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).
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