How to remove excess water from the body: 6+ ways

Issues discussed in the material:

When is it necessary to remove excess water from the body?
What are the ways to remove excess water from the body?
How to remove excess water from the body during pregnancy
How to remove excess water from the body quickly
What not to do to remove excess water from the body

The human body contains a lot of water (65% in men and 60% in women). When the amount of fluid in the tissues exceeds these values, the likelihood of weight gain increases. In addition, with excess water content in the body, water-salt metabolism is disrupted - hyperhydration develops. This is a dangerous condition in which the arms and legs swell. Even swelling of the lungs and brain is possible. In this regard, it is better to control the water level in the body. What to do if unnecessary fluid is retained in body tissues? Read our article on how to remove excess water from the body.

Why and when to remove excess water from the body

If there is excess water in the body, it must be removed to prevent overhydration, which causes swelling of the internal organs and can lead to death. In addition to overhydration, fluid retention in tissues can cause other complications. Removing water from the body:

helps effectively combat swelling of tissues and organs;
prevents the development of chronic diseases;
contributes to the normalization of metabolic processes in the body;
normalizes lymph circulation;
has a positive effect on the functioning of the kidneys and other organs;
helps improve well-being in case of allergic reactions;
relieves muscle and joint pain;
helps to lose weight (30% of the gained kilograms is excess water in the body).

Regular and proper removal of fluid from the body will help avoid health problems associated with its excessive accumulation.

How to remove excess water from the body? First of all, you need to find the cause of its retention in the tissues and malfunctions of the urinary system. Having figured out why the liquid is not removed in the required volume, you should eliminate the cause, and only then begin removal. Basically, water is retained in the body:

in women during pregnancy;
for insomnia;
if a person moves very little;
for hormonal imbalances;
for renal failure, allergic reactions, heart and thyroid diseases, metabolic disorders;
if a person drinks little liquid per day;
with poor nutrition, lack of vitamins in the body;
with excess salt consumption;
in stressful situations, depressive states, accumulated fatigue, as well as neuroses and emotional stress;
with excessive alcohol consumption.

If you are confident that you are leading a healthy lifestyle and the effects of the above factors on your body are excluded, then you should be examined and consult with a specialist - a therapist or nephrologist. He will help identify the cause of fluid retention and recommend ways to remove it.

Before taking any action, make sure that you actually have excess water in your body. This is indicated by the following symptoms:

the face (the area around the eyes) and legs swell (so that in the evening the shoes become tight);
body weight increases, and it is not possible to lose weight either through diet or physical activity;
your general health worsens, you have a headache, you get tired quickly and feel lethargic;
the load on the heart and blood vessels increases, which manifests itself in increased blood pressure and increased heart rate;
the amount of urine excreted from the body changes. Conditions such as diuresis, anuria, polyuria are possible;
intoxication of the body occurs, as evidenced by vomiting, nausea, and stool disorders.

You can find out that excess fluid is retained in the body using analyzer scales by comparing their readings with the norm.

However, only a specialist can say for sure that there is a problem with water removal after analyzing the examination results.

Ideal daily fluid intake

Many people suffer from lack of fluid without even realizing it. A healthy person needs to consume about 2.5 liters of fluid per day for normal breathing, sweating and elimination. This is why general standards indicate a minimum fluid intake of 2 to 3 liters per day . [21] However, this is a minimum value that should be increased during physical and sports activity or on hot summer days.

This means that you should drink at least 8-12 cups of water per day , 5 of which should be pure water. But again, these indicators do not take into account external temperature and physical activity .

A good way to calculate your ideal daily fluid intake is to multiply your body weight (in kilograms) by 50 ml. [21] For example, 80 kg x 50 ml = 4000 ml , this means that if you weigh 80 kg, your daily fluid intake from food and drink should be 4 liters . You can more accurately calculate your optimal fluid intake using a hydration calculator.

Hot bath or sauna

Steam (both wet and dry) will be a great help in removing excess water from the body. The effectiveness of this method has been proven for a long time, and athletes use it if they need to quickly lose weight before a competition. However, bath procedures are not suitable for everyone. You need to refuse them if you are diagnosed with:

heart failure;
diabetes;
hypertension;
pregnancy.
tuberculosis (you can’t take a steam bath even after treatment if there are residual effects!).

How can you replace visiting a bathhouse if you need to remove excess water from the body and lose weight? You can take baths with a solution of soda and salt. It is best not to eat or drink for two hours before the procedure. The water temperature should be 38-39 °C. When the bath is full, you need to dissolve a few tablespoons of a mixture of baking soda and salt in the water. The duration of the bath is 20 minutes. During this time, it is recommended to drink a cup of green tea. After the procedure, you need to dress warmly and lie down, well covered, for 30–40 minutes. Then take a shower. You cannot eat or drink for another hour.

Individual drinking regimen

Liquid can accumulate in tissues due to non-compliance with the drinking regime. It may seem strange, but you should drink plenty of fluids. It is recommended to consume 30 ml of water per kilogram of body weight daily. For example, if you weigh 60 kg, you need to drink 1.8 liters per day. In the summer, when it’s hot, you should drink even more.

The indicated volume does not include drinks. That is, if the recommended volume of liquid is 1.8 liters, then it includes water; all other liquids are consumed in excess of this norm.

You should drink water 45 minutes before meals or 2 hours after. It is forbidden to drink food; you can only take one sip. It is better not to drink at night. You should stop drinking liquids 1-2 hours before going to bed.

For edema, sweet drinks with gas, packaged juices, and alcohol are contraindicated (absolutely not!). It is advisable to drink still water. Herbal decoctions and freshly squeezed juices are allowed.

Tea with lingonberry leaves, avocado, bearberry and dill seeds will help you lose weight. These herbal drinks help remove excess water from the body. Pharmacies sell various diuretics. You can ask your pharmacist to recommend one of these.

Coffee lovers don't have to give it up. After breakfast you are allowed to drink a cup of this drink. Caffeine, which is part of it, has diuretic properties. However, after enjoying your favorite drink, you should drink another 1-2 glasses of water.

Taking dietary supplements

Nowadays, taking dietary supplements that help remove excess water from the body is in fashion.

Dietary supplements with dandelion extract are very popular. They are often taken by those involved in sports and bodybuilding. Infusions of leaves of lingonberry, bearberry, raspberry, parsley, carrot tops, horsetail, fennel, nettle and many other medicinal plants also have a diuretic effect.

Is it justified to take herbal medicines to get rid of excess fluid in tissues?

Yes, you can drink herbal infusions if there are medical indications, for example, with severe swelling.

If there are no health problems and you just need to quickly lose weight, then it is better to stop taking herbal medicines. Although they are natural and do not have such a strong effect on the body as medications, they are still not ordinary products, but medicines.

And you should absolutely not replace green tea, for example, with a decoction of lingonberry leaves.

How to remove excess water from the body using special preparations

If you want to take pills to remove accumulated water from your tissues, consult your doctor first. And remember the following risks:

Taking medicinal diuretics helps remove fluid, but microelements are also washed out along with it, the lack of which can lead to malfunctions of organs.
Diuretics should not be taken with other medications.
If you take the pills for a long time, dehydration may occur.
All diuretic medications have many side effects.
While taking medications, you will have to go to the toilet frequently.
Diuretics do not eliminate the cause of fluid retention, so the problem returns after you stop taking it.

Only a doctor can prescribe the appropriate drug, based on the results of a medical examination of the patient. The following diuretics are mainly used:

"Amiloride";
"Arifon";
"Bumetanide";
"Veroshpiron";
"Hypothiazide";
"Diacarb";
"Indapamide";
ethacrynic acid;
"Klopamide";
"Metro salon";
"Piretanide";
"Spironolactone";
"Triamterene";
"Furosemide" (this is a fast-acting drug, the effect after administration is observed within 2-3 hours, but it has many side effects).

The doctor may prescribe vitamins (both individually and in combination):

pantothenic acid;
thiamine;
pyridoxine;
niacin;
cholecalciferol.

Taking any medications without consulting a specialist is fraught not only with a lack of positive results, but also with the development of complications.

How to remove excess water from the body with the help of products

Proper nutrition will help you get rid of extra pounds gained due to fluid retention in the body. How to remove excess water from the body to lose weight using products? You cannot eat processed foods, smoked meats, canned food, or spicy foods. You should add as little salt and spices as possible to your dishes. The diet should contain the following foods that promote fluid removal:

watermelons;
freshly squeezed vegetable juices (carrot juice is very useful for impaired kidney function);
freshly brewed green leaf tea; dried fruits;
berries;
ginger;
citruses;
pineapples;
greenery;
boiled rice - it contains a lot of potassium, and therefore it effectively removes excess moisture from tissues. Rice is an essential component of the diet of athletes during the period when they are “drying” the body; steamed buckwheat - a quick diuretic effect from its use will only occur if you do not add anything to the dish.

If you decide to lose weight, then it is better to eat fresh foods - they will help remove excess water from the body and nourish it with useful substances. It is quite difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of various products objectively, because all people have different metabolisms and health conditions. Therefore, the menu needs to be developed individually in each case.

What diets expel water from the body?

How else can you expel water from the body to lose weight? An excellent option would be to use a 7-day kefir diet, but before that you should cleanse the intestines with an enema.

A milk tea diet will also give good results. Milk tea is prepared as follows: boil 1 liter of milk separately, its fat content should not exceed 2.5%. Add 1.5 tbsp. spoons of green tea, infuse for about half an hour. This is the volume of the drink for 1 day, it is drunk in 5-6 doses.

The menu for the first three days of the diet consists only of milk tea. Starting from the fourth day, they eat oatmeal with water, vegetable soups, but without potatoes, stewed vegetable dishes, and small portions of boiled meat. The diet must be followed for 10 days.

Also, any fast diet is suitable for this purpose.

How to remove excess water from the body using vitamins

Is it possible and how to remove excess water from the body at home by taking vitamin supplements? To get the desired result and get rid of excess fluid in the body, you need to choose the right complex of vitamins, for which you need to know what effect each of their components has:

B1 - if there is a deficiency, the arms and legs become swollen, painful and numb. If its content in the body is normal, then excess water will be eliminated without problems.
B5 - if this vitamin is lacking, a person feels nauseous all the time and muscles ache.
B6 - helps normalize blood pressure, having a beneficial effect on the activity of the cardiovascular system. As a result, it helps get rid of swelling.
P - has a good effect on general well-being, has a diuretic effect.
D - helps to lose weight by stimulating the removal of fluid from the body and normalizing heart function.

By starting to take a vitamin complex in time, you can quickly remove excess water from the body. When fluid does not accumulate in excess amounts in the tissues, a person looks better and feels good. Taking vitamin supplements does not require giving up traditional medicine. On the contrary, by combining different methods of removing fluid, you can achieve a better effect.

How to remove fluid from the body: recommendations

If you want to expel water and waste accumulations from the body, try to follow these recommendations:

Limit your daily amount of salt, it retains fluid in your body. To do this, you need to salt your food less and instead flavor your dishes with spicy seasonings.
Increase the proportion of fresh vegetables in your diet, they help remove excess fluid. Beets, cabbage, eggplants, zucchini, carrots, and cucumbers are especially effective in this regard.
It is useful to take a steam bath or sauna every week; in the steam room, drink only water, no other drinks.
When taking a bath, it is advisable to use pine needle extracts.
It is advisable to carry out fasting days 1-2 times a week; you can do them on cottage cheese, kefir, watermelon, apples, etc. All day you need to eat only one product and drink up to 2 liters of water. This unloading can cleanse the intestines well, get rid of toxin accumulations, and reduce weight.
Products with a slight diuretic effect also help expel water from the body, a list of such products is given below. Alternate them in your diet.
The following exercise relieves fluid stagnation and improves blood circulation: you need to lie on the floor and raise your arms and legs up without bending them. Then you need to slowly shake them so that the body vibrates. Then you need to gradually increase the pace, and at the end of the exercise, slow down the vibration. The exercise should be performed for 2 minutes.

Foods that retain water in the body

Many foods retain fluid in the body, primarily pickles, smoked foods, pickled foods, as well as fats and oils.

You will also have to give up:

canned fish and meat;
sausages;
cheeses;
ham;
caviar;
grilled chicken;
loins;
sauces;
mayonnaise;
cream;
desserts with rich creams.

During the diet, they cannot be consumed at all; after the diet, you need to limit their consumption, allocating no more than 15% of the total diet for them, or allocating one day to them every week.

Foods that remove water from the body

To remove fluid from the body, it is advisable to eat more foods containing fiber or potassium. So, let’s list what removes water from the body:

Among vegetables, the best diuretic effect belongs to pumpkin, cabbage, zucchini, eggplant, cucumbers, and herbs;
From fruits and berries: pomegranate, apples, bananas, watermelons, strawberries. We have already talked about the best diuretic fruits in a special review.
Porridge: oatmeal, rice, muesli;
Whole wheat bread;
Category “Juice”: liquid is expelled by consuming birch, beet, cabbage;
Among teas, green is best.

How to remove excess water from the body using folk remedies

Decoctions of medicinal herbs, when properly selected and used, will help you lose weight, remove excess water from the body, relieve swelling, have an anti-inflammatory effect, cleanse the kidneys and urinary tract, normalize blood pressure, and have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the heart. Herbal infusions with a diuretic effect are sold in pharmacies:

"Canephron N";
diuretics No. 1, No. 2;
"Lespenefril";
"Flaronin";
"Nephrophyte";
"Cyston".

A slight diuretic effect is exerted by: birch; cowberry; cherry; Melissa; mint; caraway; rose hip.

Potent diuretics of natural origin include (their intake should be short-term and in small doses): arnica; barberry; elder; knotweed; lovage; wheatgrass; bearberry; horsetail

How to remove excess water from the body at home? We offer several recipes for herbal decoctions and infusions that will help you quickly get rid of excess fluid:

Pour 15 g of crushed dry root of the forest sage with a glass of boiling water, leave for 20 minutes. Strain and add a glass of warm water. Take 20 ml 3 times a day.
Pour 10 g of crushed dry burdock root with 2 cups of boiling water and leave overnight. The resulting infusion must be drunk throughout the day, taken in equal portions.
Pour 10 g of knotweed and birch leaves into a container, pour a glass of boiling water, leave for 30 minutes. Take 100 ml 2 times a day.
An excellent remedy for cleaning the kidneys is rosehip. Pour 50 g of crushed roots with a glass of boiling water, bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes. Cool, strain. Take 50 ml 3 times a day.

Remember that the effect of taking diuretics accumulates, and the body can get used to the drugs. Therefore, they should be taken no longer than 2 weeks. It is recommended to prepare decoctions and infusions from pharmaceutical preparations.

Herbs and infusions

In the fight against edema, medicinal herbs will be good helpers. Their decoctions help not only remove fluid from the body, but also strengthen the immune system. The main thing is to make sure that you are not allergic to the components of the decoction.

To prepare a healthy infusion, add 1 tablespoon of dill seeds to a glass of hot water and leave for half an hour. Take half a glass of infusion in the morning and at lunch 20 minutes before meals. Or you can make chamomile tea and drink it in the morning instead of regular tea or coffee. Pour 20 grams of dried chamomile flowers with a glass of boiling water and wait 15 minutes.

How to remove excess water from the body during pregnancy

During pregnancy, women often do not remove fluid from their bodies in a timely manner. Water retention in itself is not dangerous, but if other symptoms are present, the normal development of the fetus may be compromised. During pregnancy, edema can be obvious or hidden. Hidden edema can be detected by rapid or uneven weight gain, as well as by comparing the volumes of fluid consumed and urine output.

To bring the water content in tissues back to normal, it is necessary to adjust the diet. An energetic foot massage and performing special gymnastic exercises will help. In any case, you should consult your doctor before taking any action. Self-prescription of any drugs is unacceptable.

Risks of dehydration

Dehydration is not only uncomfortable for a person, but can also have detrimental consequences. When the water content in the body decreases, attentiveness, the ability to perceive and process information are impaired, mood worsens, headaches and fatigue develop. Significant dehydration can lead to significant disruption of the body's functioning, even death.

The first sign of dehydration is thirst.

In this way, the body gives a signal to a person that it is necessary to immediately replenish water reserves in the body. Thirst usually develops when the water deficit is approximately 200–400 ml. The protective mechanism prevents further loss of fluid from the body: sweating and urine formation are reduced. If a person is in a hot atmosphere, this can lead to overheating of the body and the development of heat stroke. That is why it is important to listen to your feelings and when a feeling of thirst arises, do not delay in satisfying it.

In older people, the feeling of thirst may be dulled due to age-related changes in the body and especially in the nervous system. Therefore, unless contraindicated, doctors usually recommend that older adults regularly monitor and drink water throughout the day to avoid dehydration. Some older people, unfortunately, avoid drinking liquids because they don’t want to have to make unnecessary trips to the restroom. This happens especially often before going to bed. However, this approach can be detrimental to health and quality of life .

Tips on how to remove excess water from the body quickly

There are situations when you need to lose weight as soon as possible. For example, before a competition an athlete needs to lose 2 kg in order to compete in the desired weight category and show defined muscles. Or a woman wants to wear a dress to a corporate event that has become too small for her. How to remove excess water from the body for weight loss? There are methods by which you can lose weight up to 3 kg per day.

A good way is to take a hot bath with a soda-salt solution (200 g of soda and 0.5 kg of salt). The duration of the procedure should not exceed 20 minutes. After leaving the bath, you should dry yourself well, put on warm pajamas and, wrapped in a blanket, lie down for 2 hours to sweat. For this purpose, you can go to the sauna.

Physical activity will help you lose weight, as it causes profuse sweating. You can go to the gym or do aerobics. The main thing is to sweat well. Exercising will also help tighten your muscles.

The following folk remedies help to quickly remove moisture:

Dried apple skins. Pour 2 tbsp. l. 250 ml boiling water, leave. Drink instead of tea during the day, maximum 0.5 cups at a time.
Bearberry decoction. Excellent for removing fluid from tissues. 3 tsp. crushed leaves of the plant, pour 250 ml of boiling water, boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and leave for 30 minutes. Take a tablespoon before meals.
Tea made from herbs - lemon balm leaves, lingonberries, black currants and rose hips. You can use it during the day at any time.
Parsley root. Finely chop the rhizome, pour boiling water, leave for 10 hours. Take one spoon throughout the day.
White bread and lemon balm. A good remedy to combat eye puffiness. Lemon balm leaves should be crushed and mixed with bread crumb, applied to the eyelids and left for half an hour.

Compliance with the above recommendations will help normalize metabolic processes and remove excess water from the body. The swelling will go away. The main thing is not to deviate from the chosen course of treatment.

How to expel excess water using folk remedies

For example, bearberry leaves have a good effect. Take 3 tsp. dry herbs, pour half a liter of boiling water, simmer in a water bath for 10 minutes, leave for 30 minutes, filter. Drink 0.5 cups after meals for a week.

Birch sap also helps remove fluid, but treatment is seasonal. They drink it in the spring during the period of sap flow (early March). First, take 1 tbsp. spoon of juice three times a day, gradually increase and bring to 100 g at a time. You should drink birch sap for two weeks.

You can also expel water from the body with rosehip tea. You need to chop 2-3 tbsp. spoons of rose hips, pour into a thermos, pour boiling water (1 liter) over them and leave to steep overnight. The next day you need to drink all the tea in several doses. This way you should be treated for 10 days.

Juices from fresh vegetables will also help expel the liquid. Cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, carrots, cabbage, and potatoes are especially suitable for this purpose. You can mix the juices of these vegetables and drink 0.5 cups before meals 2 times a day. It is better to drink 0.5 cups of unadulterated carrot juice on an empty stomach in the morning.

You can also prepare a vitamin cocktail to remove fluid. Squeeze juice from a glass of viburnum and a glass of rowan, add a teaspoon of honey, mix. Drink in two doses. Treatment is carried out in this way for one week.

Folk healers also use the following collection: take the same amount of plantain, lingonberry leaves, calendula flowers, chamomile, rose hips, and oat grains. Everything gets mixed up. Brew 1 tbsp. spoon with one glass of boiling water, infuse for half an hour, strain and take a third of a glass three times after meals for 10 days.

How to remove excess water from the body correctly: precautions

Almost all methods of removing fluid from tissues and adjusting the water-salt balance have no contraindications for use, since they are the basic rules of a healthy lifestyle. It is still worth remembering that allergic reactions can occur to certain foods, and herbs and medications are not equally well tolerated by everyone.

Taking soda-salt baths is contraindicated:

pregnant women;
nursing mothers;
in the presence of heart and vascular diseases;
for diseases of the genitourinary system;
for bronchial asthma.

Strict dietary restrictions and long-term use of diuretics can have a bad effect on the body. Such methods of removing excess water from the body should be treated with caution; following them is fraught with dehydration, leaching of minerals and disruption of metabolic processes.

There are certain principles of a healthy lifestyle. If you adhere to them, your vitality will be high, and the likelihood of problems with water removal will be minimal:

It is necessary to monitor your diet and adjust it, taking into account the time of year, your state of health, and your activity. Salt consumption should be reduced as much as possible.
To maintain health, feasible physical activity is necessary. It is useful to perform gymnastic exercises.
You need to drink enough water every day.
We must not forget about rest. Constant fatigue and stress have a bad effect on a person’s psyche and undermine his health.
Wellness treatments (massages, masks, wraps, healing baths) have a beneficial effect on the body and lift the mood. Do them at home, visit salons.

Important! Swelling of tissues can be a consequence of serious pathologies, and therefore the appearance of edema is a reason to immediately consult a doctor and undergo an examination.

What not to do if you want to remove excess water from the body

Under no circumstances drink diuretic teas, the manufacturers of which promise to quickly get rid of extra pounds by removing water. Of course, there will be an effect from taking them. But temporary. After completing the course, the problem of fluid retention will return. To get rid of edema forever, you need to change your lifestyle and make adjustments to your diet.

You should also not limit yourself in fluid consumption. We already said above that you need to drink a lot and definitely regular drinking water, and not tea, coffee and juices. There is a myth that the cause of water retention in the body is its excessive consumption. But that's not true. Lack of moisture is one of the causes of swelling.

If you begin to experience swelling (on the legs, arms, lower abdomen), this indicates a malfunction in the body. This means that you do not follow the rules of a healthy lifestyle. Of course, first of all, if signs of fluid retention appear, you should visit a doctor, since various diseases can be the cause. But still, adjusting your diet and lifestyle will never be superfluous!

Preventive measures for water retention in the body

Simple preventive measures will help prevent the accumulation of excess water in the body and swelling. To avoid disturbances in water metabolism, it is recommended:

drink at least 2 liters of water daily;
include in the diet foods that have a beneficial effect on water-salt metabolism;
limit salt intake;
to live an active lifestyle.

Following these recommendations is the key to timely removal of fluid from the body and good health. If you are preventing water metabolism disorders, but water is still retained in the tissues, you should immediately consult a doctor, because the cause of the problem may be kidney or heart disease.

Drugs that remove fluid from the body

You can expel fluid from the body with diuretics only as prescribed by a doctor. You can use lighter tablets such as Furosemide, Diursan, Diuvera, Torasemide, and Ethacrynic acid as a one-time use. But these liquid products remove electrolytes and potassium from the body, which can lead to metabolic disorders.

Thus, it is not difficult to carry out such treatment, but it is best not to allow water to accumulate in the body. For this purpose, daily active movement, reasonable physical activity, weight and nutrition control are necessary.

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