Decongestive therapy for lymphedema

Lymphedema is the swelling that shows up when lymph .. the fluid that travels through the lymphatic vessels .. does not drain well and builds up. The main way to manage it is called complete decongestive therapy, and it is done in two phases.

The first is the intensive phase. It puts four things together at once: manual lymphatic drainage, multilayer compression bandaging .. several layers of bandage wrapped around the limb .., meticulous skin care, and decongestive exercise.

It is worth understanding what each piece does. Manual drainage is a gentle massage that helps move lymph through the body. Compression garments, which are snug sleeves or stockings, help keep the fluid from building up again. First you empty the arm, then you keep it from filling back up.

The second phase, maintenance, hands the work to the patient: wearing the garment, exercising, keeping the skin clean, and doing the drainage themselves. And there is something worth knowing from the start: lymphedema is not curable. What the therapy aims to do is keep it stable.