Treating lymphoedema

Treatments to manage lymphoedema include skin care, exercise, weight management, compression therapy and manual lymphatic drainage (specialised massage).

Types of treatment for lymphoedema

There are different types of treatment for swelling (lymphoedema). Some treatments are very new and research is also trying to improve treatments.

Which treatment do you need?

The type of lymphoedema treatment you have will depend on how much swelling you have and which part of your body it affects.

Caring for your skin when you have lymphoedema

Caring for your skin is important when you have swelling (lymphoedema). Find out how you can protect your skin.

Exercise, positioning and lymphoedema

There are exercises you can do to help reduce swelling caused by a build up of lymph fluid (lymphoedema). You can also position yourself in ways that help the lymph to drain.

Compression treatment for lymphoedema

You can have compression treatment for swelling (lymphoedema) in different ways, depending on where the swelling is.

Manual lymphatic drainage (specialised massage) for lymphoedema

You can have a special type of skin massage to reduce swelling from lymphoedema. It’s called manual lymphatic drainage or MLD.

Compression pumps and taping

Compression pumps and taping are ways of reducing swelling (lymphoedema) caused by damage to lymph nodes after some cancer treatments.

Last reviewed: 
13 Aug 2019
Coronavirus and cancer

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