Cruise swelling??? Anyone else???

[sweetpee_1993]

The cruise weight gain thread got me wondering if anyone else has problems with swelling while cruising. I don't know what causes DH & me to swell up so much whenever we cruise. We've speculated it's the cuisine we normally don't eat (volume & variety) or the abundant adult beverages we normally don't consume. On our last 2 cruises we made a concerted effort to drink plenty of water and even munched the awesome ice bits in lieu of more ice cream. My feet still were miserably swollen and my heels at dinner had my poor hoofs screaming at me. Not an exaggeration: I look like I have Fred Flintstone feet when this swelling occurs. And it has happened on every cruise we've taken regardless of our various efforts. Soooooo, I'm actually thinking of buying some diuretics to try on our upcoming voyage. I don't know what else to do.

Seems like I read a thread a few years ago on Cruise Critic that mentioned cruise swelling. I'm curious if anyone here has noticed it and what you may have done to avoid or relieve it.

 

[meajuly5]

I got it too-- very quickly!

 

[Love2Cruise]

I blame the fact that I have no control over how much salt they use during cooking. We use very little salt at our house and everything on the ship tastes very salty to me.

 

[nordkin]

Not just the salt in the food, but also the salt in the air from the water the ship is sailing in. I swell every cruise as well as when I go to a beach.

 

[MrsKP]

I got this as well! My family didn't have swelling though. Just me. I attributed it to food and alcohol. I too tried to drink lots of water to no avail.

I don't prepare food with a lot of salt and do not drink that much in every day life. Be interested in what people do to deal with it.

 

[Dug720]

It happened to my dad more than the rest of us. We couldn't figure it out, but he tried drinking more water the last day or so.

 

[mmouse37]

My feet and ankles swell every time I cruise. I think it is the salt content of the food. Last time, upon a recommendation from someone, I brought along a body brush and Elemis Spa At Home Cellutox Active Body Oil
and rubbed the product and brushed/massaged it in with the brush every morning on my lower legs and feet and it curbed the swelling.

MJ

 

[nzdisneymom]

I had it on just one ankle / foot but also had a weird rash on that same part of my leg. We had been traveling for five days, but it didn't rash and swell until the end of the second day on board. It took three days to go away... Thankfully we had a sea day so I iced and kept it propped up and that seemed to help. We were on the ship another 19 days without any more incident. The rash is weird and I know of two others on our same sailing who had similar experience.

 

[DisneyDreamer2504]

I've never had any specific issues on a cruise, though this will be our first 7-nt, but I always swell during the summer anyway. If I spend all day out in the sun, my rings will be so tight they hurt, and shoes are tight too. I imagine its a combo of the heat and humidity, plus what everyone else has said: salt, lack of water, and lots of food and drink.

 

[Gigi22]

DH and my best friend both suffered from swelling feet on a recent Caribbean cruise. After the cruise DH's meds were changed to include a diuretic. My BF obtained a diuretic from her g.p. that she now takes only during cruises, which surprised me a bit.

Agreed with the PPs that the swelling has to do with the relatively high salt content of meals.

Remember, if your feet swell, take a rest and put your feet up higher than your head for a couple of hours! It does help take the swelling down.

 

[pyramid2000]

My ankles swell every time I go to Florida, whether on a cruise or not! But it happens pretty much as soon as I get there. I live in heat and humidity and also by the ocean. I contribute it to travel.

 

[vakamalua]

Because they try to keep the food as middle-of-the-road bland to appeal to all tastes, they overdose it with salt which causes fluid retention. Heat and humidity adds to that.

 

[justmestace]

I had it on just one ankle / foot but also had a weird rash on that same part of my leg. We had been traveling for five days, but it didn't rash and swell until the end of the second day on board. It took three days to go away... Thankfully we had a sea day so I iced and kept it propped up and that seemed to help. We were on the ship another 19 days without any more incident. The rash is weird and I know of two others on our same sailing who had similar experience.

This happens to me, on cruises and in the parks. My doctor said the "rash" is broken capillaries from the swelling. It sounds (and feels) scarier than it is.

After trying a ton of different things, the only thing I've found to keep it from happening in the first place is to take Ibuprofen, starting the day before travel, and throughout the whole vacation.

 

[antmaril]

It happened to me on a four-night on the Wonder in March. I think it was all of the food combined with the mixer in my drink of choice - "Grey Goose and Tonic".

 

[sambycat]

Salt

 

[ValentineJulie]

Happens to me also! Every year at the beach and on the cruise. I take a "water pill" everyday as soon as vacation starts and it helps. We went to Disney World for one day once after our beach vacation and I thought I was absolutely going to die from the swelling and rash that happened that day. The broken capillaries lasted for a week or so.

 

[justmestace]

Happens to me also! Every year at the beach and on the cruise. I take a "water pill" everyday as soon as vacation starts and it helps. We went to Disney World for one day once after our beach vacation and I thought I was absolutely going to die from the swelling and rash that happened that day. The broken capillaries lasted for a week or so.

IBUPROFEN!! Trust me, after being miserable for several years' worth of trips, it's like a miracle!

 

[lilpooh108]

Does the ibuprofen work after the swelling starts?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Ibuprofen & Fluid Retention
Oct 18, 2011 | By Assia M. Mortensen

Ibuprofen is an over-the-counter pain reliever that is useful for the treatment of minor aches and pains. It is classified as a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent. According to Drugs.com, fluid retention has been observed in some patients taking ibuprofen. For that reason, the medication should be used with caution in patients who already have fluid retention, kidney or heart problems. Consult your doctor about the possible risks of taking ibuprofen.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/547954-ibuprofen-fluid-retention/

From FDA reports: Ibuprofen and Water retention

This is a study of Water retention (Fluid Retention) among people who take Ibuprofen. The study analyzes: the time on Ibuprofen when people have Water retention, gender and age of these people, the severity of Water retention, how they recovered, and common conditions and drugs used besides Ibuprofen. In total 53,186 Ibuprofen users are studied. The study is created by eHealthMe based on reports from FDA and is updated regularly.

Ibuprofen

Ibuprofen has active ingredients of ibuprofen. It is used in pain, headache, back pain - low, inflammation, arthritis. Commonly reported side effects of Ibuprofen include pain, nausea, stress and anxiety, fatigue, nausea and vomiting.

Water retention

Water retention has been reported by people with high blood pressure, primary pulmonary hypertension, diabetes, type 2 diabetes, multiple sclerosis.
http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/ibuprofen/water+retention

 

[BethA]

I found this all interesting. I start to swell as soon as we get on an airplane and it usually lasts the whole cruise or vacation. I try to sleep with my feet up at night. Glad I am not the only one.