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Suggest Treatment For Red Swollen Legs

Posted on Mon, 15 Jun 2015

Question: Hi,
My husband's legs are really very swollen and rockhard, also very red, what could be the cause ?
He does not move much and is 88.

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (15 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
It could be an infection

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

red and swollen leg might mean infection, which is a serious condition. Is it warm also? Vascular problems could also cause and they are serious too. Can you upload a good quality picture? It may help? Does he have fever or other symptoms? Heart failure? When did you first notice the swelling? Did it get worse? Please include as many details as you can.

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

Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (2 days later)

Hello,
attaching a photo. No fever, all values and blood pressure ok. Question is, he drinks a bottle of red wine a day, plus a glass of brandy and I wonder if this
is a sign of kidneys or liver not working. This has been getting progeressively worse over past few months.

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (5 hours later)

Brief Answer:
please refer to my list of differential diagnoses

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

thanks for the photo, although it wasn't very helpful after all because there is no clear infection shown.

So, bilateral leg swelling can be caused by various conditions like:
- heart failure
- kidney damage (proteinuria and nephrotic syndrome)
- liver damage (hypoalbuminemia)
- venous insufficiency.

An ultrasound scan (triplex) of the legs (veins), the heart (echo) and blood and urine tests may reveal the problem or exclude the aforementioned conditions.

Kind Regards!

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