Compression stockings are widely used to maintain the correct, in terms of physiology, pressure in a person's lower limbs. Such stockings are used in the complex treatment of varicose veins, as well as for the prevention of this disease. In medicine, special vein underwear is called a medical shirt. It is also called compression underwear or anti varicose, medical shirt.
Compression stockings, stockings, and knee-highs for varicose veins are recommended to be worn by phlebologists. Such underwear should also be worn for thrombosis, thrombophlebitis, lymphedema and other problems with the blood vessels of the extremities.
What kind of compression underwear is, which is better: compression tights or stockings, the doctor will tell and recommend during the appointment.
The therapeutic effect when using such underwear is manifested due to the fact that stockings, leggings or tights support the vessels, tighten the dilated vein. This, in turn, evenly redistributes blood flow from dilated to healthy vessels.
Such underwear helps to activate blood circulation, improve tissue nutrition.
Choosing the right compression stockings can help reduce the risk of blood clots.
Another important argument in favor of using such underwear is that there are almost no contraindications to the use of medical knitwear. It does not cause side effects, but at the same time it is a good method to prevent the progression of varicose veins and helps keep the veins in a physiological state.
How does the compression garment work for varicose veins?
Previously, when medical knitwear was not produced, elastic bandages were used for varicose veins. However, their use has several significant drawbacks.
- First of all, elastic bandages must be applied for a long time, and to achieve the desired effect, this must be done correctly.
- A major drawback is the inability to always wear an elastic bandage. The non-aesthetic appearance does not allow it to be worn every day, while, for example, underwear and compression knitwear from other modern manufacturers look very beautiful and aesthetically pleasing.
- Despite the fact that the bandages have a low price, it will not be possible to save money by wearing them. After all, such a bandage very quickly becomes unusable. Therefore, it is better to learn how to choose high-quality knitwear and buy compression underwear for varicose veins.
What is compression underwear used for and what is its effect? By compressing the dilated veins, this knitted fabric accelerates blood flow through the deep veins. As a result, venous stasis is eliminated, which is a prerequisite for the development of varicose veins. Those interested in which compression underwear is best for varicose veins should take into account that it is worth buying high-quality products. After all, high-quality branded knitwear provides a gradual decrease in pressure from the wrist to the shoulder or from the lower leg to the thigh.
For example, a good online store for compression underwear for varicose veins offers stockings that provide maximum (100%) pressure in the lower leg and partial (40%) pressure in the thigh area. It is this distribution that is the most correct from a physiological point of view, therefore it provides the greatest therapeutic effect. With this mode of pressure distribution, blood outflow is normalized due to the following effect:
- The work of the valve apparatus improves and returns to normal.
- The dilated lumen of the peripheral veins of the thighs and lower limbs, especially subcutaneous, decreases.
- The effect of the muscle pump is increased. When the muscles contract during exercise, the blood is pushed upwards.
Effective compression underwear for pregnant women. But during pregnancy, it is necessary to select such a shirt, guided by the individual recommendations of a doctor.
How to choose compression stockings?
Before choosing compression stockings for varicose veins, it is necessary to clearly understand that such underwear cannot eliminate serious causes of venous insufficiency. Therefore, it is used before radical treatment. The medical shirt simulates the situation as if the veins have expanded, removed or sealed.
In addition, it is important to understand that non-surgical treatment of leg diseases should always be comprehensive. Only in this case the effect will be maximized. It is very important not only to wear compression underwear, but also to use ointments and creams prescribed by a doctor, to practice folk remedies for the prevention and treatment of varicose veins, and also to lead a healthy lifestyle.
In order for the effect to be more noticeable, it is important to choose the right medical underwear. In this case, it is necessary to take into account not only the reviews that can be read on the net and the prices of linen, but also its quality, compression classes.
Compression stockings are generally divided into three types:
- hospital - that is, one that is used exclusively in a hospital;
- doctor;
- prophylactic.
But, regardless of whether the shirt is necessary for treatment or for prevention, it should be purchased exclusively in specialized stores or at official outlets of manufacturers of such underwear recognized by doctors. It is important that in such shops consumers are assisted in choosing the right size for the shirt, as the effectiveness of the treatment depends on this. To find the perfect underwear, the seller first measures the leg in four places. Next, a special size table is used, according to which stockings or tights are selected.
You can buy underwear in four degrees of compression:
- First-class compression(18-21 mm Hg) - preventive mesh, the use of which is indicated in the following cases:
- during pregnancy;
- with a tendency to varicose veins;
- in the presence of the initial symptoms of varicose veins: if the veins are noticeable under the skin, after a prolonged stop or sitting, the legs hurt, it is possible to distinguish pronounced spider veins on the legs, and edema appears in the evening;
- if a person leads a lifestyle in which she is forced to sit or stand a lot - in the office, driving a car, behind a counter, etc.
- Second compression class(23-32 mm Hg) - the most popular underwear. Compression stockings of the 2nd compression class are used for the treatment of varicose veins, thrombophlebitis. The hospital also uses hospital compression class 2 knitwear.
- Third compression class(34-46 mm Hg) - compression tights of this class are used for patients with trophic disorders and severe venous insufficiency.
- Fourth compression class(from 49 mm Hg) - this class is used very rarely - for men and women with lymphatic edema.
Before buying stockings or tights for varicose veins, you should decide exactly what kind of underwear is best to buy. Those who buy anti-varicose tights for the first time do not have to immediately choose the 2nd compression class. After all, it may be that this will be too strong a squeeze for the vascular system.
First, it is better to buy cheap underwear - the price of first-class compression tights from some companies will be quite acceptable. After putting it on and gradually getting used to such underwear, later you can buy more expensive orthopedic tights for varicose veins.
For the purpose of prevention, only class 1 underwear is used. If a person is already developing varicose veins, a phlebologist will help you choose pantyhose. You should also ask your doctor how to choose compression tights for pregnant women so that the expectant mother feels good when she is wearing such underwear. In this case it is important to choose the size of the anti-varicose tights or stockings so that they do not cause perceptible discomfort.
But no matter how enthusiastic the reviews about this or that underwear are, you need to understand that it will not work to cure varicose veins with its help, since wearing underwear does not eliminate the causes of the disease. Compression stockings help stop the development of the disease and prevent the appearance of new varicose veins.
In hot summer, it is impossible to wear such underwear, therefore, during the summer, it is necessary to use drugs for varicose veins and use other methods to combat this disease.
In order not to damage the product and achieve maximum effect, you need to know how to put on compression tights correctly - this is indicated in the instructions.
Regardless of the price of such flax, it can hold squeeze for about 5-7 months.
What do you need to know when buying compression socks?
Before buying such underwear, you need to clearly know how to choose the right compression stockings for varicose veins. Specific quality standards have been defined for compression garments. The most important and strict of these is the European RAL-GZ-387.
Any manufacturer looking to produce knitwear that matches it must initially go through a very strict certification in Switzerland or Germany. Therefore, if the elastic orthopedic stockings for varicose veins have such a certificate, this indicates its high quality. Knitwear with such a certificate provides distributed pressure on the limb (40-70-100%) and is curative. The standard is evidenced by the packaging of the products, as well as by the presence of a special label.
To choose a good product, you need to focus not only on how much such knee-highs or socks cost, but, first of all, on the manufacturer and proven point of sale of the goods. Indeed, in the domestic market it is very easy to go wrong and buy fake medical stockings or pantyhose. In addition, in specialized stores, the buyer will certainly be asked about how to determine the size, both for men and for women. In trusted stores, you need to buy compression stockings for pregnant women.
Since medical underwear is worn on a daily basis, it is very important to choose a hypoallergenic model. Therefore, it is necessary to focus not on user reviews, but, first of all, on personal feelings. The Oeko-Tex Standard 10 sign of the European eco-compatibility standard must be present on the linen: this guarantees that the product is made with a hypoallergenic material.
How to wear compression stockings correctly?
When buying medicated shirts, you need to know how to wear and how to wear such underwear correctly.
Most often, people trying to prevent the progression of varicose veins wear class 2 compression stockings. After all, both the efficiency and price of class 2 compression stockings are often the most acceptable to the patient. However, it often happens that 2nd degree compression products are very uncomfortable for a person to wear. In addition, very often the 2nd compression class for men and women is uncomfortable precisely because a person does not wear such a product correctly. After all, it cannot be worn as a pantyhose for a child, gathered accordion and pulling the stocking up to the thigh. Both tights and knee-highs or stockings should be worn slowly, gradually straightening them on the leg.
Such underwear will be difficult for obese people to wear. To facilitate this process, you can purchase special tools at the store. How much such devices cost depends on the manufacturer. Compression knitwear should be worn with gloves so as not to damage the linen with your fingernails. Also, if a person is wearing medical or other gloves, the linen slips better.
If second-class compression underwear is uncomfortable to wear, you can limit yourself to first-class in some cases. In addition, the price of class 1 compression socks for women and men is lower. However, the price of stockings for varicose veins on the legs depends on other factors.
A person wearing the medical shirt should have smooth feet, without roughness, calluses. Trim your toenails short and file them to avoid puffs on the laundry.
It is better to wear such underwear in the morning, on rested and, as a result, not swollen limbs. In this case both the legs and the shirts must be completely dry.
For those who are interested in the possibility of sleeping in such socks, it is necessary to understand that it is not necessary, since during sleep the load on the limbs is minimal.
If the phlebologist has prescribed the patient to wear class 3 products, it will be more difficult to wear them and, as a result, it will be necessary to spend more time on this. For this, it is better to use special devices.
If the size chart provided on a particular site seems unclear, it is best to ask a specialist how to choose the size of compression stockings for surgery or for everyday use. After all, if the size is chosen incorrectly, both wearing and wearing such underwear will be extremely uncomfortable.
It is important to take good care of these items and to know how to wash and dry them.
Compression garment care
When buying orthopedic underwear for women and men, you need to consider that it is more convenient to have at least two pairs of such a shirt. After all, you need to wash it daily to get rid of dust, debris and dead skin particles, which can damage the laundry fibers very quickly.
Washing is done by hand only, using baby soap. Such linen cannot be washed in a typewriter. It is necessary to wash at a temperature not exceeding 40 ° C. It is forbidden to iron and bleach. Also, don't use conditioners and rinses. After all, they also destroy the structure of the constricting tissue.
Dry the compression hosiery by spreading it out on a horizontal surface. You can't twist and wring it, you can get wet easily with a towel. The drying of the shirt in the sun, the battery in an upright position is not allowed.
You have to be very careful with the silicone strips, which are important for fixing the laundry. When washing, it is better not to wet them and wipe them with a disinfectant napkin.
What to wear with such products depends on the woman's taste. But, as a rule, modern manufacturers' knitwear looks very beautiful and stylish.
Contraindications for wearing compression underwear
Before choosing compression socks for varicose veins, it is necessary to clearly know whether the patient has any contraindications to wearing them. The medical shirt has many of these contraindications.
There are categorical contraindications, in addition to relative ones, in which it is allowed to wear such a shirt after consulting doctors: a cardiologist, a dermatologist, an endocrinologist.
Wearing a medical shirt is absolutely contraindicated for such diseases:
- atherosclerosis;
- endarteritis;
- orthoarteritis;
- thromboangiitis obliterans.
Under such conditions, the lumen of the vessels decreases and the systolic blood pressure drops to 80 mm. rt. Art. , Therefore, it is strictly forbidden to reduce the pressure in the lower limbs.
Compression clothing should be worn very carefully for those who have skin problems and high skin sensitivity.
Do not wear stockings or tights for allergic manifestations and inflammatory processes on the skin, as well as for dermatitis, bedsores, eczema, thrombophlebitis, open wounds.
If varicose veins appear due to diabetes, then such underwear should also not be used. Compression stockings are not used in case of septic phlebitis, severe cardiopulmonary insufficiency, if circulatory problems occur at rest.
You can also find the opinion that the mesh can provoke atrophy of the muscular layer of the walls of the veins. When a person stops wearing medical underwear, the opposite effect is likely, as a result of which the vein wall will stretch and varicose veins will progress even more.
Of course, there is no way to check the condition of every vein in a person wearing such underwear. However, most phlebologists consider this theory to be incorrect, citing the following evidence in favor of this:
- a person cannot wear the medical shirt all day;
- if the veins are compressed, the blood flow in them decreases, but does not stop;
- as a rule, muscle wall atrophy develops if a person has a genetic disposition, as well as if a local specific inflammatory process with venous stasis develops, and when using knitwear, these phenomena decrease;
- sometimes, after stopping the use of linen, a person initially feels a little worse, as for a while the tone of the venous wall decreases, but we are not talking about atrophy.
Also, after the end of the period of wearing such underwear, people with varicose veins may feel that it has become more difficult for them to walk. Therefore, many people choose not to give up wearing it.
Therefore, compression garments, which have been used for many decades, are a convenient and effective method for the prevention and treatment of varicose veins. However, before starting to use it, it is necessary to consult a phlebologist. The doctor will determine what the patient's condition is and will help choose the most suitable product.