How to choose compression underwear

Compression tights against varicose veins

Compression stockings are widely used to help maintain physiologically correct pressure in a person's lower extremities. Such stockings are used in the complex treatment of varicose veins, as well as the prevention of this disease. In medicine, special underwear for veins is called a medical jersey. It is also called compression or anti-varicose vein underwear, medical leotard.

Tights, socks and compression knee socks for varicose veins are recommended by phlebologists. Such underwear should also be worn with thrombosis, thrombophlebitis, lymphedema and other vascular problems of the extremities.

What kind of compression underwear is and which is better - compression tights or stockings, the doctor will tell and recommend during the appointment.

The therapeutic effect of using such underwear is shown in the fact that stockings, leggings or tights support the vessels and compress the dilated vein. This in turn distributes the blood flow evenly from dilated vessels to healthy ones.

Such underwear will help activate blood circulation and 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 it is also a good way to prevent varicose veins from progressing and helps keep the veins in a physiological state.

How does compression underwear work for varicose veins?

Back when medical knitwear was not made, elastic bandages were used on varicose veins. However, there are several significant disadvantages to their use.

  • First of all, it is necessary to put on elastic bandages for a long period of time, and in order to achieve the desired effect, it must be done correctly.
  • An important disadvantage is the inability to wear an elastic bandage all the time. The unaesthetic appearance does not allow for daily wear, while, for example, compression underwear and knitwear from other modern manufacturers look very beautiful and aesthetically pleasing.
  • Despite the low price of the bandages, it will not be possible to save money on wearing them. Eventually, such a bandage becomes unusable very quickly. Therefore, it is better to learn how to choose quality knitwear and buy compression underwear for varicose veins.

What is compression underwear used for and what is its effect? This knitted fabric compresses the dilated veins and speeds up blood flow through the deep veins. This removes venous congestion, which is a prerequisite for the development of varicose veins. If you are interested in which compression underwear is better for varicose veins, you should consider that buying high-quality products is worthwhile. Because high-quality branded knitwear ensures a graduated, i. e. gradual, pressure drop from the wrist to the shoulder or from the lower leg to the thigh.

A good online shop for compression underwear for varicose veins, for example, offers stockings that exert maximum (100%) pressure in the lower leg area and partial (40%) pressure in the thigh area. This distribution is correct from a physiological point of view and therefore offers the greatest therapeutic effect. With this type of pressure distribution, the blood flow is normalized by the following effect:

  • The work of the valve device improves and returns to normal.
  • The enlarged lumen of the peripheral veins of the thighs and lower legs, especially the subcutaneous ones, decreases.
  • The muscle pump effect is strengthened. When the muscles contract during exercise, the blood is pushed upwards.

Effective compression underwear for pregnant women. However, during pregnancy, you need to choose such a jersey according to the individual recommendations of a doctor.

How do you choose compression stockings?

Before choosing compression stockings for varicose veins, it is necessary to realize that such underwear cannot eliminate serious causes of venous insufficiency. Therefore, it is used before any radical treatment. Medical Jersey simulates the situation as if the veins had widened, removed or sealed.

In addition, it is important to understand that non-surgical treatment for leg disorders should always be comprehensive. Only in this case will the effect be maximized. It is very important not only to wear compression garments, but also to use ointments and creams prescribed by a doctor, practice folk remedies for the prevention and treatment of varicose veins, and lead a healthy lifestyle.

In order for the effect to be most noticeable, it is important to choose the right medical underwear. In this case, it is necessary to take into account not only the reviews to be read on the network and the prices of bed linen, but also the quality and compression classes.

Compression stockings are usually divided into three types:

  • Hospital - that is, one that is used exclusively in a hospital;
  • medical;
  • prophylactic.

But regardless of whether a jersey is needed for treatment or prevention, it should only be bought from specialist retailers or sales outlets that are official distributors of medically recognized manufacturers of such underwear. It is important that in such stores, consumers are supported in choosing the correct size for the jersey, as the effectiveness of the treatment will depend on it. To find the perfect underwear, the seller first measures the leg in four places. Next, a special size chart is used, according to which stockings or tights are selected.

You can buy underwear in four compression levels:

  • First class compression(18-21 mm Hg) - Preventive jersey, which is indicated to be worn in the following cases:
    • during pregnancy;
    • with a tendency to varicose veins;
    • at the first symptoms of varicose veins: if the veins are visible under the skin, the legs hurt after standing or sitting for a long time, you can see pronounced spider veins on the legs, and edema appears in the evening;
    • when a person leads a lifestyle that forces them 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 to treat varicose veins, thrombophlebitis. The hospital also uses compression class 2 hospital knitwear.
  • Third compression class(34-46 mm Hg) - Compression tights of this class are used in patients with trophic disease and severe venous insufficiency.
  • Fourth compression class(from 49 mm Hg) - this class is used very rarely - for men and women with lymphedema.

Before buying stockings or tights against varicose veins, you should think carefully about what type of underwear is better to buy. If you are buying anti-varicose vein tights for the first time, you shouldn't choose the 2nd compression class straight away. Ultimately, this may be too much compression on the vasculature.

First, it is better to buy cheap underwear - the price of first-class compression tights from some companies will be quite acceptable. After wearing it and gradually getting used to such underwear, you can later buy more expensive orthopedic tights for varicose veins.

Only class 1 underwear is used for prevention. If a person already develops varicose veins, a phlebologist will help you choose a pair of tights. Also, ask your doctor about choosing compression tights for pregnant women so that the mother-to-be will feel comfortable wearing such underwear. In this case, it is important to choose the size of anti-varicose vein tights or stockings so that they do not cause noticeable discomfort.

But no matter how enthusiastic the reviews of this or that underwear are, you need to understand that with their help, varicose veins cannot be cured, since wearing underwear does not eliminate the causes of the disease. Compression stockings help stop the disease from developing and prevent new varicose veins from developing.

In hot summer weather, it is impossible to wear such underwear. Therefore, in the summer you need to take drugs for varicose veins and use other methods of fighting this disease.

In order not to damage the product and get the greatest effect, you need to know how to properly put on compression tights - this is indicated in the instructions.

Regardless of the price of such laundry, the compression can be held for about 5-7 months.

What should be considered when buying compression stockings?

Before buying such underwear, you need to know exactly how to choose the right compression stockings for varicose veins. Specific quality standards have been defined for compression clothing. The most important and strictest among them is the European RAL-GZ-387.

Pressure distribution of compression tights in varicose veins

Every manufacturer who wants to produce matching knitwear must first go through a very strict certification in Switzerland or Germany. So, if elastic orthopedic stockings for varicose veins have such a certificate, it indicates their high quality. Knitwear with such a certificate provides a pressure that is distributed over the limbs (40-70-100%) and is healing. The standard is evidenced by the packaging of the products, as well as the presence of a special label.

To choose a good product, you need to focus not only on how much such knee socks or stockings cost, but above all on the manufacturer and the proven point of sale of the goods. In fact, in the domestic market, it is very easy to go wrong and buy counterfeit medical stockings or tights. In addition, in specialty stores, the buyer is definitely asked to determine the size, both for men and 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. Hence, you don't need to focus on user reviews, but more importantly on personal feelings. The bed linen must have the Oeko-Tex Standard 10 symbol of the European environmental standard - this guarantees that the product is made from an allergy-free material.

How do you put on compression stockings correctly?

When buying medical jerseys, you need to know how to put on and properly wear such underwear.

Most often, people who want to prevent varicose veins from progressing wear Class 2 compression stockings. Finally, Class 2 compression stockings are often the most acceptable in terms of both efficiency and price to the patient. Nevertheless, it often happens that products of the 2nd degree of compression are very uncomfortable for a person. In addition, the 2nd class of compression mostly proves to be uncomfortable for men and women, precisely because a person is not wearing such a product properly. After all, like children's tights, they cannot be gathered into an accordion and pulled up to the thigh. Both tights and knee socks or stockings should be pulled on slowly, gradually stretching them over the leg.

Put on compression stockings if you have varicose veins

Such underwear will be difficult to wear for obese people. To make this process easier, special tools can be purchased in the store. How much such devices cost depends on the manufacturer. Compression knitwear should be worn with gloves to avoid damaging the laundry with nails. Also, laundry glides better when a person wears medical or other gloves.

If the second compression class underwear is uncomfortable to wear, in some cases you can limit yourself to the first class. In addition, the price for compression stockings in compression class 1 is lower for women and men. However, the price of stockings against varicose veins on the legs depends on other factors.

A person wearing medical jersey should have smooth feet - without roughness, calluses. Cut your toenails short and file them down to avoid puffing your laundry.

It is better to put on such underwear in the morning on rested and, accordingly, not swollen limbs. In this case, both legs and leotards must be completely dry.

For those who are interested in whether it is possible to sleep in such stockings, you need to understand that it is not necessary, since the stress on the limbs during sleep is minimal.

If the phlebologist has prescribed the patient to wear class 3 products, putting them on is made more difficult and accordingly more time has to be spent on them. For this it is better to use special equipment.

If the size chart seems unclear on a certain website, it is better to ask a specialist how to choose the size of compression stockings for surgery or everyday life. Because if the size is chosen incorrectly, putting on and wearing such underwear will be extremely uncomfortable.

It is important to properly care for these items and to know how to wash and dry them.

Care of compression clothing

When buying orthopedic underwear for women and men, you need to remember that it is most convenient to have at least two pairs of such jerseys. After all, you need to wash it daily to remove dust, dirt, and dead skin particles that can damage the fibers of the laundry very quickly.

Washing is only done by hand with baby soap. Such laundry cannot be washed in a typewriter. You need to wash at a temperature not exceeding 40 ° C. It is forbidden to iron and bleach it. Also, do not use conditioners and rinses. Ultimately, they also destroy the structure of the constricting tissue.

Dry the compression stockings by spreading them out on a horizontal surface. You can't twist and wring it out, you can easily get wet with a towel. Drying the jersey in the sun, the battery in a vertical position is not allowed.

Special care is required with the silicone strips, which are important for securing the laundry. When washing, it is better not to get them wet and wipe them with a disinfectant napkin.

What to wear with such products depends on the woman's taste. But knitwear from modern manufacturers, as a rule, is very beautiful and elegant.

Contraindications to wearing compression garments

Before choosing compression knee socks for varicose veins, you need to know exactly whether the patient has any contraindications to wearing them. Medical jersey has several such contraindications.

There are categorical contraindications, as well as relative contraindications, when it is allowed to wear such a jersey after consulting doctors - a cardiologist, dermatologist, endocrinologist.

Wearing a medical jersey is absolutely contraindicated with such diseases:

  • Arteriosclerosis;
  • Endoarteritis;
  • Orthoarteritis;
  • Thromboangiitis obliterans.

In such conditions, the lumen of the vessels decreases, and the systolic blood pressure drops to 80 mm. rt. Art. It is therefore strictly forbidden to reduce the pressure in the lower extremities.

Compression clothing should be worn very carefully if there are skin problems and skin sensitivity is high.

With allergic phenomena and inflammatory processes on the skin, as well as with dermatitis, pressure ulcers, eczema, thrombophlebitis, open wounds, you should not wear stockings or tights.

If varicose veins manifest as a result of diabetes, then such underwear should also be avoided. Compression stockings are not used in cases of septic phlebitis, severe cardiopulmonary insufficiency, or circulatory disorders at rest.

You may also find the opinion that jersey can provoke atrophy of the muscular layer of the vein walls. If a person stops wearing medical underwear, the opposite effect is likely, causing the vein wall to stretch and varicose veins to progress even further.

Of course, in a person wearing such underwear, there is no way to check the condition of every vein. However, most phlebologists consider this theory to be false and provide the following evidence to support it:

  • a person cannot wear a medical jersey 24/7;
  • when the veins are compressed, the blood flow in them decreases, but it does not stop;
  • as a rule, atrophy of the muscle wall develops when a person has a genetic predisposition, as well as when a locally specific inflammatory process with venous stasis develops, and with the use of knitwear these phenomena decrease;
  • sometimes after stopping washing, a person feels a little worse at first, as the tone of the vein wall decreases for a while, but we are not talking about atrophy.

Also, after wearing such underwear ends, people with varicose veins may feel that walking has become more difficult for them. Hence, many people choose not to give up wearing it.

Thus, compression stockings that have been used for many decades are a convenient and effective way to prevent and treat varicose veins. Before using it, however, you must consult a phlebologist. The doctor will determine the patient's condition and help choose the most suitable product.