Need suggestions for instant relief from cording

Glad to hear you are back home and recovering @Nadi.

@Nadi, how horrible for you. I'm glad you're doing OK now but a definite reminder (especially for those of us with lymphodema) to be vigilant, I know I'm sometimes a bit dismissive of these things. Hope you continue to recover well. Jane xx

Dear @Nadi 
Goodness the fragility of it all!  Thank goodness your collapse was at the right place, instant help!
Your post is a reminder to us all, be mindful of what you may think is just a scratch!  
I just have to knock myself and end up with plum looking marks on the arms or wherever the knock is!  Gawd it does not look pretty!
Take care and best wishes and hopefully onwards and upwards for you
Sending you a virtual hug 

Can't believe how things developed after the last update I posted on 17 Jan. I got very sick again on 22 Jan and my GP sent me to hospital once more with a high temp. This time I collapsed just as I got to the ER.  I am grateful for the doctors and nurses who worked on me in resus to stabilise my high heart rate and very low blood pressure.  I went downhill so quickly that for a brief time I thought there was a possibility that I might not make it. Ended up I was in septic shock. I am out of hospital now and am doing much better.  But I never thought something so small and insignificant such as a scratch / cut  / bite on my hand could get that bad.

@Ward Very simply it's scarring that results from the removal of lymph nodes. Also called axillary web syndrome. It's a tight cord or rope, like a thick guitar string that runs from the armpit or BC surgery scar down your arm that limits movement. Not everyone gets it. See http://beacon.bcna.org.au/2018/04/lymphoedema-need-know/

For me, along with lymphedema cording is an ongoing issue that gets better with stretches, compression sleeves and massage, but it is made worse when I get an infection in my hand as the surrounding tissue and lymphs get swollen again.

What is cording 

Hi @Shamrock81 . I am glad my story can help others. It has now been eight days since my first post. I’ve learnt not to be complacent about lymphedema. I spent 5 days as a hospital-in-the home patient on an IV. In addition I have been back to the hospital 4 times. I reacted badly to the piptax antibiotics and am now on Duo Curofem(?) oral which looks like the size of pill you give to a horse. The cord is still there but is improving everyday. Worst of all is that this little dog nip has cost me a week of lost wages as I am out of sick leave. I now carry a small ‘cuts’ kit which was recommended by the nurses. Any cut and I have betadine iodine and other hospital grade  cleaning swabs and dressings to treat it straight away. Hopefully by getting onto cuts quickly I may be able to avoid all this in future.

This post has been extremely informative. I’m finding the little cuts particularly hard to manage and now I need to take it all more seriously. Cording continues to a nuisance. Grr. 
Cudos for getting to the bottom of your situation. 

Hi @Brenda5 I should clarify, the cuts may actually be nips from a puppy or from rotting vegetation. I have been preparing my home for bushfires as I am in a bushfire prone area and have being doing a lot of gardening work with gloves. Then my friend who was evacuated from her area came to stay with a 15 week old puppy. The puppy is a kelpie and extremely energetic. I got a few playful nips. So the cuts could be those nips or from the gardening of old gum detritus. The doc told me that cuts or beaks in the skin from a dog or from rotting vegetation are more prone to get particular nasty germs. I just didn't put it all together and thought it was a normal cord until I started to get those additional symptoms of fever, painful skin to touch, redness and mottling. Was told after they did the cultures it was because of the dog saliva.

Gee I have had a couple of lots of surface and tumor surgeries on my arm and even a few finger blisters and never had an infection. Touch wood I don't.