What is Lymphedema?

Answer 1

Hi there, I'm Tina and I have lymphedema. What is Lymphedema?

Lymphedema is broken down into 2 words. Lymph which is the colorless to milky colored fluid in your body. Edema, which means swelling. Lymphedema occurs when fluids build up in the soft tissues of the body. Lymphedema is pronounced: Lim-fee-dee-ma. It can be spelled a variety of ways such as lymphoedema, lymphadema, etc. All the various spellings mean the same condition.

There are 2 basic types of lymphedema.

1. Primary, heredity, sometimes called Nonne Milroy's Disease or Meige's disease which means you are/were born with it.

2. Secondary or acquired, which means it came from a cause such as surgery, trauma, injury, etc. Lymphedema can appear directly after surgery or trauma's or even 20 years down the road.

Filariasis is the infestation of the Brugia malayi parasite through mosquito or fly bites.

Lymphorrhea is the laking of lymph that has ruptured through the skin from skin breakdowns.

Self induced lymphedema is very rare but reported in which a tourniquet creates a fibrotic ring that causes fluid build up.

Mayall's syndrome is extremely rare, caused by an arteriolo-venular shut which causes the development of peripheral disease.


There are several stages of lymphedema.

Stage 0: subclinical or latent stage.

Stage 1: Completely and spontaneously reversible lymphedema. Lymphedema is considered chronic after 3 months.

Stage 2: Spontaneously irreversible lymphedema. Edema persists for some times and fibrous tissue forms.

Stage 3: Irreversible lymphedema. Very hard edema with no skin movement. Much fibrosis and hard skin. Can be loss of joint movement and mobility.

Edema is said to be pitting when your finger impression remains on the skin after pressing down.

Lipedema involves the accumulation of fat in the tissues. Lipedematous tissue may cause true lymphedema which results in the term lipolymphedema.
SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS OF LYMPHEDEMA:


Puffiness, stiffnes, fatigue, discomfort, tightness, pressure, heaviness, pain, numbness, hard thickening skin, loss of motion, skin folds, and weight increase for no reason.


CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH LYMPHEDEMA:

High blood pressure, heart problems, enous problems, diabetes, thyroid conditions, inflammations, infections, hormonal conditions and auto-immune conditions.

HOW IS LYMPHEDEMA DIAGNOSED?

In cases where patients might be suffering from a mixed form of edema's, a lymphoscintigraphy may be used. It's called the gold standard of diagnostics. There are many variations with different tracers, different injected amounts of dye. It must be done by a skilled examiner. CT, MRI, dopplers, ultrasonic devices, and C-scans may be used as well. A venography may be needed to rule out blood clots. In any case there is risk of reaction to the tracers/dyes used and/or infections. In most cases physical examination and patient history are used to diagnose lymphedemas.


SYMPTOMS:

The symptoms of lymphedema vary from individual to individual. Some common symptoms include:

A feeling of fullness, heaviness, or tight skin in an arm or hand

Pain or aching

Jewelry such as a watches, rings or bracelets that feel too tight

Shirt sleeves or cuffs or pants that feel too tight

Weakness, fatigue, or decreased flexibility in the fingers, hand or wrist, ankles, toes.

Redness, visible swelling, or signs of infection in any part of the limb

Preventing and managing lymphedema boils down to just a few simple rules and some do's and don'ts.

The biggest thing to remember is to avoid injury or irritation to areas prone to or affected by lymphedema.

Injuries and irritation include: Falls, bruises, bumps, slivers, bug bites, scratches, hives, bee stings, sunburn, razer irritation, repetitive injury, over exertion, burns, too tight clothing, and being in one position too long.

Answer 2

Lymphedema is caused by lymphedic fluid, swelling and painful. Basically there is no cure for it, but can be taken care by regular mesage. Also that the lymph nodes filters Lymphatic fluids tthat can possibly cause cancers and trap them from spreading in blood.

Answer 3

This is a condition where the lymphatic system, which is responsible for the transport of fluid and proteins that are by products of the immune response back into normal circulation, becomes inefficient. This can be caused by lymph node removal, trauma or genetic causes. It results in a very hard, firm, swelling or the affected body part...usually the arm or leg that may be susceptible to infection due to the high level of proteins present in the fluid.

I like to use the following analogy...if all the pipes in your house represent your venous and arterial circulation, then your lymphatic system is represented by your evacuation pump in the basement. If you use your sink in the basement, the pump is required to propell the water back into the main sewer line after it goes down into the drain. If that pump fails, your basement "floods."

Answer 4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphedema

Answer 5

http://www.lymphoedema.co.uk/