Causes Of Lymphedema

The lymphatic system present in the body is responsible to return interstitial fluid to the thoracic duct and in turn to blood. This interstitial fluid is then re-distributed into the tissues.

When the lymphatic system of the body degrades in performance and its functioning is compromised, fluid begins to get retained in parts of the body, causing tissues to swell. This is called lymphedema. This condition can also be called lymphatic obstruction or elephentiasis.

The danger of this condition is that when tissues are affected by lymphedema they are at a greater risk of getting an infection.

There are various symptoms of it. These include:
- fatigue, of a severe nature.
- heavy and swollen limb.
- fluid accumulation, which is localized in another part of the body. This could include the head or neck as well.
- skin discoloration over the area affected by lymphedema.
- deformity of a limb or body part.

It is quite common that people confuse it with venous insufficiency edema. But the fact is that if venous insufficiency edema is not treated or not treated properly, it can develop into a combination of venous and lymphatic disorder. This will then need to be treated as lymphedema is treated.

Causes of Lymphedema

There are many reasons why a person can suffer from this. Following are some of the major reasons.
- This condition can be inherited. So if your family has a history of lymphedema you should be careful.
- It can be caused by an injury to the lymphatic system of the body
- Most commonly this condition is a result of lymph node dissection, surgery and/or radiation therapy. All these can cause damage to the lymphatic system. Treatment for cancer, especially breast cancer can result in this condition as the lymphatic system gets affected during treatment. However, for patients of cancer the condition does not immediately surface but can take months or even years, after conclusion of therapy, to surface.
- Lymphedema is also at many times linked to accidents and certain diseases and problems that hinder the lymphatic systems performance.
- For people living in tropical areas, secondary lymphedema can also be caused by a parasitic infection called filariasis.
- The condition also results from cellulitis.

It has not been clearly determined what actually causes primary lymphedema but it is believed to be generally caused because of feeble or missing lymph nodes and/or channels in the body.

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