DEAR DR. ROACH: I have noticed that I gain weight after eating salted foods. Last night, I had a pasta dish that was salty. Upon awakening, all my fingers were swollen to a point of not bending. Besides drinking a lot of water to flush it out, I’m concerned that there could be potential for an undetected cause.

I’m an 82-year-old woman, and this has been happening for the past six months. My blood pressure is higher recently. Could this be related? My doctor doesn’t seem as concerned as me. — B.H.

ANSWER: It is common to retain fluid after a salty meal. This can often be noticed due to tight rings on your fingers, socks that leave marks, and other signs of excess fluid. When a person has excess salt and water in their body, it is also common for their blood pressure to go up.

There are medical conditions that can exacerbate this, even though many healthy people notice these symptoms. One is heart failure. People with heart failure should be warned against excess salt intake as the fluid retention can be very high and cause serious symptoms. A second is liver disease, while a third is severe kidney disease; both of these can be related to low protein (albumin) in the blood.

Heart failure, kidney disease and liver disease can generally be diagnosed by your doctor with a careful exam and some standard blood tests. Very mild heart failure may need an echocardiogram to be diagnosed correctly. But if your doctor has done these things and is convinced that you don’t have a serious underlying medical condition, then the best thing for you is to be consistently careful not to eat too much salt.

This can be difficult at restaurants, where very large amounts of salt are often used. A word with your server about reducing salt may seem embarrassing but will prevent you from these symptoms. Of course, you need to be careful with hidden sources of salt in your own cooking, especially with canned vegetables.

If your blood pressure is consistently high, your doctor may consider a diuretic, which lowers your blood pressure by making your kidney get rid of excess salt and water. But diuretics need to be used judiciously.

DEAR DR. ROACH: Last May, I had a spinal cord stimulator implanted along with its rechargeable battery pack. Recently, I had an MRI and was told by the technician to turn the stimulator off, which I did by using my cellphone that had the controller. I turned it back on when I was done.

I’ll be flying just after the first day of the year. I’m unable to raise both hands above my head for the machine that’s part of passenger screening due to tears in my left rotator cuff. I’m 80 and in fair health, and I was wondering what effect, if any, this machine (which I believe is an X-ray machine) would have on the stimulator. I asked my doctor, and he said not to worry about it. I’d like your opinion. — J.R.

ANSWER: Just like you did with the MRI, you should turn off your spinal cord stimulator before going through security screening at the airport. According to TSA, you should also inform the TSA officer about your device, what it is, and where it is located.

Hopefully, you have a medical identification card to show the TSA agent. (Get one from your surgeon if you don’t have it.) Although it is safe to go through screening with the stimulator turned off, you can request a manual search as well.

Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu. (c) 2025 North America Syndicate Inc.

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