Rare diseases · Sign or symptom
Edema
Fluid retention
HP:0000969
What it means
An abnormal accumulation of fluid beneath the skin, or in one or more cavities of the body.
Edema may be related to one or more of the following factors: 1) increased capillary hydrostatic pressure, 2) decreased osmotic pressure of plasma, 3) decreased tissue tension and lymphatic drainage, 4) increased osmotic pressure of tissue fluids, and 5) increased capillary permeability.
In everyday care
Most people with this sign do not have a rare disease — it appears in common conditions far more often. These general reference pages cover the same topic:
Rare diseases that can present with this96
Very common80–99%
16- Congenital analbuminemia
- Dermatomyositis
- Dissecting cellulitis of the scalp
- Eosinophilic fasciitis
- Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy
- Hereditary steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome
- Idiopathic steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome with secondary steroid resistance
- Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome
- Multiple benign circumferential skin creases on limbs
- NK-cell enteropathy
- Nodular non-suppurative panniculitis
- Primary intestinal lymphangiectasia
- Scorpion envenomation
- Snakebite envenomation
- Solar urticaria
- Superficial epidermolytic ichthyosis
Common30–79%
37- Achondrogenesis type 2
- AGel amyloidosis
- ALG8-CDG
- American trypanosomiasis
- Antisynthetase syndrome
- Cardiogenic shock
- Chromomycosis
- Chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis/Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis
- CINCA syndrome
- Congenital enterocyte heparan sulfate deficiency
- Congenital sialidosis type 2
- Craniofaciofrontodigital syndrome
- Familial isolated dilated cardiomyopathy
- Gorham-Stout disease
- Idiopathic steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome
- Immunoglobulin-mediated membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis
- Kaposiform hemangioendothelioma
- Kawasaki disease
- Lethal Kniest-like dysplasia
- Lethal recessive chondrodysplasia
- Majeed syndrome
- Microcephaly-chorioretinopathy-lymphedema syndrome
- MPI-CDG
- Omenn syndrome
- Pachydermoperiostosis
- Pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus
- POEMS syndrome
- Prader-Willi syndrome
- Ring chromosome 22 syndrome
- SAPHO syndrome
- Secondary intestinal lymphangiectasia
- Segmental venous malformation
- Thoracic outlet syndrome
- Thymic carcinoma
- Transaldolase deficiency
- Trichinellosis
- Wells syndrome
The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.
Part of the broader category
Also called: Dropsy · Hydrops · Oedema · Soft tissue swelling · Water retention
Tracking symptoms like this for someone? Eleplan keeps symptoms, diagnoses, medications and every specialist in one plan.
Start free with EleplanThis page uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (2026-06-23) — Human Phenotype Ontology Consortium, hpo.jax.org. Disease associations from Orphanet (INSERM), CC BY 4.0. Content is educational and is not medical advice.