Don't worry about "lymphedema" affecting your travel interest! Therapist: Cancer patients can also enjoy long-distance flights by doing 3 things
Can I travel abroad if I develop lymphedema after cancer? Therapists list 3 things they must do
If breast cancer and gynecological cancer patients suffer from lymphedema after surgery, can they still go abroad smoothly? What details should we pay attention to? Three cancer friends, Mia, Aimee, and Venus (Editor’s note: Mia and Aimee have breast cancer, and Venus has gynecological cancer) used to go abroad frequently, but now they suffer from lymphedema in their arms or legs respectively, and traveling abroad has become more difficult than ever. Difficult things. Mia, who is full of energy, has successfully passed the breast cancer treatment, so she wants to take advantage of her free time to plan overseas travel. Venus suffers from lymphedema in her right leg. Now she was assigned by her company to go on an overseas business trip and faced a huge swelling reduction project, so she quickly sought help from an integrated swelling reduction therapist.
Compared with the above two people who are hesitant about going abroad, Aimee, who is also a patient with upper limb lymphedema after breast cancer, started to do integrated detumescence rehabilitation very early. With the progress, she has been able to wear pressure sleeves all day and follow regular exercises. The movie was about sports, so I confidently decided to arrange a trip abroad. What can you prepare before traveling by plane? You can first ask a therapist to evaluate the condition of lymphedema. If there is lymphedema, you can perform rehabilitation to eliminate the condition as soon as possible to maintain the operation of the lymphatic system and take the following measures:
Prepare compression clothing: Ask a therapist to help you choose appropriate compression clothing, and practice wearing it before going abroad to ensure that your body can wear the compression clothing for the duration required for the flight.
Choose appropriate clothing: cuffs for edema in the arms, pants/socks/shoes for edema on the legs. Avoid being too tight to avoid impeding the flow of lymph fluid. Loose clothing will also help you move your limbs moderately on the plane and avoid sitting still for too long.
Exercise the affected limb in advance: You can first train the affected limb under safe conditions under the guidance of a therapist to reserve body functions.
The higher the altitude, the more obvious the swelling will be! How to relieve swollen limbs when flying?
Mia, a newbie in rehabilitation, asked carefully about how to use the pressure cuff because although she had bought the pressure cuff in advance, she still didn’t understand how to use it. It wasn’t until she learned the correct use of compression sleeves from a therapist that Mia began to adapt to arm compression. She took the opportunity to practice wearing compression garments for longer periods of time in Taiwan, and used lymphedema-friendly exercises to exercise her arms to cope with pushing and pulling luggage. Or mountain climbing. As for Venus, who was undergoing treatment, she prepared elegant wide pants that could correct her swollen legs, and even found a leather shoe store willing to sell two different sizes of shoes for her large and small feet.
Mia is well aware of the impact of high altitude on lymphedema, and pays great attention to the altitude when flying and climbing. She noticed that at an altitude of more than 2,500 meters, her arms will begin to feel slightly swollen. As they climb higher and higher, the swelling becomes worse. It will become more and more obvious, especially when you reach 3500 meters, it will make you feel particularly uncomfortable. Fortunately, after wearing compression clothing, the swelling gradually disappeared. This experience taught her how to cope with high-altitude trips and returned home safely.
Aimee, who was very confident in her arms, unexpectedly developed discomfort in her arms. It turned out that she had been sitting for a long time on the plane, which caused her arms to become stiff after being stationary for a long time. She was familiar with rehabilitation exercises, so she used a few stretching techniques on her seat. Finally passed the long flight.
How to relieve lymphedema in limbs when flying? It is recommended that friends take the following measures:
Wear compression clothing: If the affected limb begins to feel swollen, it means that the lymphatic system is almost overwhelmed, so put on compression clothing before swelling occurs.
Self-lymphatic drainage: You can ask a therapist to teach you how to do it in advance.
Moderately move the affected limb: For example, you can carry an elastic band to facilitate simple exercises. People with leg lymphedema can get up and walk regularly.
Just like flying on an airplane, when patients with lymphedema climb mountains, the air pressure in the high-altitude environment decreases, which may aggravate lymphedema.
You can do rehabilitation at any time even when you are abroad! Integrated detumescence to help patients overcome geographical restrictions
During her busy schedule, Venus said that it is difficult to constantly observe the changes in lymphedema, but thanks to her daily compliance with treatment, her body has gradually become less prone to edema, and she has also learned how to take care of herself independently in a foreign country. Mia also agrees with the importance of regular rehabilitation, and points out that in addition to having knowledge about lymphedema, people with lymphedema must also experience various activities on the premise of safety in order to better understand the body’s reaction, so she reiterated Go back to the gym to strengthen the training of your right hand, and prepare in advance for the rock climbing you once loved and for your next grand trip.
Aimee joked that she was usually too lazy to exercise her arms, but during the trip she unknowingly increased the amount of activity in her arms due to carrying luggage, shopping, taking photos, etc., and the swelling effect was even better than at home. This experience made her discover that by diligently participating in daily tasks, rehabilitation can be integrated into daily life and naturally create opportunities for physical exercise.
From the above experiences of swollen friends, it shows that lymphedema patients can complete overseas travel with professional integrated detumescence and rehabilitation, but they need to pay attention to maintaining body balance and comfort, and also make targeted planning for different journeys, so First of all, every travel experience not only brings back pleasant memories, but also lays a solid foundation for good health! In response to March being “Lymphedema Awareness Month” every year, this year we use the successful recovery cases of lymphedema friends in their lives to illustrate that lymphedema can still be overcome with the help of rehabilitation. to things.
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