Do your feet swell during/after a cruise

[sweetpeaches2525]

Oh how relieved I am to have stumbled on to this thread. I too thought that I was the only one. But mine seems a little different. Our cruise was over and we opted to carry our luggage off the ship because we were catching the bus for Amtrak and it wasn't very far to walk, but we were worried that if we were the last ones off we would miss our bus. Any way we stood in line with luggage in hand waiting at customs, it took awhile and I felt that my feet felt funny but didn't pay attention, UNTIL, we were done with customs and went and sat down to wait for the rest of our party, that's when I NOTICED MY SHOE LACES WERE ALL STRECTHCHED OUT AND MY ANKLES SEEMED LIKE THEY WERE BUSTING OUT ALL OVER, scared yes, could not for the life of me figure out what was going on. This was May of 06, Conquest. we just booked again, but for the Eastern cruise on the Valor and my first thoughts were my feet and ankles.

 

When we caought our bus it was just us and the rest of our family for the first hour and a half, I made my husband sit in a different seat so that I could streatch out and elevate my legs, by that evening I was back to normal. But it has been on my mind as to what was wrong with me, thank you to who ever started this thread and to all you wonderful people that have joined in, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:rolleyes:

 

Sweetpeaches

 

Visions of the sea-07/03- Alaska

Conquest-05/06

Valor-09/07

[workn2cruise]

We just got back from our 8 day cruise on the Legend. On EVERY previous cruise my feet have swollen horribly, on our cruise in May, my DH's feet even got swollen one night. This cruise we made it a point to drink bottled water as much as possible and I'm happy to report that my feet did not swell like they have in the past. I think they only got swollen one day and it wasn't nearly as bad as its been in the past. We still had the drinks of the day and coffee, but I think not drinking the ships water at lunch and dinner really made a difference.

 

Sheri

[Hoyaheel]

I drank tons and tons of ship's water on my cruise at the beginning of november and nothing swelled. (when I say "tons", I mean approx 120 oz a day, minimum) Plus coffee in the morning and after dinner, ice, etc.....I was very worried prior to sailing and all for nothing.....

[kaykay51]

I don't know what causes the swelling, but I had a good friend whose feet were swollen on a cruise. She decided it was from drinking too many Margaritas with salt on the rim, so she quit drinking them. She was returning from the pool and put her flip flops on and thought wow not drinking those margaritas really made a difference, my shoes fit now. When she got to dinner, one of her friends informed her that she had mistakenly gotten her flip flops, which were 2 or 3 sizes larger!! So much for that theory.

[CrazyCruiseCanuck]

Hi everyone.

 

I have been reading this thread and others like it with great interest. So much so, that after my last cruise on the Grandeur in April, I brought back a bottle filled with ship's water. I manage a chemistry lab, and I wanted to lay the 'salt in the drinking water' theory to rest.

 

For the record, I have no swelling problems whatsoever, and I am very careful to stay hydrated when cruising. I always drink the ship's water at meals, and fill up a bottle or two to take on shore excursions with me.

 

The verdict : Ladies, the drinking water, at least on the Grandeur, is perfectly fine. There is no more sodium in it than in municipal drinking water, and is actually purer in some aspects. That said, if all you normally drink is bottled water, you may experience a slightly higher sodium level in ship's water.

 

My advice? Drink lots of water, stay away from the soups (I love them but they are loaded with salt), and if you are prone to experience swelling, ask for reduced-sodium items at meals. And go easy on the alcohol.....it dehydrates and upsets the fluid balance in your body.

 

By the way, I leave on Sunday for the Mexican Riviera and do not plan on following ANY of my own advice.:p

 

Happy Cruising!!!

[wraithe]

The verdict : Ladies, the drinking water, at least on the Grandeur, is perfectly fine. There is no more sodium in it than in municipal drinking water, and is actually purer in some aspects. That said, if all you normally drink is bottled water, you may experience a slightly higher sodium level in ship's water.

 

By the way, I leave on Sunday for the Mexican Riviera and do not plan on following ANY of my own advice.:p

 

Happy Cruising!!!

 

I'd love to see that analysis, if you could email it out, just out of curiosity sake. My email is in my sig if you can. Thanks in advance, either way.

 

Your last line reminds me of an old saying, "take my advice, I'm not using it!"

[on board]

Yes my feet and hands both swelled while I was cruising. It was a combination of too much salt in food more than what I was used to, I drank more soda than normally, also chocolate can make you retain water as well as stress. I have a low dose of a water pill my Dr. has prescribed me. But beware you better have access to the Lady's room as you will go more than usual. Something that helps me, I always try to drink a couple glasses of water with some fresh lemon, I add a little sweet and low and wala it taste like lemon aide. Lemon is a natural cleanser and it does help! ;)

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

My feet and hands swell on ships; on Freedom of the Seas even my face began to swell. Only a day after the cruise, the swelling subsided. What I owe much of the swelling to is the high levels of sodium used in cruise ship cooking.

 

This last cruise I tried to stick to food that wasn't processed, such as fruit and salads. But, hey, it is a cruise after all. How can one resist those interesting foods that we don't often get at home? sooner or later one has to give in and partake of the delicacies, sodium or no sodium.

 

But I do wonder, why do they have to use so darned much sodium in their cooking? It seems that for some people swelling up the way I do, could precipitate a medical crisis. Why not use less sodium and allow passengers to salt their food if they feel they need more, but don't force everyone on the ship to consume those high levels of sodium whether they want to or not?

[ladycaveat]

I had the worst time on my cruise in April 2005. My feet and ankles swelled up so much . . . they looked like stuffed sausages. The skin on my feet, ankles and legs was stretched so tight . . . it was actually uncomfortable and the straps on my formal heels were were as loose as I could get them. This had never happened before and I didn't have a clue what the problem was. I finally went to the ship's doctor and he asked me if I had been drinking a lot of the water on the ship. I said no . . . I only drank bottled water. He said that while the ships water was treated to remove all the salt, trace amounts remained and that coupled with the salt in the food could cause the swelling. Then it dawned on me . . . it was the first time I had not bought the coke/soda card on a cruise. All I drank was the iced tea . . . which, no doubt was made from the ship's water. Within two or three days of returning home . . . everything was back to normal.

 

On my September cruise this year . . . I bought the coke/soda card and drank nothing unless it came out of a bottle/can. No swelling . . . I can only think that what the ship's doctor told me was true.

[montana200024]

Thank you very much for starting this thread...

I gather it has helped a lot of people answer their questions

Much good advice on here.

Many good suggestins..

 

AND I WILL TRY EVERYTHING...anything that helps the swelling...

[ROMPAR98]

I too have the swelling problem when I cruise. I also develop horrible cluster water blisters on my feet. After my last cruise I asked my Dr about it and his reply was "Then stop cruising to the Caribbean". Not an acceptable solution. Many of you have mentioned water pills. Can I get them OTC and which ones are best? Thanks

[Hoyaheel]

You can buy OTC diuretics but many contain ingredients that could cause diarrhea. Not a good alternative to bloating, eh?

 

Many foods have a diuretic effect--watermelon, peppermint tea, green teas.

 

 

As to why chefs add so much salt when cooking--salt used during cooking flavors dishes in a way that salt sprinkled on at the table cannot achieve. At home, I don't cook that way and I don't miss it, but when dining out (and yes, you better believe chefs in land-based restaurants cook the same way) I do notice different flavors in my meals. It's just --at home, you might have one dinner out occasionally, but on a cruise, they've "got you" 3 meals a day.....

 

Again, many people don't have any problems at all......

[nabby]

Just saw this thread - what great info! I have always had problems with swelling when I am around salt water, probably because I am never around it normally. I don't seem to have as much of a problem as some of you - my shoes get a little tight but I don't swell to the point of being concerned. The funniest is when I go snorkeling in salt water for a long period of time - I can count on waking up the next morning looking like I had an extreme collagen implant in my lips! The swelling goes down after awhile but it is very goofy looking. I will try the aspirin for sure this trip.

[ladycaveat]

Just saw this thread - what great info! I have always had problems with swelling when I am around salt water, probably because I am never around it normally. I don't seem to have as much of a problem as some of you - my shoes get a little tight but I don't swell to the point of being concerned. The funniest is when I go snorkeling in salt water for a long period of time - I can count on waking up the next morning looking like I had an extreme collagen implant in my lips! The swelling goes down after awhile but it is very goofy looking. I will try the aspirin for sure this trip.

 

Hey, some people pay a lot of money for that swollen lip look . . . :D

[patwell]

I'm just back from the QM2 and I have to tell you that I"m really glad I found this thread by ccident before we left. Otherwise I'd have been high-tailing it down to the medical center thinking something terrible was wrong with me. By the 3rd day my feet and ankles had swelled quite a bit and were uncomfortable to bend. I don't drink at all and am a modest eater but I must have gotten more salt than I'm used to altho the 3 others I was traveling with were fine.

 

When I'd take my strappy high (moderately) heels off at night I'd have deep depressions in the swelling and it actually felt worse taking the shoes off. Walking was not comfortable altho with the size of that ship I walked miles each day and was determined not to let this stop me....even walked down the 99 steps in St Thomas altho it hurt a lot.

 

I had a massage from a shiatsu masseure and he told me that I had a bad lymph problem so he worked on lymph node pressure points then kneaded my feet and ankles...very uncomfortable but it seemed to help. I was still swollen but it didn't seem as bad. I also iced them several times a day and that helped too.

 

I just got off yesterday and this morning they were a bit better...could almost see my ankle bones but tonight they are right back swollen again. Hopefully this will pass soon as I have to get right back into those strappy heels for a black tie thing on Friday!!

 

Thanks to the OP for bringing this up...knowing about it made dealing with it less stressful. Have never had this happen before!

Cheers, Penny

[cruisinelsewhere]

I'm laughing .... my friend and I ALWAYS have this problem... Talk about feeling like Cinderella's stepsisters.......

I never really noticed once I returned home, but during the cruise -

oh my- I have literally walked barefoot back to the cabin because my feet had been hurting since I walked out of the cabin for dinner !!!

 

A few years ago, on Celebrity Galaxy, I walked up to the bar in the disco in my formalwear, asked the bartender for a waste basket and promptly put my lovely kidskin pumps in the trash!!:) Haven't missed them since! Feet swell after trotting around the ship all day, late dining and all that. I sail Century tomorrow and hopefully my shoe selection(and moleskin patches) will prohibit me from losing any more shoes!!

[CruisinMama922]

Glad to see that I am not the only one with this problem. My feet are so huge by the end of a cruise I have to plan to wear flip flops or sandles home. This year I came prepared with a water pill prescribed by my doc and it helped a lot. I've also tried limiting what I drink, not salting my food etc, but the water pill is the only thing that did the trick.

 

Do you remember what the water pill was? I started having this problem too on my last cruise. I mean, my legs have always absorbed water like a sponge, and no problems on past cruises, but this time it was so bad we stopped into a pharmacy and the pharmacist immediately gave me a prescription for 10 pills after she saw me! I pee like a race horse every 10 min for the 1st hour, but it sure did the trick. Wish I could remember the name! Thanks for your help!

[chengkp75]

Some remedies that may work for your swollen ankles/feet:

 

Sleep with feet elevated

 

Stand in a pool. Don't swim, just stand. The increased pressure at the bottom of the pool will gently force the water to tissues experiencing less pressure, like your torso (sorry, it won't get rid of the fluid, just move it)

[bobbiejean]

Someone on this site or the Alaska site told me about a brush you can buy at Bed Bath and Beyond and rub your ankles feet and legs. I took a cruise in March and flew to Ft Lauderdale and then 7 day cruise. No swelling. Took the brush with me on cruise and used twice a day. Still do it now that I am at home. Will be going to Alaska in May , brush will go. Brush costs (9.95). I think the thread was this really works. Also the Elemis products but I don't use. Don't want to grease up the brush. Since I have started this my heels are greatly improved and soft. Worth a try.

[bobbiejean]

The brush used is called Purest Palm body brush and it is 9.99 at Bed Bath and Beyond. Go on their website and read reviews about the brush and how to use a dry brush. I love it.