that could interfere with your treatment, choose a tea that fits you best and enjoy its wonderful benefits!... tea for water retention

Trapa natans

Description: The water chestnut is an aquatic plant that roots in the mud and has finely divided leaves that grow underwater. Its floating leaves are much larger and coarsely toothed. The fruits, borne underwater, have four sharp spines on them.

Habitat and Distribution: The water chestnut is a freshwater plant only. It is a native of Asia but has spread to many parts of the world in both temperate and tropical areas.

Edible Parts: The fruits are edible raw and cooked. The seeds are also a source of food.... water chestnut

Alisma plantago-aquatica

Description: This plant has small, white flowers and heart-shaped leaves with pointed tips. The leaves are clustered at the base of the plant.

Habitat and Distribution: Look for this plant in fresh water and in wet, full sun areas in Temperate and Tropical Zones.

Edible Parts: The rootstocks are a good source of starch. Boil or soak them in water to remove the bitter taste.

CAUTION

To avoid parasites, always cook aquatic plants.... water plantain

This occurs when URINE is produced by the kidneys but not voided by the bladder. It is generally less serious than ANURIA, in which urine is not produced.

Causes Neurological injury, such as trauma to the spinal cord, may cause bladder weakness, leading to retention, although this is rare. Obstruction to out?ow is more common: this may be acute and temporary, for example after childbirth or following surgery for piles (HAEMORRHOIDS); or chronic, for example, with prostatic enlargement (see PROSTATE GLAND). Commonly seen in elderly men, this leads to reduced bladder capacity, with partial emptying every few hours. Total retention is rare, but may result from a stricture, or narrowing, of the URETHRA (see also URETHRA, DISEASES OF AND INJURY TO) – usually the result of infection or injury – or to pressure from a large neighbouring tumour.

Retention is generally treated by regular use of a urethral catether (see CATHETERS), various types of which are available. Tapping of the bladder with a needle passed above the pubis is rarely necessary, but may occasionally be required in cases of severe stricture.... urine retention

Rumex aquaticus. N.O. Polygonaceae.

Synonym: Bloodwort, Red Dock.

Habitat: In, or very near, waterways, lakes, ponds, ditches, and in marshes and swampy places.

Features ? The largest of all the Docks, reaching up to six or seven feet. Stem erect, thick, striated, hollow, branched. Leaves very large, some two feet in length, pale green turning to reddish-brown, broad and sharp-pointed, point turning over towards the water. Flowers (July and August) small, greenish-yellow, with white threads which become brown. Root large, reddish brown, porous bark, large pith with honeycomb-like cells.

Part used ? Root.

Action: Alterative, detergent.

Of value in skin diseases and sluggish liver, in which latter case it should be given in combination with a mild laxative. The dose is 3-4 tablespoonfuls of the decoction of 1 ounce to 1 pint after simmering from

1 1/2 pints. This may be used as a mouthwash for ulcers, etc., and the powder makes a first-rate medicinal cleanser for the teeth.

Hool highly esteems Water Dock, and says ? "It operates kindly and without excitement, being slow but sure in promoting a healthy action of the depurative functions of the system." He also claims diuretic and tonic qualities for the root.... water dock

Ceratopteris species

Description: The leaves of water lettuce are much like lettuce and are very tender and succulent. One of the easiest ways of distinguishing water lettuce is by the little plantlets that grow from the margins of the leaves. These little plantlets grow in the shape of a rosette. Water lettuce plants often cover large areas in the regions where they are found.

Habitat and Distribution: Found in the tropics throughout the Old World in both Africa and Asia. Another kind is found in the New World tropics from Florida to South America. Water lettuce grows only in very wet places and often as a floating water plant. Look for water lettuce in still lakes, ponds, and the backwaters of rivers.

Edible Parts: Eat the fresh leaves like lettuce. Be careful not to dip the leaves in the contaminated water in which they are growing. Eat only the leaves that are well out of the water.

CAUTION

This plant has carcinogenic properties and should only be used as a last resort.... water lettuce

Nymphaea odorata

Description: These plants have large, triangular leaves that float on the water’s surface, large, fragrant flowers that are usually white, or red, and thick, fleshy rhizomes that grow in the mud.

Habitat and Distribution: Water lilies are found throughout much of the temperate and subtropical regions.

Edible Parts: The flowers, seeds, and rhizomes are edible raw or cooked. To prepare rhizomes for eating, peel off the corky rind. Eat raw, or slice thinly, allow to dry, and then grind into flour. Dry, parch, and grind the seeds into flour.

Other Uses: Use the liquid resulting from boiling the thickened root in water as a medicine for diarrhea and as a gargle for sore throats.... water lily

The peculiarly sudden PULSE that is associated with incompetence of the AORTIC VALVE of the heart.... water-hammer pulse

See waterbrash.... brash, water

Excessive accumulation of fluid in body tissues. Mild fluid retention is common with premenstrual syndrome but disappears with the onset of menstruation. However, more severe fluid retention may be associated with an underlying heart, liver, or kidney disorder (see ascites; nephrotic syndrome; oedema). Diuretic drugs may be used to treat the condition.... fluid retention

A nonmedical term for hydrocephalus.... water on the brain

A popular term for accumulation of fluid within or around the knee joint. The most common cause is bursitis. (See also effusion, joint).... water on the knee

A nonmedical term for diuretic drugs.... water tablets

Accumulation of fluid beneath the skin; frequent sites – fingers, abdomen, breast, ankles.

Symptoms. Headache, frequency of urine, palpitation, possible irritable bowel syndrome. “My feet are killing me”, “I can’t get my wedding ring off” are typical complaints by women with FRS. Sometimes a complication of diabetes, or follows abuse of laxatives or diuretic drugs. A part of the premenstrual syndrome.

Alternatives. Teas. Any of the following: Buchu, Dandelion, Hawthorn, Motherwort, Yarrow. One or more cups daily, cold.

Tablets. Popular combination. Powdered Dandelion root BHP (1983) 90mg; powdered Horsetail extract 3:1 10mg; powdered Uva Ursi extract 3:1 75mg. (Gerard House)

Formula. Equal parts: Hawthorn, Dandelion, Broom. Dose: Powders: 750mg (three 00 capsules or half a teaspoon). Liquid extracts: 1 teaspoon. Tinctures: 1-2 teaspoons. Thrice daily.

Practitioner. Tincture Lily of the Valley (Convallaria) BHP (1983) (1:5 in 40 per cent alcohol). Dose 8- 15 drops (0.5-1ml). Thrice daily.

Aromatherapy. 6 drops Lavender oil on wet handkerchief: use as a compress for relief of ankles during a journey.

Traditional Gypsy Medicine. The sufferer is exposed to the rising smoke of smouldering Juniper berries which exudes volatile oils and has a gentle diuretic effect.

Diet. Salt-free. High protein. Dandelion coffee. Supplements. Vitamin B-complex, Potassium, Copper. ... fluid retention syndrome (frs)

Inability to empty the bladder or difficulty in doing so. Urinary retention may be complete (urine cannot be passed voluntarily at all) or incomplete (the bladder fails to empty completely). In males, causes include phimosis, urethral stricture, prostatitis, a stone in the bladder (see calculus, urinary tract), and enlargement or tumour of the prostate (see prostate, enlarged; prostate, cancer of). In females, causes include pressure on the urethra from uterine fibroids or from a fetus. In either sex, the cause may be a bladder tumour. Retention may also be due to defective functioning of the nerve pathways supplying the bladder as a result of general or spinal anaesthesia, drugs affecting the bladder, surgery, injury to the nerve pathways, or disease of the spinal cord.

Complete retention causes discomfort and lower abdominal pain, except when nerve pathways are defective. The full bladder can be felt above the pubic bone. However, chronic or partial retention may not cause any serious symptoms. Retention can lead to kidney damage and, often, a urinary tract infection.Treatment of retention is by catheterization (see catheterization, urinary).

The cause is then investigated.

Obstruction can usually be treated; if nerve damage is the cause, permanent or intermittent catheterization is sometimes necessary.... urinary retention

A simple compound that is essential for all life. Its molecular structure is H2O (2 atoms of hydrogen bonded to 1 of oxygen). Water is the most common substance in the body, accounting for about 99 per cent of all molecules, but a smaller percentage of total body weight. Approximately 2 thirds of the body’s water content is contained within the body cells, and the remaining third is extracellular (found, for example, in the blood plasma, lymph, and cerebrospinal and tissue fluid).

Water provides the medium in which all metabolic reactions take place (see metabolism), and transports substances around the body. The blood plasma carries water to all body tissues, and excess water from tissues for elimination via the liver, kidneys, lungs, and skin. The passage of water in the tissue fluid into and out of cells takes place by osmosis.

Water is taken into the body in food and drink and is lost in urine and faeces, as exhaled water vapour, and by sweating (see dehydration). The amount of water excreted in urine is regulated by the kidneys (see also ADH). Extra water is needed to excrete excess amounts of substances, such as sugar or salt, in the blood, and high water intake is essential in hot climates where a large amount of water is lost in sweat.

In some disorders, such as kidney failure or heart failure, insufficient water is excreted in the urine, resulting in oedema.... water

A disease caused by infective or parasitic organisms transmitted via water. Infections can be contracted if infected water is drunk, if it contaminates food, or if individuals swim or wade in it. Worldwide, contamination of drinking water is an important mode of transmission for various diseases including hepatitis A, many viral and bacterial causes of diarrhoea, typhoid fever, cholera, amoebiasis, and some types of worm infestation.

Swimming in polluted water should be avoided because, if swallowed, there is a risk of contracting disease. In addition, a form of leptospirosis is caused by contact with water contaminated by rat’s urine. In tropical countries, there is also a risk of contracting schistosomiasis (bilharzia), which is a serious disease caused by a fluke that can burrow through the swimmer’s skin.... water-borne infection

n. 1. inability to pass urine, which is retained in the bladder. The condition may be acute and painful or chronic and painless. Acute urinary retention (AUR) can be precipitated by surgery, urinary infection, constipation, and drugs; spontaneous AUR is usually caused by enlargement of the prostate gland in men, although many other conditions may result in obstruction of bladder outflow. Retention is relieved by catheter drainage of the bladder, after which the underlying problem is dealt with. See also intermittent self-catheterization. 2. the ability to store events in memory. If retention is impaired because of a storage defect, the person affected will have difficulty retrieving memories. This is a feature of *dementia.... retention

a test for *diabetes insipidus in which fluid and food intake is withheld completely for up to 24 hours, with regular measurement of plasma and urinary *osmolality and body weight. Normally (and in a person with psychogenic *polydipsia) the output of *vasopressin will be increased in order to concentrate the urine as the plasma osmolality rises; correspondingly, the urine osmolality also rises and its volume diminishes. In a patient with diabetes insipidus, however, the urine osmolality will remain low and of high volume while the patient steadily dehydrates. The test must be abandoned if the patient loses 3% of body weight.... water-deprivation test