Swollen feet usually improve with a few simple strategies you can start right now: elevating your legs, moving around, and cutting back on salt. Most cases of foot swelling happen because fluid pools in your lower extremities due to gravity, prolonged sitting or standing, high sodium intake, or a combination of all three. Here’s how to bring that swelling down and keep it from coming back.
Elevate Your Feet Above Your Heart
The fastest way to reduce swollen feet is to lie down and prop your legs up so they’re above the level of your heart. This lets gravity work in reverse, draining fluid out of your feet and back toward your core. Use a stack of pillows, the arm of a couch, or a wall to rest your legs against. Aim for about 15 minutes per session, three to four times a day. Even one session can make a noticeable difference if your swelling is mild.
Do Ankle Pumps to Push Fluid Out
Your calf muscles act like a pump for the veins in your lower legs. When they contract, they squeeze blood and fluid upward. If you’ve been sitting or lying still for a while, that pump isn’t doing its job, and fluid accumulates in your feet.
Ankle pumps are the simplest way to activate it. Sit or lie down with your legs stretched out. Point your toes toward your knees as far as you can, then point them away from you as far as you can. Alternate back and forth for a few minutes. You can do this at your desk, on a plane, or in bed. It’s one of the first exercises recommended after surgery for exactly this reason.
Break Up Long Periods of Sitting or Standing
Both sitting and standing in one position for too long cause foot swelling. A study comparing different postures found that alternating between sitting and standing in short intervals, even just one minute of each, was effective at preventing leg swelling during a 20-minute period. The takeaway is practical: if you work at a desk, stand up and walk for a minute or two every 20 to 30 minutes. If you stand for work, sit down briefly or shift your weight and move your legs regularly. The key isn’t the position itself, it’s the change in position.
Cut Your Sodium Intake
Salt is one of the biggest dietary drivers of fluid retention. When you eat more sodium than your body needs, your kidneys hold onto extra water to keep your blood chemistry balanced. That extra fluid has to go somewhere, and gravity pulls it into your feet and ankles.
The general recommendation is to stay under 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day, which is about one teaspoon of table salt. If you have high blood pressure, less than 1,500 milligrams is preferred. People with heart disease or kidney disease are especially sensitive to sodium. Extra salt in these cases can cause enough fluid retention to lead to significant swelling, weight gain, and bloating. The biggest sources of hidden sodium are restaurant food, processed meals, canned soups, deli meats, and condiments like soy sauce.
Drink More Water, Not Less
It sounds backward, but drinking more water actually helps reduce swelling. When you’re dehydrated, your body holds onto whatever fluid it has, making puffiness worse. Staying well hydrated makes it easier for your kidneys to flush out excess salt and waste, which directly reduces fluid retention. There’s no magic number, but if your urine is pale yellow, you’re generally drinking enough.
Try Compression Socks
Compression socks apply gentle, graduated pressure to your lower legs, pushing fluid upward and preventing it from pooling in your feet. They come in different pressure levels measured in mmHg:
- 15 to 20 mmHg: Good for mild swelling, daily prevention, travel, and long days of sitting or standing. Available without a prescription.
- 30 to 40 mmHg: Used for more severe swelling, chronic vein problems, or lymphedema. Usually requires a fitting or recommendation from a provider.
- 40 to 50 mmHg: Medical-grade compression for severe, chronic conditions. These are prescribed and fitted professionally.
For most people dealing with occasional puffy feet, an over-the-counter pair in the 15 to 20 mmHg range is a good starting point. Put them on in the morning before swelling starts for the best results. They’re harder to get on once your feet are already swollen.
Soak in Warm Water With Epsom Salt
Soaking swollen feet in warm water can feel good and may provide some relief. Adding Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) is a popular home remedy. One clinical study found that soaking in Epsom salt with warm water reduced pain more than plain water alone in people with joint inflammation, though the study measured pain and function rather than swelling specifically. The typical approach is about 20 minutes in warm (not hot) water. It won’t dramatically reverse edema, but it can be a soothing complement to other strategies like elevation and movement.
Check Your Medications
Several common medications cause foot swelling as a side effect. If your swelling started or worsened around the time you began a new prescription, the medication could be the culprit. Drug classes known to cause edema include:
- Blood pressure medications: Especially calcium channel blockers like amlodipine and nifedipine
- Anti-inflammatory drugs: Both over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen and prescription corticosteroids
- Nerve pain medications: Gabapentin and pregabalin
- Hormones: Estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone therapies
- Diabetes medications: Pioglitazone in particular
Don’t stop taking a prescribed medication on your own, but it’s worth raising the issue with your provider. In many cases, an alternative drug in the same class won’t cause the same swelling.
When Swelling Signals Something Serious
Most foot swelling is harmless and responds to the strategies above. But certain patterns deserve prompt attention.
Swelling in only one foot or leg is the biggest red flag. The most important thing to rule out is a blood clot in a deep vein (DVT), especially if the swelling came on suddenly and is accompanied by warmth, redness, or pain in the calf. About 40% of sudden one-sided leg swelling turns out to be a muscle strain or injury, but DVT is serious enough that it needs to be evaluated quickly.
Other causes of one-sided swelling include infection (look for redness, warmth, and fever), a cyst behind the knee, or a blockage in the lymphatic system. One-sided swelling that doesn’t have an obvious explanation, like a twisted ankle, should be checked out.
Swelling in both feet is more commonly related to systemic issues. A sudden worsening of swelling in both legs can signal a flare of heart failure, kidney disease, or a medication reaction. If bilateral swelling comes on fast and you’re also short of breath, that combination needs urgent evaluation.