Why do my feet swell?

My stomach makes a lot of noise and whenever I travel for a long distance my feet swell and when it is hot my body itches. What am I suffering from?
Daisy

Dear Daisy,
Naturally the abdomen makes some noise (borborygmi) as intestinal muscles contract to mix food for digestion and also propel food through the digestive system. As food mixes or gets propelled, liquid food and gases resulting from the process of digestion will get squeezed, resulting in noises.

The more liquid the food (when one is about to have diarrhoea) or the more the gases, the more noticeable the noises. Also, the stronger the intestinal muscle contractions (like when one is hungry or about to have diarrhoea) the more the noises.
During long distance travel, the choices of foods and taking less fluids as well as travelling across different time zones are more likely to cause constipation and with it the small organisms in the big intestines will have more time to breakdown food wastes creating more gas and noises.

When one sits for long, the blood finds it more difficult to move from the legs to the heart hence the swelling of the feet (pedal oedema), which may be more pronounced in certain disease conditions, including those of the heart, liver and kidney. These require to be checked out and addressed.

Also, the obese, the pregnant and those with varicose veins are also more likely to get swelling. Taking lots of fluids, moving the feet, wearing support stockings and avoiding alcohol can help.
People with other types of allergies may be prone to reacting to sweat and heat.

This may happen if they sweat, say on a hot day or during a workout. Sometimes even just taking a hot shower without sweating can lead to skin itching, which may require taking a cold shower or even an over the counter antihistamine which if they fail, a doctor may have to be consulted.