Feet swelling

[edjny]

My wife and I both have this problem, so badly that it actually became painful. We spoke with a Doctor about it. As stated above it is usually caused by the food and the alcohol in combination with higher humidity, etc. We generally drink very little alcohol daily at home and our meals are small compared to those on a cruise. But when we cruise, we tend to drink 5 or more alcoholic drinks a day and we all know that the food onboard is high in sodium.

 

We found several things that seemed to work on our last cruise. First, we did increase our water intake, not bottled, just the ship's drinking water. Next we increased the amount of excercise, mostly walking. Then, at night when we went to bed, we would take the life vests from our closet and put them under the foot of the mattress. This elevated our feet while we slept. Sure enough, last cruise: Minimal Swelling.

 

I have a slow healing open leg wound I am going to Wound Care for. One of the side effects of the open wound is ankle/calf swelling. Everytime I go they beat into me to drink lots of water and to ELEVATE my legs 4-5 times a day for a minimum of 20-30 minutes. When they say 'elevate' they mean that the ankles should be higher than eye-level. They also supply me with elastic 'tubie' to slide onto my leg. They gives compression to reduce the swelling. The bottom line is that this WORKS....

[BND]

On another thread a while back, another poster mentioned that there are two ways that the ship makes drinking water: desalination and reverse osmosis. Their point of view was that the RO process can leave some sodium in the water. I can't remember the reasons that the ship chooses one method over another, but it might have been cost. In other words, the more RO they use, the less expensive, but the more sodium can be left in the water.

 

What the pp said was it leaves all the salt behind and removes the taste which is not true. Honestly, the reality is, there is no more sodium in ships tap water than there is in your home tap water.

 

I'm pretty sure most cruise ships use flash evaporators and not reverse osmosis.

 

I've heard this question asked at Captain's Corner before and the answer has always been that the desalinization process removes the salt and they add required minerals back in just like your own water treatment plant at home does, as do some bottled water companies. The word desalinization means removing salt. Reverse Osmosis vs evaporation methods both remove the minerals. Both create purified, basically distilled water. I've googled both processes plus my DH is a retired US Navy Captain and they desalinated their own water onboard.

 

My question to those that think bottled water is purer is, how exactly do you think they purify bottled water? Apparently, they use reverse osmosis.

Edited June 29, 2014 by BND

[lindy sails]

I drink only bottle water on a cruise & there is no swelling. When I drink the ships water my ankles. & feet swell.

 

 

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[Yorkvillain]

What the pp said was it leaves all the salt behind and removes the taste which is not true. Honestly, the reality is, there is no more sodium in ships tap water than there is in your home tap water.

 

I'm pretty sure most cruise ships use flash evaporators and not reverse osmosis.

 

I've heard this question asked at Captain's Corner before and the answer has always been that the desalinization process removes the salt and they add required minerals back in just like your own water treatment plant at home does, as do some bottled water companies. The word desalinization means removing salt. Reverse Osmosis vs evaporation methods both remove the minerals. Both create purified, basically distilled water. I've googled both processes plus my DH is a retired US Navy Captain and they desalinated their own water onboard.

 

My question to those that think bottled water is purer is, how exactly do you think they purify bottled water? Apparently, they use reverse osmosis.

 

I've drank New York City tap water in my apartment for years and never had swollen ankles, even in the hot sticky summer. On a ship I always had the swollen ankles - until I switched to bottled water.

[reallyitsmema]

Bottom line is, many of us react to the ships water. Whether it is sodium, chlorine, vodka, whatever, we react to the ship's water and don't to bottled water, in my case, bottled spring water. If you have no issues with the ship's water, have at it, I will stick with what works for me.

[blueyfish]

I too have a problem with swollen ankles. My doctor recommended compression socks. I've been wearing them for several weeks and the result is amazing. On cruises, I have asked for no sauces or gravy on most main courses. That has also helped.

[Robinola]

Do as the Victoria Secrets models do, and drink one gallon of water a day.

It's easy after you get used to it. Takes about one month before you can do it without it interfering with your life with bathroom breaks! It works! :)

[susanrobert]

Who told you that? That's not true. Read up on desalinzation (which by the way means removing salt). Read the article I posted the link to a page or so back.

 

I wasn't' looking for an argument just trying to be helpful. It's your tone that makes people like me who are usually lurkers sorry when they post.

[Langley Cruisers]

I know this isn't specific to Rci but when we've cruised with Thomson before three of our party have had really swollen feet and ankles. We're going on our first RCI cruise in August. Any tips for feet or legs swelling?

 

Not going to get into the whole water argument, but have noted my DH's feet and ankles swell terribly on cruises. We've decided it is due to the increase in sodium in his cruise ship diet, namely from the plateful of bacon and corned beef hash he has every morning for breakfast in the Windjammer. :p One cruise got so bad I had to cut him off - bacon, that is. ;) :D His ankles were a little better after that and then went back to normal after we got back home.

.

[Missbrightstar]

Thanks everyone for your comments. We're all on the royal replenish package so I'll try the bottled water. Also definitely worth thinking about the salt in food - I do love bacon with breakfast ☺ I'll report back after the cruise and I'll also try the life jacket tip 😀

[Irish Cath]

I too have experienced the dreaded swelling and it has never happened to me other than while cruising. I decided before my most recent cruise on Serenade (June 4th) that I would be wearing all of the lovely high heeled shoes I was bringing with me and so purchased the royal replenish package to drink lots and lots of bottled water. By day 3 of 12 it was game over for the heels. We walked a huge amount on this trip well 3 or 4 miles almost every day. I kept to my usual healthy diet and only drank maybe 4 cocktails the entire cruise and the occasional glass of wine. Even allowing for the sneaky salt in otherwise healthy choices I think the culprit must be the heat and humidity. My ankles would be close to normal every morning but by lunch I was strolling around with the very attractive granny ankle! Next time I think i'l stick with the ships water and save my euros.

[EvelynAlexa]

Minnie Mouse Syndrome -- Fat feet & hands!!

A retired doctor (passenger) on a ship with us strongly felt the humidity & heat were the big factors. The tap water and normal food were fine on ships but it was not a good idea to drink too many salt laden drinks like a Blood Mary. Said drinking more water was good -- that's why he drank Scotch & Water. :D

He also suggested walking more and sitting less. Also to elevate feet when possible.

LuLu

 

Good advice. In addition, I take a glass of water with every other drink.

 

Eve

[orville99]

Excessive standing or walking, if it is not part of your normal daily routine, is a common cause of swollen ankles and feet:)

[wotaripper]

I know this isn't specific to Rci but when we've cruised with Thomson before three of our party have had really swollen feet and ankles. We're going on our first RCI cruise in August. Any tips for feet or legs swelling?

I get this problem when cruising and also when driving long distances I found a very simple answer to the problem green tea usually available on board as tea bags but you can always take your own.Green tea is a natural diuretic and helps get rid of the excess fluid .

[suebcoop]

I never have a problem with swollen ankles at home, until I get on a ship. Never fails, a couple days into the cruise, my feet swell up.

Sue

[Robinola]

What the pp said was it leaves all the salt behind and removes the taste which is not true. Honestly, the reality is, there is no more sodium in ships tap water than there is in your home tap water.

 

I'm pretty sure most cruise ships use flash evaporators and not reverse osmosis.

 

I've heard this question asked at Captain's Corner before and the answer has always been that the desalinization process removes the salt and they add required minerals back in just like your own water treatment plant at home does, as do some bottled water companies. The word desalinization means removing salt. Reverse Osmosis vs evaporation methods both remove the minerals. Both create purified, basically distilled water. I've googled both processes plus my DH is a retired US Navy Captain and they desalinated their own water onboard.

 

My question to those that think bottled water is purer is, how exactly do you think they purify bottled water? Apparently, they use reverse osmosis.

 

Interesting! So what do you think of the britta water filter when using ship's tap water with it?

[Sunny AZ Girl]

My feet & ankles also swell to the point of pain. I give up all but my loosest shoes by Day 5. I have talked to the Head Chef on a Princess ship and to a trainer on a RCI ship. Also talked to my doctor at home. I got it under control a bit (still swollen, but nowhere near as bad as before) on my Jewel B2B last month.

 

From the Head Chef: Besides avoiding the obviously salty choices like bacon and ham avoid all pastas, soups and seafood. Also sauces and gravies. Sorry folks,

 

From the Trainer: Detox about two weeks before the cruise and load up on water, then cut back on the water just before leaving. Eat 3 - 5 servings a day of leafy green vegetables. Drink lots of water again once on board.

 

From the doctor: Wear compression hose on the plane and at night in bed (that was a huge help). Elevate feet. Drink a lot of water. I drink mostly bottled water.

 

I am going to add the life jackets under the mattress. Good idea.

 

I also swell up on planes and on long road trips. The compression socks have made a huge difference there. I also bought on Amazon a travel footrest to keep the pressure off the back of my legs in the plane and car. It seems if I can avoid the initial swelling from the trip to the cruise I can handle it better once onboard.

[Susie51]

These are things that help me:

 

Lots of lemon in your water. Do not eat sausage, bacon, ham, lunch meat, or tomato juice.

 

Put your suitcase on the bed, put a pillow on it, and rest your legs on it at a 90 degree angle.

 

This makes your ankles higher than your heart. I rest this way during the day for 20 - 60 minutes. It helps a lot.

 

Walking at a moderate pace several times a day for at least 20 minutes.

[travelbug11]

I wear the pressure stockings on the plane - drink bottled water on the ship and still swell. The swelling is not from walking because I have a lot of difficulty doing that.

 

I know that I can't wear tennis shoes and wear sandals at night because I can't get into my regular shoes.

 

It's not just the heat and humidity, because it happens on all my ALASKA cruises.

[BND]

Interesting! So what do you think of the britta water filter when using ship's tap water with it?

 

I honestly don't think it makes much difference but it's a choice if someone feels like carrying it onboard.

 

I haven't had swelling at all on my last couple of cruises and I'm convinced it's because we're just not eating as much so less salt intake from food. DH was diagnosed with Type II diabetes over a year ago,(so a few months before our Allure trip) and we cut out the afternoon large snack, don't eat dessert at every meal and are eating more salads with vinegarette dressing, less bread and overall making better choices. I drink water with all meals, wine with dinner, iced tea, and a mixed drink in the afternoon as well as a couple of drinks, usually wine in the D lounge so that hasn't really changed. DH is not considered diabetic anymore after losing 30 lbs. He's always exercised and I walk but we still are careful about our diet most of the time. My point is, we noticed the swelling decrease with eating less and eating better.

[ehfl]

You will be taking in more sodium on a cruise, and it's the sodium to potatissium ratio that causes swelling. To compensate, just take some potassium supplements which you can find in the vitamin section at any drug store.

[shipshape sam]

My wife has that problem. She has started drinking bottled water onboard the ship (as opposed to the tap water), and it has helped significantly.

 

 

I have heard the rumor that the tap water contains very small about of salt, so guess that could be an issue.

 

Not sure why, but would guess they don't need other chemicals if there is salt. Similar to a salt vs fresh water pool.