Should I wear compression socks?

What are compression socks?

Compression stockings are specialized socks that cover from your ankle to your knee and sometimes as high as your thigh. The socks are tight and provide graduated pressure up the leg. Compression socks or stockings are pretty effective for treating a certain type of disorders.  These may include varicose veins, chronic circulatory diseases, diabetics, chronic venous insufficiency, lymphedema, thrombosis and many other types of conditions, the purpose of the compression sock is to help reduce the edema of the legs, to prevent blood pooling, to help improve circulation and help reduce the risk of blood clot formation.

Why Wear Them

If you have been advised by your doctor to wear compression stockings, then you should probably ensure that you wear them each day – unless you’ve been instructed otherwise. Along with helping to prevent harmful and dangerous blood clots from forming, they are also sometimes used by individuals who have chronic venous insufficiency or varicose veins. Those who are known to have lymphedema or anyone suffering from post-phlebitis syndrome are also advised to wear them.

Who Should Wear Compression Socks

People who are diabetic will sometimes wear compression stockings in order to help prevent the occurrence of leg ulcers or to heal them.

If you have been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, compression stockings could be a huge benefit to you and your personal health. They are often worn for this condition because it causes the veins in the legs to be unable to pump the right amount of blood back to the heart. This can cause the legs and ankles to swell up; compression stockings help to reduce the amount of swelling that occurs.

If you suffer from varicose veins, you will typically have enlarged veins that may be swollen after you’ve been on your feet for a lengthy period of time. These veins can be very painful and can also be connected with various other blood circulation problems. People who have varicose veins will wear these stockings on a daily basis – as a treatment for their condition.

Lymphedema is a condition where arms or legs will swell up due to blockages in the body that do not allow the lymph fluids to drain in the correct manner. Individuals with this condition will wear these stockings at night and also elevate their legs in order to reduce the amount of swelling that occurs.

When to wear them

The socks should be removed at night time or when sleeping. Compression socks should be put on before getting out of the bed in the morning and be worn throughout the day. One should also rest and elevate the foot and leg area to reduce pain and inflammation. To wear compression socks will depend on the patient’s condition and also the risk of developing blood clots. Some conditions require a long-term solution or even a lifelong use.

There are no known complications with wearing compression stockings; however, there will be a sustainable amount of time before completely adjusting. You might complain of warm legs if wearing the socks in hot weather all day long. If you have an increased risk of forming blood clots in the leg, you should wear the stockings all day, removing them at night. For those with varicose veins and venous ulcers, they should be worn for years.