Question about cellulitis and swimming

Hi, LAstar. I hope you get an answer soon, as I may be experiencing the same thing after my swim in the lake. I didn't realize it could be an issue and I was so looking forward to my first swim of the year, even though I can't actually swim now as the arm is very swollen and immobilized. good luck and all the best to you.

Angela

I have had LE for 14 years and 1 small area, mild bout of cellulitis and 1 small area that gave me a fever and because of the fever I wasn't allowed to treat myself at home as I did the first bout. Not bad considering I have had LE for so long.

The first bout was because I had a small skin tear between my toes from sliding in my flip flops upon exiting my above ground exercise pool (read Walmart pool at $500.). I felt the heat and saw the redness and immediately went to my PCP. I don't trust hospitals, especially with cuts and LE. You can get staph infection and other things from hospitals. So a 10 round of antibiotics and I was fixed.

The second bout, my PCP direct admitted me to hospital. The foreign doctor wrapped my swollen, infected lower leg with COBAN, the stuff that is used to wrap your arm temporarily after blood is drawn. It caused massive infection and ulcerations on my leg. I have a horrid disfigured lower left leg because of this inept clown. My skin over the healed ulcers is very very thin. I can no longer go swimming, which was my greatest joy and gave me so much peace and tranquility.

If you want to go swimming and do not have your own inground pool, I would suggest an inexpensive above ground pool with a salt water system and a sand filtration system. Also, many people are using Mr. Clean scrubbers as a filter in their regular pools and they appear to be doing an excellent job of filtering out the bad stuff...and it is less expensive than buying new filters all the time. You do have to constantly check the chemicals and such either way to best ensure that you are not harmed. I am not a chemist, pool maintenance or physician, so this is just my personal opinion. I am not advocating anything, just sharing my experiences.

You must must must keep your affected LE areas moisturize to prevent cracks, cuts or scrapes in your skin. CHECK DAILY. Also, ensure cleanliness of the affected area, and ensure that you dry your areas, completely. There are lymph nodes all over your body from the top of your head to the feet. Google photos of them and how to do manual lymph drainage on yourselves. You must take full responsibility of your condition and teach your PCPs about it as well because most of them have only had a semester of training on the lymphatic system.

When I was hospitalized, they asked my weight and I told them. I also told them that my weight was not all "weight", but included lymphatic waste. I have bilateral LE from my waist down, so approximately 1/4 to 1/3 of my total weight is lymph waste because I cannot wrap my own legs and have no one to help me. My insurance will not pay for the Flexitouch and I am attempting to get them with help from organizations. I highly DO recommend the Flexitouch system. I had a person come out to teach me about it and tried it out for about 30 minutes on 1 leg. It worked wonders in just that short amount of time. They have a system for every LE affected part of your body.

I hope some of this information will help you out.