Yom Kippur Fast - Lymphedema

I have lymphedema (lymphatic swelling) in both legs, which causes recurrent skin infections of the cellulitis type. I am treated regularly with a penicillin injection once a month, but despite this, infections still appear every few months. According to the doctors’ instructions, if an infection begins I must immediately take a high dose of the antibiotic Cefovit.

Last year, an infection began for me on the night of Yom Kippur. I drank only water in shiurim and did not take antibiotics, and I reached a severe condition that required hospitalization. At the hospital they told me that it is very dangerous not to treat the infection immediately, because if the infection had entered the bloodstream I could have reached a life-threatening situation.

If, God forbid, an infection begins for me on Yom Kippur, what should I do?

Shalom u’vrachah,

As soon as an infection begins for you, you are obligated to take antibiotics.

It is advisable to ask a doctor whether you also need to drink. If drinking is not necessary, take the pills with a small amount of bitter-tasting water [with tea extract, or water that has been salted, etc.].

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