Lymphedema Isn’t Just Puffiness — Here’s What You Need to Know
Understanding Lymphedema — a condition that affects your body's drainage system and the four essential strategies for living well with it.
Lymphedema is the swelling that your body gets when your lymphatic system is not working properly to clear the daily 4-8 L of fluid, which is responsible for returning to your circulatory system.
Swelling can be caused by many different things: an acute injury, inflammatory medical conditions, chronic venous insufficiency, hot weather, or even too much salt in your diet. Lymphedema is different. It is when your lymphatic system did not develop properly in utero (primary lymphedema), and you are born with it, or you sustain damage to your lymphatic system through infection from bug bites (filariasis), or surgical damage, resulting in the removal of lymph nodes. This is called secondary lymphedema, and in the Northern Hemisphere, the most common cause of lymphedema is surgical removal of lymph nodes due to cancer.
We have between 600 and 800 lymph nodes distributed in our body, and every single body is a little bit different. When lymph nodes are removed, it’s like taking away a lane on the highway. If the traffic stays the same, then generally the lymphatic system can keep up. However, if there is an accident, inclement weather, or rush hour, traffic builds up. This “traffic jam” in the lymphatic system is lymphedema.
Sadly, we don’t have a cure, only a way to manage the condition — and it’s critical that we do. Unmanaged, the limb can become unwieldy, lose strength and function, and we see changes in the composition: decreased lean muscle mass and increased fat. Not only that, but we will also see significant changes in the skin – it can become thick, calloused, hard, and very painful. It can also become weeping with pressure wounds developing. It is more susceptible to infections such as cellulitis, and these are harder to treat because of the decreased ability of tissues to receive nutrition and medications. This can lead to a systemic infection called sepsis, which is a life-threatening condition and requires time spent in the hospital for 24-hour medical care.
There are 4 main ways that we manage lymphedema:
Compression: properly fitted compression garments, bandaging, and preventing the swelling from occurring in the first place.
Skin care: avoid cuts, nicks, and medical trauma to the skin. Be meticulous.
Lifestyle: specifically exercise. Movement will help what we call the muscle pump to move fluid, and will be critical in maintaining lean muscle mass. New research is also looking at how diet can play a role in the management of lymphedema, and while studies are still in the works, eating a diet rich in plants, fibre, and low in processed foods is always good for our bodies.
Manual Lymphatic Drainage: This treatment is the most popular because it is also relaxing and passive. Make sure you find someone who is properly trained to work not just with the lymphatic system, but with oncology training (aka lymphedema management). Your local Lymphatic Society should have a list of health care providers with the appropriate skill set. An important thing to remember is that while this pillar is often the favourite, without the other three pillars of lymphedema management in place, this pillar will not be enough on its own for the results that you want.
Sources:
https://albertalymphedema.com
