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Prevention/ Treatment

Anasarca can be prevented by controlling the factors that can lead to anasarca. This includes changes in daily habits, diet, and taking prescribed medicine.

The most common treatment for anasarca is the use of diuretics (also called water pills).

Diuretics

Help move the excess salt and water from the body via urination.

Side effects: dehydration, hyperkalemia (increased potassium levels), hypercholesterolemia (increase LDL cholesterol)

Diuretic therapy is helpful in generalized edema that is caused by heart failure, nephrotic syndrome, or primary sodium retention. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that fluid-overloaded heart failure patients with short breathing should be treated immediately.

To learn about other treatments, scroll through the slides below

Pharmacologic Treatment

In severe generalized edema states, such as congestive cardiac failure, treatment with loop diuretic in the form of furosemide or bumetanide is recommended as initial treatment. The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) recommends using an aldosterone antagonist in monotherapy as first-line treatment of first episode of grade 2 ascites cirrhotic. However, the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) suggests combination therapy as initial therapy with furosemide 40 mg/day and spironolactone 100 mg/day.

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