Touch of Sol Massage Therapy

10/25/2025

10/24/2025

🌺 Hormonal Congestion: When the Lymphatic System Holds on to Estrogen

We often think of hormones as purely chemical messengers — but they are also energetic travelers that depend on fluid movement to stay in balance.
When lymphatic flow slows down, these hormones can become trapped in tissue, creating a hidden congestion that affects everything from mood and weight to fertility and inflammation.

Your body’s ability to detoxify estrogen — the most potent and complex female hormone — relies on more than just liver enzymes. It depends on a healthy lymphatic system to carry waste products, metabolites, and inflammatory debris safely out of your tissues.

💧 When Estrogen Doesn’t Leave the Body

Estrogen is metabolized in the liver, bound in the gut, and carried out through bile and lymph fluid.
When any part of that system slows down — due to dehydration, poor diet, tight fascia, or a sedentary lifestyle — estrogen metabolites linger.

This leads to what many call estrogen dominance, where your body may produce a normal amount of estrogen, but can’t clear it efficiently.
The result? Hormonal chaos.

💢 PMS and mood swings
💢 Tender or swollen breasts
💢 Weight gain around hips and thighs
💢 Fluid retention or bloating
💢 Headaches and fatigue
💢 Fibroids or ovarian cysts

This is not always a “hormone problem” — it’s often a drainage problem.

🩸 The Lymph–Hormone Highway

Your lymphatic system surrounds every organ — including the ovaries, uterus, thyroid, and breasts. When this fluid network becomes stagnant, hormonal waste builds up locally.

In women, the inguinal, pelvic, and axillary nodes play a vital role in clearing estrogen metabolites. Congested lymph in these areas can create:
• Breast tenderness and swelling before menstruation
• Pelvic heaviness or pain
• Water retention
• Delayed or painful periods

Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) and movement-based therapies help reopen these pathways, allowing hormones to circulate and clear naturally.

⚖️ The Role of the Liver and Gut

Your liver converts estrogen into water-soluble forms for elimination — but those metabolites still need to exit through bile, stool, and lymph.
If the gut microbiome is unbalanced (particularly with high β-glucuronidase activity), estrogen can be reabsorbed into circulation, creating a hormonal loop.

Supporting these organs through anti-inflammatory nutrition, hydration, and gentle detox practices ensures that estrogen is not recycled, but released.

🌿 How to Support Hormonal Flow

Here’s how to help your body move estrogen out instead of storing it:
💧 Stimulate lymphatic drainage – through MLD, dry brushing, rebounding, or deep breathing.
🥦 Support liver detox – cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, kale, cabbage) and herbs like milk thistle and dandelion.
🦠 Balance gut flora – probiotics and fiber for healthy estrogen metabolism.
🚶‍♀️ Move daily – fascia and lymph rely on physical motion, not intensity.
🛁 Castor oil packs & heat therapy – soften fascial tension, improve circulation, and open drainage.

✨ The Takeaway

When the lymphatic system is open, hormones can flow. When it’s stagnant, hormones pool — leading to symptoms that mimic imbalance.
Healing isn’t only about changing hormones — it’s about restoring flow.

🌺 You don’t need to fight your hormones. You need to help them move.

Written by:
Bianca Botha, CLT, RLD, MLDT, CDS
Founder – Lymphatica: Lymphatic Therapy & Body Detox Facility



Disclaimer:
This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, exercise, or health regimen.

10/12/2025

This is a great time to set up an appointment for a Lymphatic session with me. It will help your immune system during the season changes. You can book online www.touchofsol.massagetherapy.com or call 262-877-4881

08/15/2025

07/26/2025

🦠 What Does Lyme Disease Do to the Lymphatic System?
A scientific look at how Borrelia burgdorferi affects your immune and detox network.

🔹 What Is Lyme Disease?
Lyme disease is a tick-borne infection caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. It spreads through the bite of infected black-legged ticks (deer ticks). Early symptoms include a rash (erythema migrans), flu-like symptoms, and swollen lymph nodes. If left untreated, it can affect joints, the heart, the nervous system, and the lymphatic system.

www.cdc.gov/lyme/index.html

🔹 What Is the Lymphatic System?
The lymphatic system is your body’s immune and drainage system. It includes:
• Lymph nodes (filters)
• Lymph fluid (carries waste and immune cells)
• Lymph vessels (transport system)

It plays a key role in inflammation control, immune defense, and detoxification.

🔬 How Lyme Disease Affects the Lymphatic System

1. Swollen Lymph Nodes (Lymphadenopathy)
Early Lyme can cause regional lymph node swelling, especially near the tick bite.
www.hopkinslyme.org/lyme-disease/diagnosis-symptoms/

2. Immune Evasion & Lymphatic Travel
Borrelia avoids immune detection by:
• Changing surface proteins (antigenic variation)
• Moving through connective tissue and lymph
• Altering lymph node architecture

www.nature.com/articles/nri4136

3. Chronic Inflammation & Lymph Congestion
Persistent Lyme or Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS) may lead to:
• Lymph node fibrosis
• Poor lymph flow
• Immune waste buildup

www.jimmunol.org/content/189/10/4882

4. Neuro-lymphatic Impact (Late-Stage Lyme)
Advanced Lyme may:
• Disrupt glymphatic flow (brain’s lymph system)
• Trigger neuroinflammation
• Cause brain fog and neurological symptoms

www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2021.720543/full

🩺 Signs of Lymphatic Involvement in Lyme
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Puffy face or eyes
• Joint swelling or stiffness
• Chronic fatigue
• Brain fog or sleep disturbance

🌿 Lymph-Supportive Approaches (Adjunct to Treatment)
These are supportive strategies and not a substitute for antibiotics:
• Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD)
• Movement & breathwork
• Anti-inflammatory diet
• Hydration & trace minerals
• Castor oil packs (topical)

Always consult a Lyme-literate practitioner.

📚 Reference Summary with Links
1. www.cdc.gov/lyme/index.html
2. www.hopkinslyme.org/lyme-disease/diagnosis-symptoms/
3. www.nature.com/articles/nri4136
4. www.jimmunol.org/content/189/10/4882
5. www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2021.720543/full

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06/18/2025

I have this in stock and it works so well. It doesn’t make you feel anything from the herbs just calm. It really works instantly when you’re feeling stressed.

06/06/2025

With allergy season in full swing it’s a good time to book a lymphatic Drainage with me at Touch of Sol. Your body will Thank you!

🌿 Allergies & Your Lymphatic System: The Overlooked Link Behind Histamine Havoc

This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your health regimen.

🤧 Introduction: Allergies Aren’t Just a Nose Thing

Allergies are often seen as a surface-level nuisance—a sneeze here, a rash there. But behind the watery eyes and itchy skin lies an intricate immune cascade involving one of the most underestimated systems in the body: the lymphatic system.

Allergic responses aren’t isolated events—they are systemic immune reactions, and the lymphatic system is deeply involved in detecting, processing, and regulating those responses.

🧬 What Are Allergies, Really?

An allergic reaction occurs when the immune system overreacts to a harmless substance (called an allergen), such as pollen, dust, pet dander, mold, or food proteins.

These allergens trigger:
• IgE antibodies (Immunoglobulin E)
• Activation of mast cells and basophils
• A surge of histamine, leukotrienes, and cytokines
• Inflammation and tissue fluid buildup

But where do these reactions originate and escalate? Right in the lymphatic system.

🌿 The Lymphatic System’s Role in Allergic Reactions

The lymphatic system is a fluid transport and immune regulation network that includes:
• Lymphatic vessels: Drain interstitial fluid and return it to the bloodstream
• Lymph nodes: Filter antigens and regulate immune cell activation
• Lymph: Carries immune cells, proteins, and waste
• Organs like the spleen, thymus, and tonsils

Here’s what happens in your lymphatic system during an allergic response:

1. 🚨 Antigen Detection in Lymph Nodes

When an allergen enters the body (via skin, airways, or gut), it is picked up by antigen-presenting cells like dendritic cells. These migrate to the nearest lymph node, where they present the allergen to naive T and B cells.
• B cells class-switch to produce IgE antibodies
• T-helper cells become Th2 polarized, a signature immune skew in allergies

📚 Reference: Akdis CA, “Mechanisms of allergen-specific immunotherapy and immune tolerance to allergens”
World Allergy Organization Journal, 2015
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40413-015-0076-3

2. 💥 Mast Cell Activation and Histamine Flood

Once IgE is formed, it binds to mast cells and basophils, essentially “priming” them. On future allergen exposure, the allergen binds to these IgE-coated cells and triggers massive degranulation:
• Release of histamine
• Vascular permeability increases
• Tissue swelling and fluid leakage
• Lymphatic vessels are overwhelmed trying to drain the fluid

📚 Study: Theoharides TC, “Mast cells and inflammation”, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, 2012
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbadis.2011.10.017

3. 💧 Lymphatic Congestion & Drainage Impairment

Allergic inflammation creates excess interstitial fluid due to:
• Capillary leakage
• Cytokine-induced tissue permeability
• Histamine-driven vasodilation

The lymphatic vessels attempt to drain this fluid, but:
• They can become overloaded or contract less efficiently due to inflammation
• Lymph nodes may become swollen, tender, or hyperreactive
• Fluid stagnation leads to headaches, puffiness, sinus congestion, and fatigue

📚 Study: Kataru RP et al., “Lymphatic dysfunction in chronic inflammation”, Trends in Immunology, 2019
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.it.2019.01.007

4. 🌀 Chronic Allergies & Lymph Node Exhaustion

In persistent allergies (like hay fever or eczema), the lymphatic system is constantly activated:
• Chronic T-cell activation occurs in the nodes
• Repeated immune stimulation leads to lymphoid hyperplasia
• This exhausts the immune balance between tolerance and reactivity

⚠️ Symptoms of Lymphatic Strain in Allergic Individuals
• Puffy face or eyelids
• Swollen lymph nodes (especially in neck or underarms)
• Chronic post-nasal drip
• Sinus pressure
• Bloating after food reactions
• “Heavy head” feeling or foggy brain
• Fluid retention in limbs or under eyes

🛠️ Supportive Strategies for Allergic Lymphatic Relief

✅ 1. Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD)

Reduces fluid load and histamine stagnation in tissue. Especially helpful in:
• Sinus congestion
• Swollen face or neck
• Eczema and hives

✅ 2. Antihistamine Foods and Herbs
• Quercetin
• Nettle leaf
• Vitamin C
• Bromelain
• Omega-3s

These reduce mast cell degranulation and help lymphatics keep up.

✅ 3. Rebounding & Movement

Gentle bouncing stimulates lymphatic circulation and drainage.

✅ 4. Detoxification Support

The liver processes histamine and inflammatory metabolites—keep hepatic flow optimized to reduce the lymph burden.

🧠 Final Thought

The lymphatic system is the first responder and the cleanup crew in allergic reactions. When this system is healthy, your body can buffer allergy flares more effectively. When it’s sluggish, you feel every sneeze, itch, and swelling tenfold.

✨ You don’t just need antihistamines—
You need flow.