Compression moves on: advances in care are changing practice.

index (BMI) of our population continues to rise, nurses in almost all areas of health care are increasingly faced with managing the heavy limbs and skin problems typical of chronic oedema. Any swelling persisting beyond 3 months is defined as chronic oedema (Moffatt et al, 2003; Lymphoedema Framework, 2006) and is indicative of a lymphatic system that is no longer able to deal with the fluid load, whatever the cause (Mortimer and Rockson, 2014). While insufficiency of the veins or lymphatics is the primary cause, obesity is a known contributor. Lymphoedema brings a 71-fold increased risk over normal (Dupuy et al, 1999), with 29% having a recurrent episode within 12 months (Moffatt et al, 2003). Cellulitis admissions already account for 2–3% of all hospital admissions (Halpern et al, 2008) and the resultant costs are estimated to be in the millions. Research has shown that early identification and management of lymphoedema reduces the morbidity, improves outcomes and reduces health and social costs Compression moves on: advances in care are changing practice