• About
  • Cancer Coaching
  • Cart
  • Checkout
  • Contact Us
  • Health & Beauty
  • Home
  • My account
  • Resources
  • Shop

Cart

#OurTribe
  • Home
  • About
  • Cancer Coaching
    • New! Lymphedema Coaching
    • Nutritional Coaching
  • Health & Beauty
  • Lymphedema
  • #Our Stories
  • Events
  • Shop
    • Our Breast Cancer Product Picks
    • Swimwear
    • Compression Sleeves
    • Cart
    • Checkout
  • Resources
  • Contact Us
Ask The Expert!, Health, Lymphedema  /  April 19, 2018

Lymphedema and Hot Tubs: Asking for Trouble?

by Jenni Rai, PT, CLT

In response to our recent article “Debunking the Myths and Fears around Lymphedema,” Tribe members wrote in with follow up questions:

Dear #OurTribe,  

I’ve heard that using hot tubs and saunas can be dangerous if you are at risk for developing lymphedema. Should I stay away from saunas/hot tubs?

Sincerely,

Hot Tubbin’ in Helskinki

 

Dear Hot Tubbin’,

This is a great question! In order to answer it thoroughly, let’s first review the 4 Factors that research has proven increase your risk of developing lymphedema:

  • Number of lymph nodes removed (for perspective, we have on average between 20-40 nodes per armpit)
  • Whether or not you had radiation
  • Developing an infection in the arm, trunk or breast
  • A BMI (body mass index) > 25*

*Not sure your BMI? Use this calculator.

If your question is not related to one of the four factors, the answer is always, “maybe that will increase your risk?”

Our lymph systems are unique and unfortunately do not respond identically to similar situations. With that (admittedly annoying) bit of info, we can only talk about “risk reduction,” vs “how to prevent lymphedema,” or in this case, “how risky is it to use a sauna or hot tub?”

The reason saunas/hot tubs are traditionally on the “no-no” list, is because heat opens up our blood vessels, and increases the amount of blood flow to the heated area. Increased blood flow increases the amount of lymph that the lymphatic system then has to deal with, potentially creating a back up.  Therefore, the conservative answer is, “avoid saunas/hot tubs.”

Ok, great, but that doesn’t answer the better question of “how risky is it?”

Here is a list of questions to ask yourself when deciding how risky it is for YOU:

  • how many of the 4 factors do I have? (ie, am I at high risk of developing lymphedema in general?)
  • how clean is this sauna/hot tub? Am I also at risk for developing an infection from it?
  • how scary is the idea of lymphedema to me/ vs how important is this sauna/hot tub? Is it something I’m willing to possibly risk developing lymphedema for?

If you are someone who meets 3 of the 4 Factors, I personally WOULD NOT get in a sauna/hot tub.

Say you are a contestant on “the Bachelor” where it is basically required you get in a hot tub. There are ways to minimize risk and still partake:

  • for sauna, sit on your own clean towel, and stay for no more than 5 min
  • for hot tub, sit with your chest and arms out of water, and again limit time to no more than 10 min straight. After you leave hot tub, do not reenter until your body has completely cooled back off (at least 30 min).

Take home message:

The world of lymphedema is a gray one, often lacking definitive guidelines. With some knowledge, you can make informed decisions for what works best for you. If that responsibility stresses you out, simply avoid saunas/hot tubs altogether.

 

Do you have any questions for #OurTribe? We love to hear from you! Please post questions or comments below or join our Private Facebook Group.  We’d love to have you in #OurTribe!

Post navigation

Announcing #SOS: #Our new Series On Sleep
Silence Your Inner Mean Girl

Share your thoughts Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

NEW! Virtual Lymphedema Coaching

Book Appointment

Nutritional Coaching

Book Appointment

“#Ourtribe is more than breast cancer support, it is real time advice from those that have gone through the same thing you are about to. Sometimes the medical jargon is overwhelming, real life tips go a long way while battling breast cancer.” – Dana Donofree, founder of AnaOno, lingerie for breast cancer survivors

Let’s be Pen Pals!

Search

Follow me on Twitter

Tweets by @hashtagourtribe

Search

Recent Posts

  • All the Lube in the World Won’t Fix your Sex Life
  • Is it me, or is life more stressful lately?
  • Guided Beach Relaxation
  • New! Lymphedema Coaching
  • Is a 40-something Woman too old for Glossier?

Recent Comments

    Archives

    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • February 2020
    • November 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017

    Categories

    • #Our Stories
    • Ask The Expert!
    • Beauty
    • Cancer Coaching
    • Cover Stories
    • Events
    • Health
    • Health & Beauty
    • How-To
    • Lymphedema
    • Menopause
    • Mental Health
    • Nutrition
    • Self Care Sunday
    • Sex
    • Shop
    • Sleep
    • Uncategorized
    • We Tried This

    Search by Tags

    • AWS
    • axillary webbing syndrome
    • breast cancer
    • breast reconstruction
    • cancer coaching
    • chemotherapy
    • cleanse
    • compression sleeve
    • cording
    • dehydration
    • diet
    • electrolytes
    • fast
    • glossier
    • hot flash
    • hot flashes
    • implants
    • insomnia
    • lingerie
    • lubrication
    • lumpectomy
    • lymphedema
    • lymph nodes
    • makeup
    • manual lymph drainage
    • mastectomy
    • menopause
    • nutrition
    • pain
    • products
    • prolon
    • prosthetic breast
    • radiation skin care
    • Samantha Harris
    • self care
    • selfcare
    • shopping
    • skin
    • skin care
    • sleep
    • sleep hygiene
    • supplements
    • surgery
    • vaginal dryness
    • wellness

    Recent Comments

      Pages

      • About
      • Cancer Coaching
      • Cart
      • Checkout
      • Contact Us
      • Health & Beauty
      • Home
      • My account
      • Resources
      • Shop

      Categories

      • #Our Stories
      • Ask The Expert!
      • Beauty
      • Cancer Coaching
      • Cover Stories
      • Events
      • Health
      • Health & Beauty
      • How-To
      • Lymphedema
      • Menopause
      • Mental Health
      • Nutrition
      • Self Care Sunday
      • Sex
      • Shop
      • Sleep
      • Uncategorized
      • We Tried This

      Recent Posts

      • All the Lube in the World Won’t Fix your Sex Life
      • Is it me, or is life more stressful lately?
      • Guided Beach Relaxation
      • New! Lymphedema Coaching
      • Is a 40-something Woman too old for Glossier?

      Archives

      • July 2020
      • June 2020
      • May 2020
      • April 2020
      • February 2020
      • November 2019
      • April 2019
      • March 2019
      • January 2019
      • December 2018
      • November 2018
      • October 2018
      • August 2018
      • July 2018
      • June 2018
      • May 2018
      • April 2018
      • March 2018
      • February 2018
      • January 2018
      • December 2017
      • Elara by LyraThemes
      • (c) 2020 #OurTribe