We recommend certain Compression Stockings / Socks for medical conditions, traveling and everyday wear. The following information and Compression Sock Guide explains the category for each different medical condition you may have. This Compression Sock Guide helps you determine the best and efficient compression garment for your uses to improve your vascular circulation. These medical conditions include Diabetes / Edema / Frequent Flyers / Pregnancy / Varicose Veins / Spider Veins / Pre-Operative / Post-Operative.
Diabetes
Diabetes is a condition where the body can’t process sugars in a regular way. This can cause problems for the entire body. Which includes de-sensitized extremities, poor eyesight, and damage to the heart, kidneys, nerves, and veins. If you have diabetes, you should be seeing a physician regularly.
One of the complications of diabetes is the feet become numb. When this happens, circulation is reduced, meaning that small cuts, bruises, or blisters can take a long time to heal. This can lead to ulcerations on the feet, infections, and if left untreated, amputations. It is very important for a diabetic to have soft, seamless socks and hose to reduce the risk of damage to the feet. This is exacerbated by an increased vulnerability to fungal infections, like athlete’s foot and chronic foot odor.
We recommend a diabetic sock. The combine soft, fitted comfort helps reduce the risk of venous ulcers, with a soft padded sole for added foot protection.
Edema
Edema is the swelling of tissues from fluid retention. This can be caused by a number of things. Including poor circulation, heavy sodium intake, pregnancy, burns, and a host of more serious health problems such as heart liver, or kidney failure. In essence, if swelling persists, contact a physician.
Treatment for swelling can include elevating the legs above the heart to lower fluid pressure. Also, using graduated compression hosiery to supplement the vein’s ability to return blood from the lower legs up to the rest of the body. A lot of individuals experience the – pooling of blood – in the ankles. That’s why the compression is strongest at the ankle and decreases up the leg. This process aids in pressing the fluids out of the swollen and tender parts of the lower leg especially the ankle area.
If you have edema, ask your physician about graduated compression socks for leg swelling. These stockings help to alleviate your tired, achy legs. Experience the comfort, quality and relief, for healthier legs!
Wear your stockings when you fly. Take an aspirin, drink plenty of water, and stretch your legs as much as you can. An article in the The Wall Street Journal*, on May 12, 2004, reminded us that Economy Class Syndrome is a real danger.
The article reads:
“Squeezed into the middle of a five-seat row, with surly neighbors that she didn’t want to keep climbing over, Adrienne Rodriguez says she slept through the 12-hour flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia. When she got off the Air New Zealand jet, she collapsed and was rushed to a hospital. A CAT scan revealed a blood clot in her leg and three tiny embolisms in her lungs that, luckily, were too tiny to kill her.”
“Nicknamed ‘Economy Class Syndrome‘, the ailment is characterized by blood clots that form in legs, often after sitting in cramped spaced for extended periods.”
If those blood clots dislodge, travel and block the pulmonary artery, they can cause a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism. In a 1986 a medical study. It showed that pulmonary embolism was the second leading cause of in-flight or post flight death in London’s Heathrow airport between 1979 and 1983.
Also, Paul L. F. Giangrande, BSC, MD. wrote an article called Thrombosis and air travel, for the Journal of Travel Medicine; Oxford Vol. 7, Iss. 3, (May/Jun 2000): 149, how Air Travel is associated with a RISK of /Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism, which may be FATAL!
Risk factors are increased when flying because:
- Cramped seats in economy class.
- Low humidity in the cabin.
- Lowered oxygen levels.
- Fluid loss as a result of drinking alcoholic beverages.
- Insufficient fluid intake (non-alcoholic).
- Sitting with legs in dependent position for lengthy periods.
- All these factors can lead to dehydration, stagnant blood flow, and an increase in the ability of the blood to coagulate.
AVOID THE RISK!
It is quite easy to avoid “economy class syndrome” with a few simple measures:
- Take some aspirin
- Drink at least 1 quart of non-alcoholic, caffeine free fluid for every five hours of flight.
- Get up and walk in the aisles for 5 minutes every hour or move your legs and feet for 5 minutes every hour.
- Keep alcoholic beverages to a minimum.
- After injury or surgery, it may be wise to wait 6 weeks before air travel. Check with your doctor.
- Wear…graduated compression hosiery…during the flight.
Pregnancy creates a number of profound physiological changes and stresses on a woman’s body. The additional weight and fluid retention can weaken the veins in the leg. This limits their ability to bring blood back up to the heart. This can lead to swelling, spider veins, or even varicose veins.
An excellent preventative step would be graduated compression hosiery. By gently squeezing the legs with more pressure at the ankle and less at the top of the leg. Graduated compression hose can alleviate the symptoms of tired and achy legs associated with maternity.
Varicose Veins
Varicose veins are both unhealthy and unattractive enlargement of the veins in the leg, especially those just beneath the skin. The vein walls become weak and can’t maintain their shape and size and bulge out against the skin in unsightly ropes. Even worse, the veins can no longer function properly in pushing blood back up the leg to the heart, which in turn restricts blood flow to the lower leg. For this reason, the blood pools, resulting in achy, tired legs. This problem is made worse by any condition that increases blood pressure in the legs. Problems such as, overweight, pregnancy, or lack of exercise. In severe cases, sclerotherapy or surgery is required to restore normal function.
Also, graduated compression support hose can help prevent or alleviate varicose veins. By holding the veins in, the stockings can assist in return blood flow, even when the valves in the vein begin losing their ability to push blood back up the leg.
We recommend…
With all things considered, there are other things you can do. Proper diet and exercise, elevating your legs, and wearing looser clothing can all help reduce the risk of varicose veins. Try not to stay in one position for too long, especially in long flights or seated at a desk. Elevating your feet above your heart several times during the day can also reduce the pressure on the vein walls. If your medical condition is in question, please refer back to our compression socks guide. Most in important, please contact your physician who knows your medical history / condition, to give you the best advice.