IDIOPATHIC EDEMA - PATHOGENESIS, CLINICAL-FEATURES, AND TREATMENT

Idiopathic edema is usually orthostatic. It is most evident in the fee t or abdomen after prolonged standing or sitting and in the fingers an d eyelids after recumbency overnight. It occurs almost exclusively in post-pubertal women and is associated with discomfort in the areas of fluid accumulation (including symptoms of the carpal tunnel syndrome, nonarticular rheumatism, and headaches, sometimes with pseudotumor cer ebri), and weight gain with excessive increments from morning to eveni ng. The pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of idiopathic edema are discussed.