Community Nurses

Welcome to the community nurses’ page. Working in the community, you will encounter a wide range of patients who present with long-term swelling, some of these will be chronic oedema, some will be lymphoedema and others will be palliative oedema or palliative lymphoedema. These pages are designed to help you distinguish the different types of chronic oedema and guide you through the causes, presenting symptoms and management strategies, such as compression hosiery for lymphoedema, compression bandaging or the common problem of infection (cellulitis).

Chronic oedema of central origin e.g. caused by cardiac or renal failure should be medically assessed and any intervention commenced with caution only when symptoms/condition are stable or controlled. These patients would require frequent evaluation of their underlying clinical condition.

The following pages have information which Community Nurses identified as their education needs regarding chronic oedema/lymphoedema:

Management of chronic oedema and lymphoedema which includes compression garments and videos of bandaging

Best practice on the management of cellulitis in this group of patients and a pathway for distinguishing between ‘cellulitis’ and “red legs” Cellulitis or Red Legs Flowchart

Palliative Lymphoedema/Oedema and a guide on how to manage weeping skin Lymphorrhoea pathway

Example of a referral pathway – the Glasgow Referral Pathway

Information on accredited Lymphoedema courses in Scotland