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Medical Author:

Ruchi Mathur, MD, FRCP(C)

Ruchi Mathur, MD, FRCP(C)

Ruchi Mathur, MD, FRCP(C) is an Attending Physician with the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism and Associate Director of Clinical Research, Recruitment and Phenotyping with the Center for Androgen Related Disorders, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Symptoms will depend on the cause of edema.

Peripheral edema

Symptoms of peripheral edema include swelling of the affected area(s), which causes the surrounding skin to "tighten." The swelling from peripheral edema is gravity-dependent (it will increase or decrease with changes in body position). For example, if a person is lying on their back (supine), the swelling will not appear in the legs, but will appear in the area around the sacrum. The skin over the swollen area appears tight and shiny, and often when pressure is applied to the area with a finger, an indentation appears. This is called pitting edema.

Pulmonary Edema

In the case of pulmonary edema, there is often no evidence of fluid retention or noticeable swelling on examination of the patient's extremities. This is because the fluid is backing up into the lungs. Signs and symptoms of pulmonary edema include:

• shortness of breath,
  
  
• difficulty breathing when lying flat,
  
  
• waking up breathless, and
  
  
• requiring multiple pillows to raise the head at night for a comfortable sleep.

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