Child's Feet Swells After Exercise. Elevation Helps To Go Down. What Could Be The Cause?

Posted on Tue, 19 Nov 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 19 Nov 2013 Answered on

Sun, 15 Dec 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : my 13 year old daughter's feet swells after exercise of walking. elevation helps it go down afterwards. she is of normal weight and has no other co-morbidities

Answered by Dr. Dr. Prasad J (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: Need investigation... Detailed Answer: Hi, What you describe is termed as "pedal edema" arising from dependent posture. At 13 years of age, dependent edema is not normal. But if the symptoms are cyclical in relation to her periods, then they may be attributed to hormonal changes which does not need medical attention. I would be concerned if the symptoms are a regular daily feature. Pedal edema that occurs every day needs to be investigated. I would order her for cardiopulmonary evaluation, routine hemogram and metabolic work up before I label the cause and its treatment. Therefore if the changes are not cyclical, I would suggest you to consult her pediatrician at the earliest. Hope this helps. Let me know if you need clarifications. Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar