Juzo – Lymphedema Diary

Although June 21st is the calendar start of summer, Memorial Day (in America) marks the unofficial start. For the average person, the season means fun, sun and sandals. For those of us with lymphedema, it can mean swelling, sweat, and praying for September to come early.

When you are a lymphie, heat is a four letter word.

Putting on and then wearing thick, tight compression stockings all day, every day is challenging enough. Add eighty-plus-degree-heat and a bucket of humidity, and we are ready to volunteer for the crew of ‘Ultimate Survival Alaska.’

For women (like me) who must wear full-pantyhose compression stockings, the most unpleasant hazard of the summer heat can be yeast infections.

Yeast infections are not listed as a side-effect on stocking product materials. Neither is your regular doctor likely to warn you about them, because (GROAN) the medical profession lacks focus and funding on our field of study.

Yet I assure you, yeast infections and pantyhose compression stockings go hand-in-hand. Yeast thrives in warm, moist places, causing a fungal infection resulting in itching, redness, swelling, burning and a discharge that looks like cottage cheese. Summer fun, it is not.

So what can you do to avoid developing this uncomfortable medical condition on top of an already uncomfortable medical condition?

Go crotchless.
Juzo’s Soft open crotch compression stockings (no, this is not a picture of me!)

Victoria isn’t the only one who knows this secret. Some manufacturers, for an extra fee, can remove the crotch from stockings. Juzo offers this as a regular option in their Soft product line. Unless Dr. Ruth is on the board of Juzo, one would surmise there was a medical function to this design.

An open crotch promotes a cool, dry and airy — how shall we say….”environment.” Don’t negate these positive effects by wearing tight pants or synthetic panties. In hot and humid weather, skirts and cotton panties (or none!) are the way to go. In addition, be sure to change out of wet swimsuits and gym clothes immediately after a workout.

Continue reading “Compression Stocking Tip #6: For Women Only — Lymphedema and Yeast Infections” →

When the medical professionals say that lymphedema is a progressive disease, they aren’t kidding. In the 15 years that I’ve had the condition, the development of my lymphedema can be tracked by the compression garments I have worn to manage it.

"The Grandma", as I call it, in Juzo's advertisement — “The Grandma” compression stocking, as I call it, as pictured in Juzo brand’s advertisement.

Compression garments are stockings or sleeves or some other type of clothing that provide gradual compression that pushes the lymphatic fluid towards the heart (meaning the garment is tightest at the bottom of the limb, i.e. the ankle or wrist,and loosest at the top of the limb).

Some lymphedema patients can’t fit into compression stockings due to the severity of their swelling. I don’t know how they can function or bear the pain. For myself, I cannot remain in a standing position for more than a few minutes without my stockings on before I start feeling discomfort. Within a matter of hours swelling would follow and my legs would be back to day one of my onset. Without stockings, I could not function day-to-day. I could not go to work, go for a walk, or do any of the necessary and normal activities of life. These stockings do the work that my lymphatic system is incapable of doing.

So over the past 15 years, I’ve gone from a school-girl knee-high stocking, to a sexy thigh-high length, to a full pantyhose style that extends past my belly button that I have dubbed “The Grandma.”

Continue reading “I’m so progressive (medically, that is)” →