Lymphoedema

Lymphoedema is a chronic (long-term) condition that causes swelling in the body’s tissues. It can affect any part of the body, but usually develops in the arms or legs.

Other symptoms of lymphoedema can include an aching, heavy feeling in affected body parts and difficulty moving them.

Lymphoedema can get worse if it’s not treated, so you should speak to a doctor if you think you may have the condition.

Read more about the symptoms of lymphoedema and diagnosing lymphoedema

Symptoms

The main symptom of lymphoedema is swelling in all or part of a limb or another part of the body, which can cause problems fitting into clothes, or jewellery and watches starting to feel tight.

At first, the swelling may come and go. It may get worse during the day and then go down overnight. Without treatment, it will usually become more severe and persistent.

Other symptoms in an affected body part can include:

an aching, heavy feeling difficulty with movement repeated skin infections the skin becoming hard and tight folds developing in the skin wart-like growths developing on the skin a leakage of fluid through the skin

When these symptoms start depends on what is causing the condition.

If lymphoedema is caused by abnormal development of the lymphatic system (a network of channels and glands distributed throughout the body that remove unwanted bacteria and particles from the body), the symptoms can develop at any age, but most commonly start during infancy, adolescence or early adulthood.

In these cases, the swelling may start on one side of the body to begin with, although the other side will usually become swollen as well over time – particularly the lower leg.

If lymphoedema is caused by damage to the lymphatic system, the symptoms can develop at any time. For example, if your lymphatic system is damaged due to treatment for breast cancer, lymphoedema may not develop for several months or even years.

Read more about the causes of lymphoedema