Anasarca is a medical condition that leads to whole-body swelling. It causes your body tissues to retain too much fluid due to several reasons. Unlike other types of edema, which usually only affect one or two parts of the body, anasarca causes swelling everywhere. It’s also called extreme generalized edema or massive edema. It’s usually the result of a serious underlying condition or organ damage.
Anasarca Meaning
Anasarca is usually a symptom of an underlying condition, not a disease on its own. It’s a type of edema, which is a medical term for swelling.
Anasarca vs. edema
The terms anasarca and edema are sometimes used interchangeably. But anasarca differs from typical edema because your whole body is affected. Under normal circumstances, when any part of your body swells, it’s usually due to eating too much salty food, injury, or a minor side effect of medication. This typical kind of swelling affects the feet, hands, or legs. With anasarca, the edema happens throughout the body — to such an extent that it may limit your ability to move.
How do doctors tell the difference? They look at how much swelling you have and what’s causing it. “General edema is often more localized and less severe or extensive,” says Hiten Patel, MD, a family medicine physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “In most cases, general edema isn’t caused by an underlying problem with one of your organs.”
Anasarca Causes
Anasarca is usually a result of issues with blood vessels, blockage in the lymphatic vessels, and water retention in the whole body. The condition happens due to several reasons. The most common ones include:
Kidney disease. When your kidneys no longer function as they should, they can’t remove fluids from the body adequately. This retention of fluid causes anasarca.
Liver cirrhosis. Cirrhosis happens when your liver stops working. Liver disease causes changes in hormones, affecting the regulation of fluids in the body. Liver failure is responsible for fluid leakage into the tissues.
Malnutrition. Not having enough protein in your diet can lead to fluid buildup in the tissues. When the deficiency is extreme, it can lead to anasarca.
Allergic reaction. Your whole body might retain fluid because of an allergic reaction. When the reaction is severe, it can cause anasarca.
Capillary leak syndrome. This is a less common cause of anasarca. It happens when protein and fluid leak out of the blood vessels into the body tissues. Research on why this happens is still limited, but scientists believe it’s because of inflammation and injury to blood vessels. They’ve found that this happens due to some medications and toxins. One case study shows that capillary leak syndrome can also happen because of certain cancer medications, such as gemcitabine. Another study found a snakebite to be the cause of anasarca.
Excessive IV fluids. Hospitals often give IV fluids to treat various conditions, including infection, dehydration, and shock. If your body is unable to adapt to these fluids, you may develop severe edema.
Medication side effect. Various medications, including specific cancer treatments, can cause anasarca. The other common types that might cause the condition include blood pressure drugs, such as amlodipine. Steroid medications can also lead to the condition. Changing drugs will often resolve anasarca symptoms, but talk with your doctor before you stop taking any of your prescriptions.
Symptoms of Anasarca
The first symptom of anasarca is a swollen body, from your head to your toes. You may also experience:
- Dimples on the skin after you press a finger onto it for several seconds
- High or low blood pressure
- A slow or fast heart rate
- Organ system failure, especially the kidneys and liver
In extreme cases of anasarca, you will experience a lot of discomfort. You may become unable to move your limbs or walk. The swelling on your face may also affect your vision because it becomes hard to open your eyes.
Severe cases of anasarca can be an emergency. In addition to the above symptoms, if you experience chest pain, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing, seek a doctor right away. These could be signs of pulmonary edema, which causes a buildup of fluid in the lungs. This condition is life-threatening.
Diagnosis of Anasarca
If you develop symptoms of anasarca, see your doctor immediately for diagnosis and treatment. A physical exam and assessment of your medical history will be necessary for the diagnosis. Your doctor may also run various other tests to find out the root cause of anasarca, including:
- A series of blood tests to check your liver, heart, and kidney functions, as well as your hemoglobin levels
- A CT scan to check your chest cavity
- A heart ultrasound or echocardiogram to establish any anomalies in the anatomy and function of your heart
- A stress test to monitor the heart function
- Allergy tests
Treatment for Anasarca
For your doctor to give you the correct treatment, they must identify the underlying condition and treat it. Severe cases of anasarca require diuretics that help the body expel the excess fluid in the urine. One diuretic that’s commonly prescribed is furosemide.
In addition to medications, these home-care tips can also help treat anasarca:
Takeaways
Anasarca is a type of edema, or swelling. It’s caused by an underlying problem in your body, such as a disease affecting your heart, kidneys, or liver. Low protein levels, allergic reactions, certain medications, or an issue with your blood vessels can also trigger anasarca. If you have anasarca, you’ll have swelling all over your body. Treatment focuses on the condition that’s causing your swelling, although you may also take drugs to help your body remove excess fluid.
Anasarca FAQs
Can anasarca cause death?
If you have anasarca, the condition may be dangerous, but the risk likely lies with the problem that caused it. “It’s not the anasarca itself that is life-threatening, but rather the underlying disease causing it,” Patel says. “Meaning, if someone has anasarca, the organ causing this is likely failing or progressively decreasing in functional status, leading to other complications for that organ, which may be life-threatening.”
What does anasarca look like?
Parts of your body may be puffy from the excess fluid. Your skin might look shiny or stretched. The swelling might cause your skin to break, leading to open wounds.
What is the difference between edema and anasarca?
Both edema and anasarca are types of edema, or swelling. Anasarca affects more than just your limbs and can be a sign that your body is failing. Patel says that people with anasarca “are likely to have long-term poor outcomes — like decreased functional status, shortness of breath, need for hospitalization, blood clots, infections, and renal failure. Due to their underlying organ dysfunction, they may be at a higher risk of mortality.”
How do you fix anasarca?
Your treatment depends on what’s causing your anasarca. Once the swelling goes down, it’s unlikely to come back as long as your underlying condition improves. “If medications and treatments control heart failure, kidney failure, and liver failure, anasarca may not recur,” Patel says.
