Lymphoedema and Lipoedema

Lymphoedema and lipoedema. What is it, what causes it, and what are the differences? How is it treated, and what are the symptoms of each of these conditions? Understanding the differences between these conditions and your risk factor for each will help you better treat and prevent them.

This article will go through each of the conditions, outlining what they are, what causes them, what the symptoms are for each, how to treat them and lastly, how to prevent them.

Below we will first examine lymphoedema. What it is, what causes it, what the symptoms are and how to treat it.

What Is Lymphoedema?

Lymphoedema is known to be a long-term chronic condition. This condition causes swelling in the body’s tissue and can affect any body part. However, it is commonly known to develop in the arms or legs.

What Causes Lymphoedema?

Lymphoedema is typically caused by a blockage in the body’s lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is a subsystem of the immune and circulatory systems. The complex network of glands and channels that comprise the lymphatic system helps the body drain excess fluid while preventing infections. Lymphoedema is most commonly caused by cancer treatment or lymph node removal. There are typically two types of lymphoedema. These are:

 

1. 1. Primary Lymphoedema – Faulty genes cause this type of lymphoedema. These faulty genes affect the lymphatic system and can develop at any age. However, it is most commonly acquired in infancy, adolescence, or early adulthood.

1. 1. Secondary Lymphoedema – This type of lymphoedema is caused by damage to the lymphatic system, lymphatic drainage problems, cancer treatment, infection, inflammation, injury, or issues with limb movement.

What Are The Symptoms Of Lymphoedema?

One of the main symptoms of lymphoedema is swelling in part or all of the limbs. Swelling can also occur in other parts of the body. Fitting into clothes and wristwear may feel tighter than usual. Other symptoms include:

 

• • Fluid leakage through the skin

• • Skin developing into folds

• • Tight or hard skin

• • Movement is strained and difficult

• • A heavy or achy feeling in the affected part of the body

• • Recurring skin infections

• • Development of wart-like growths on the skin

How Is Lymphoedema Diagnosed?

Lymphoedema can be diagnosed by your medical practitioner with a simple circumference test. Other methods of diagnosis are:

 

• • Measuring limb volume

• • Imaging tests

• • Bioimpedance testing

How Is Lymphoedema Treated?

There is no known cure for lymphoedema. Instead, treatments can vary depending on the severity of the condition. Here are a few lymphoedema treatments for you to remember.

Decongestive lymphatic therapy (DLT)

DLT treatment lasts for several weeks and is an intensive therapy where you receive daily treatment to help reduce the swelling in the affected body part. This is followed by a second phase, also known as the maintenance phase, where your doctor will encourage you on your self-care journey using self-massage, exercising, and wearing compression socks or stockings, effectively maintaining a reduction in swelling of the affected limb or body part. There are four components to this type of treatment. These are:

 

1. 1. Graduated Compression Wear – Graduated Compression wear, such as bandages and compression socks or stockings, moves fluid out of the affected area while minimising further fluid build-up.

1. 1. Skin Care – Reduce the chances of infections with proper hygiene and skin care routines.

1. 1. Exercise – Encourage using muscles in the affected limb to improve lymph drainage.

1. 1. Specialised Massage Techniques – Also known as manual lymphatic drainage. This technique reduces swelling by stimulating fluid flow in the lymphatic system.

Now that we’ve covered lymphedema let’s look at lipoedema. What causes it, the symptoms, treatments, and prevention methods.

What Is Lipoedema?

Lipedema is the unusual build-up of fat in your arms and legs and can be painful and affect your daily life.

What Causes Lipoedema?

The cause of lipedema is currently not known. Doctors suspect that the female hormones play a role because the condition mainly affects women, beginning or worsening at puberty or pregnancy, after gynecologic surgery and before or during menopause.

Doctors and scientists believe genetics could also play a role because women with the condition usually have lipoedema-affected family members.

What Are The Symptoms Of Lipoedema?

Lipoedema is known to occur because of how the adipose tissue is distributed beneath the layers of your skin. Unevenly distributed fat in your legs and buttocks are one of lipedema’s main symptoms. Other symptoms include:

 

• • The legs appear symmetrically swollen, from the hips down to the ankles. Your legs may also appear column-like. The feet are usually not affected.

• • The affected area feels soft and spongy.

• • Easy bruising in the affected area

• • Small varicose or spider veins in affected areas

• • The areas affected are sensitive to touch.

• • The legs and other affected areas are painful and uncomfortable, with swelling potentially worsening in the afternoon and evening after activity such as walking or in hot and humid weather.

How Is Lipoedema Treated?

Unlike the fat that accumulates due to weight gain, the areas of your body affected by lipoedema do not decrease by dieting or exercise. Instead, treatment for lipoedema includes:

 

• • Changing your diet and maintaining a healthy weight reduces the amount of non-lipoedema fat and can also help to reduce inflammation.

• • Compression wear, such as graduated compression socks, stockings, and arm sleeves, helps tightly squeeze the affected areas. Try Solidea’s preventative range of compression stockings and shop beautiful compression wear such as the Magic 70 sheer compression stockings

• • Low-impact exercises such as swimming can help increase your mobility resulting in improved circulation.

• • Massage therapy helps improve mobility and moves the fluids from the affected areas of the body and the limbs.

• • The last resort would be to use an invasive treatment such as liposuction. This procedure involves removing lipoedema fat from the affected areas using suction via a tube placed under the skin.

With all the differences covered in these conditions, it stands to reason that you are now better equipped to identify either of them.

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