Climate and lymphoedema: What we know from the literature

With climate change proposed to be the greatest threat to human health this century, it is essential to be proactive in understanding the direct health implications for our lymphoedema patients. Patients report that warmer weather conditions exacerbate symptoms of lymphoedema and pose challenges for the ongoing management of their condition, but do we fully understand why this occurs or what we can do to counteract this impact? With temperatures predicted to increase and adverse weather conditions projected to occur more frequently, we need to understand why we see a change in the oedema status and what measures can be implemented to counteract this phenomenon and improve the quality of life for the lymphoedema population. This report looks at what we currently know from the literature and highlights work being completed as part of a PhD project to build a greater foundation of knowledge.