waxing underarms

I would think it was not a good idea. You don't want to do anything that might cause swelling, irritation or infection.

If I had know what I know now I would have had laser hair removal on my underarm before surgery and radiation if that's possible.

I was shaving with a razor until I developed lymphedema. My LE therapist was surprised that I was doing that. Now I used one of those little electric trimmers they advertise for use on facial hair. It works OK but with the LE, I never go without sleeves so it doesn't matter all that much anymore.

Anything you can do to avoid getting LE is well worth it.

Hi, Annie,

You might want to talk to your doctor about a prophylactic antibiotic Rx for the procedure, as infection is more likely in an area where the lymph system has been compromised, and any infection is very likely to lead to lymphedema. Do scrupulous wound care following, and watch it carefully for any signs of infection (redness, heat, swelling, pain) so you can act quickly to treat it. Also, don't use heat for treating any discomfort, as heat can also encourage lymphedema.

Hope it goes well!
Binney

FYI, my daughter is in cosmotology school currently and since I her mom developed LE she has researched and discovered that people with LE should not wax armpits or wear acrylic or fiberglass nails because of what they do to the nailbed for bonding, it breaks the surface integrity leaving opportunity for infection, ie bacteria to get in there. I also wouldn't wax the groin area for example, my right arm is where LE is so that set of nodes is not working properly so I need to rely on the area in groin to let that fluid out that gets brushed down. Its more work, but what is our health worth, if it wasn't worth it, we would not be such warriors on this subject.
love and light, sherry

Sherry, I am interested in your comment about relying on the nodes in your groin.
A friend of mine says she massages the glands in her groin when she has a bath and she believes very strongly that it increses the lymph drainage throughout her body?
Is this what you meant?

Thanks :-)

Speth

Hi, Speth, and welcome,
I think what your doctor meant was to watch it closely and to get to the ER or Critical Care at the first sign of infection. Some of us with LE carry antibiotic ointment with us, and that might make sense for anyone at risk for LE too. Even a paper cut is a potential problem. (Once we have LE, though, we also keep a Rx or a bottle of oral antibiotics on hand.)

Of course many women post bc cut, nick, burn, or even break their affected arms without developing LE. There has not been enough research to determine what any one person's risk factors for LE might be, so you sometimes see women who take no particular precautions and never have problems, and others who are careful but still run into difficulties. As Rhymeee suggests, a single incident of injury to an at-risk arm does not necessarily result in LE disaster. Unfortunately, that is one reason why so many women ignore precautions. But any number of near-misses do not in any way protect us from later developing LE. It can happen at any point for the rest of our lives after bc treatment. It is a very strange condition, and there just isn't enough known about it. The prevention guidelines at www.lymphnet.org are fairly simple ways to protect yourself from the most common "triggers," so that's one way to take an active role in protecting yourself.

Here are some of the questions that researchers are posing about LE risk: Is there a genetic link that makes some people more susceptible than others? Is the dominant hand/arm at higher risk than the other? Does a woman's physical condition before LE make a difference? Can arm-strengthening exercises after treatment help prevent LE? Can LE massage following bc treatment prevent LE from developing?

I hope we get better answers soon!
Binney

Okay, Speth, happy to oblige: you don't have to baby the other arm! In fact, if your affected arm is your dominant arm, you might want to challenge yourself to use your non-dominant arm more than you did before.

Where the lymph system is concerned, our bodies are divided into quadrants, kind of like chicken quarters. The quarters divide at the waist and straight down our center line. The only quadrant at risk is the one that was treated with surgery and/or rads. Our "wing" quarters drain into the nodes under our arms, our leg sections into the two sides at our groin. So the one wing quarter where you had surgery is the only one at risk. All unaffected quadrants will just keep on draining happily. Yes!

Binney

Why do you say to use your affected arm less? Is it to decrease the risk of cuts leading to infection, or does just the movement of the arm increase risk? I would have thought that movement would be a good thing.

I'm so terrified of getting this. I asked my doc how many nodes he removed, but I didn't get an answer. He said something about them being in some sort of a cluster and you can't really tell exactly how many? I didn't really understand. I think I should call the drs. office and ask them again. Surely it's documented somewhere? It would help my comfort level if I knew how many.

Thanks for the clarification and the advice. Your posts are all very helpful.

Speth, LE is NOTHING like cancer. It is not nice, true. But it is not going to cost you your life. No contest.

Being bilateral is a bit trickier to handle, but not impossible, and I don't regret my decision to have a prophylactic mastectomy at all. In my case it's a tremendous relief and safe-guard. My path uncovered some LCIS in the "unaffected" breast, and my onc did a happy little jig that we'd made the decision to remove it. He likes happy outcomes a lot. I use both hands together to lift especially heavy items, don't lift them at all if they're too much for me, and am actively engaged in arm-strengthening exercises, working my way up sloooowly. I already have LE, obviously, so I always wear gloves and sleeves, but you can be fitted for sleeves and gloves to wear prophylactically when you're going to be doing something unusually stressful for your arms (or traveling by air). You might also want to see a LE therapist for base-line measurements so you'll have something to check later on, and for prevention education. Your tendency to develop infections easily just means you'll want to act quickly whenever something happens that could result in infection. I carry antibiotic cream with me and use it promptly for anything suspicious.

Even with sterile instruments, you're right that infection does happen following the procedures you mention, especially aspiration of fluid post-surgery. The compromised lymph system is definitely able to handle things in a reduced manner, or else every one of us would develop LE directly. Unfortunately, nobody knows enough about all the factors involved to make accurate predictions about who will or will not have problems, but there is research evidence that fewer nodes taken reduces the risk in a general way, so a prophylactic is less likely to cause problems than one with multiple nodes removed. Other factors that up the risk are diabetes and overweight, but those aren't guarantees either.

Don't be afriad, Speth. Do what you need to to beat the bc, and then expect only the best to follow. You're not alone!
Binney

Just curious as how ladies are managing underarm hair.  I have always waxed.  Is laser an option?

I'm glad I read this subject--I have LE--both arms so they can't be used for anything (BP.Blood draws--whatever) But that must be why my scratches never heal right. my legs swell also and I have forever scratch marks on them. I really didn't ask why My Dr. told me to watch them, my fault never asked. I never got an infection and as far as shaving--I don't need to but a little every so often, but your right, both arms are totally numb so I do watch charefully,  Thank u for all the info. 

thanks for the info.