Lymphedema requires diligence all seasons. Do not let icy cold weather catch you or your lymphedema, unaware. Take precautions to protect yourself.
PUBLISHED January 10, 2018
Felicia Mitchell is a poet and writer who makes her home in southwestern Virginia, where she teaches at Emory & Henry College. She was diagnosed with Stage 2b HER2-positive breast cancer in 2010. Website: www.feliciamitchell.net
Lymphedema requires diligence all seasons.
Summer, we are diligent to avoid sunburns, insect bites and poison ivy. In the winter, moisturizing is even more important as skin is dryer than usual. Autumn and spring? The usual precautions are best kept in mind. Raking, for example, might require an arm sleeve if you do not wear one daily. When planting bulbs and seeds, gardening gloves are helpful.
Lymphedema requires a special diligence in winter.
Now it is winter. It has been cold where I live, which means that the twinges I feel in my arm when I need a compression arm sleeve have been more frequent. Extreme temperatures, hot or cold, are not good for lymphedema. With temperatures ranging from 1 degrees on up, I have had to work hard to avoid additional swelling and to listen to the lessons of the aches and pains that herald a flare.
Over the holiday season, my dryer broke. Cleaning up the basement for the arrival of a new dryer was not so arduous. I also needed to clean the steps into the basement, though, a chore I usually save for spring. Cleaning the steps meant sweeping pine needles and fallen leaves and carrying them into the woods.
Summer, we are diligent to avoid sunburns, insect bites and poison ivy. In the winter, moisturizing is even more important as skin is dryer than usual. Autumn and spring? The usual precautions are best kept in mind. Raking, for example, might require an arm sleeve if you do not wear one daily. When planting bulbs and seeds, gardening gloves are helpful.
Lymphedema requires a special diligence in winter.
Now it is winter. It has been cold where I live, which means that the twinges I feel in my arm when I need a compression arm sleeve have been more frequent. Extreme temperatures, hot or cold, are not good for lymphedema. With temperatures ranging from 1 degrees on up, I have had to work hard to avoid additional swelling and to listen to the lessons of the aches and pains that herald a flare.
Over the holiday season, my dryer broke. Cleaning up the basement for the arrival of a new dryer was not so arduous. I also needed to clean the steps into the basement, though, a chore I usually save for spring. Cleaning the steps meant sweeping pine needles and fallen leaves and carrying them into the woods.
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