Why can’t I get a MLD treatment if I have an active infection?

Unfortunately, we can’t give a Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) treatment to a person who has an active infection, bacterial or viral.

“Why?!” you ask in frustration, “Isn’t MLD supposed to be great for the immune system?!?!”

Yes, you’re right. MLD is a great way to activate your immune system. However, a body that is currently fighting an infection has been activated. While fighting that infection, your body has already sent out extra immune system fighter cells to take care of whatever issue you might have. As such, your system is already working at max capacity.

To ask it to do more runs the risk of unnecessarily stressing out your lymphatic system, dehydrating you, and overall making you feel worse than you already do. Like hit by a truck worse. Nobody wants that.

What are the signs of an active infection?

• Redness

• Swelling

• Pain and/or tenderness 

• Heat (including warmth in a specific place and chills/sweats)

And, in the “maybe/depends” category:

• Swollen lymph nodes

Sometimes your body doesn’t show any of these other symptoms, but you have swollen lymph nodes in your neck, behind your ears, or in the creases of your arms or legs. Lots of bodies are silently processing an extra lymphatic load without even knowing it.

This is where the specialist training, clinical reasoning, and experience come in: we will work on you and your body on a case-by-case basis and refer you out if we think it’s necessary.