Thursday, December 8, 2011

Weak Immune System

I have never really had the best immune system. I remember when I was a kid, I would get strep throat several times a year with high fevers and always sick for longer than normal periods of time, i.e. it took me much longer to get over being sick. Now that I have Lymphedema, I notice flare ups when I am about to get sick and while I am sick and I wonder what the correlation is between having Lymphedema and a weak immune system is, if any. I know we are more susceptible to infections in the effected limb but what about illness? Are we more prone to get sick or less likely to recover quickly from illness? When I search for information on this, I only get hits back on cellulitus and skin infections. Has anyone experienced the same issues or know of any research on this? My mind starts to churn, maybe it's the researcher in me, but I wonder if certain people are more susceptible to getting Lymphedema because of something in their immune system. Or possibly, Lymphedema weakens the immune system after it develops. If the lymphatics are a system then if part of that system isn't functioning properly, wouldn't it decrease the overall functioning and strength of the lymphatic system? I'm not a doctor at all but maybe someone reading my blog will have some answers. I need to see my doctor for a check up so I will pose these questions to him. I will post more information if I find it :)