To maintain the physiologically correct pressure in the lower extremities, in complex therapy and prevention of varicose veins, compression stockings are often used today.
In the medical literature, such special underwear is also referred to as medical hosiery, anti-varicose veins, compression underwear or medical compression stockings.
These are hosiery that are recommended by phlebologists for the treatment and prevention of various problems of the blood vessels of the legs. Compression underwear is mainly used for varicose veins, thrombosis, epithelializing trophic ulcers, thrombophlebitis, lymphedema.
- The therapeutic effect of compression garments is based on the supportive, squeezing effect of the dilated vein, which contributes to the redistribution of blood flow from altered dilated veins to healthy ones.
- It improves tissue nutrition, increases blood circulation
- The most important thing is that when properly used and sized, such a jersey will reduce the risk of blood clots.
- And what is also important, since there are no contraindications to the use of compression garments, there are no side effects. This is a safe and easy way to prevent varicose veins and keep the veins in a natural, physiological state.
The therapeutic effect of compression tights on varicose veins?
In the past, before the mass production of high quality medical underwear, elastic bandages were widely used, the use of which has a number of disadvantages:
- First, they should be used very correctly every time, which doesn't always work and takes a lot of time
- Secondly, the appearance of the bandages does not allow them to be worn at work, for example
- thirdly, the low price turns out to be deceptive for them, since the bandages deteriorate very quickly, negating any savings.
What is the effect of using medical medical jersey? When the enlarged veins are compressed, compression stockings for varicose veins accelerate the flow of blood through the deep veins, thereby eliminating venous congestion. In addition, high-quality modern compression stockings ensure a graduated, i. e. H. gradual pressure reduction from the lower leg to the upper leg or from the hand to the shoulder.
For example, the pressure generated by compression stockings or tights is a maximum of 100% in the lower part of the leg and 40% in the upper part of the thigh. This is the most appropriate and physiologically conditioned change in pressure that has a therapeutic effect. This type of pressure distribution on the veins stimulates and normalizes the upward flow of blood through:
- Improvement and normalization of the valve apparatus
- Reduction of the enlarged lumen of the peripheral, especially the trunk veins of the thighs and lower legs
- Increases the effect of the muscle pump - when the muscles contract due to physical exertion, the blood is pushed upwards.
However, it should be remembered that treatment with compression garments for varicose veins does not eliminate the deep causes of venous insufficiency and is used before radical, surgical treatment. This jersey mimics the situation - that the enlarged veins are sealed or removed.
In addition, non-surgical conservative treatment of leg diseases should be comprehensive. The maximum effect can be achieved if you use creams and ointments recommended by your doctor, lead a healthy lifestyle, wear compression stockings or tights on a daily basis, and also use folk remedies for the treatment of varicose veins.
Contraindications to the use of compression stockings
As with any treatment, every remedy or drug has a number of contraindications, and medical medical jersey is no exception. Some people should absolutely not wear compression garments, others should use them with caution after a thorough diagnosis and consultation with a doctor. For relative contraindications, you should see a dermatologist, cardiologist, or endocrinologist.
- Such underwear is absolutely contraindicated in atherosclerosis, thromboangiitis obliterans, endoarteritis, orthoarteritis. With such chronic diseases of the leg arteries, this leads to a decrease in the vascular lumen and a systolic blood pressure of less than 80 mm. rt. Arts. It is fundamentally impossible to reduce the pressure in the lower extremities with the help of medical jersey.
- Medical knitwear should be used with caution by those with hypersensitive skin.
- The use of compression garments is not recommended for inflammatory skin diseases, allergic skin reactions, various dermatitis, pressure ulcers, open wounds, acute thrombophlebitis and eczema.
- Diabetes mellitus is a relative contraindication, since such underwear should also be avoided in the event of vascular damage to the legs due to diabetes.
- In the case of septic phlebitis and severe cardiopulmonary insufficiency, when circulatory disorders occur at rest, compression stockings should also not be used.
Many people are afraid to wear compression underwear, since it is believed that jersey provokes the development of atrophy of the muscular layer of the vein walls, and if its use is stopped, the opposite negative effect may occur - if the vein wall can not increase blood pressure in the vascular lumenwithstand. Therefore, due to the atrophy of the vein walls, existing varicose veins will continue to progress.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to conduct clinical studies on every vein subjected to compression, but phlebologists consider this opinion to be incorrect because:
- The patient cannot wear compression garments around the clock
- In the veins that are subject to compression, blood flow decreases instead of stopping entirely.
- Atrophy of the muscle wall occurs most often with a genetic disposition and a locally specific inflammatory process with venous congestion and venous filling. And all of that is reduced when using jersey.
- This can be done only after the initial sensations of the patients, when the use of linen is stopped. In this case, there is a temporary deterioration in condition and well-being for a while, which is explained not by atrophy and progression of varicose veins, but by a temporary decrease in the tone of the vein wall.
- Reviews and feelings of patients at the end of using compression garments with varicose veins - it is difficult for most to get used to walking after using compression stockings. Many argue that when using a medical device, legs become light, so to speak, and many do not want to give up their use.
How to choose compression garments
Medical compression garments, Jersey are divided into: hospital used only in hospitals, prophylactic and therapeutic. We will delve deeply into the compression classes of medical anti-varicose compression stockings, how to choose compression garments, how to wear them, and how to care for them.
The most important point is to buy compression stockings, tights, knee socks only in specialized, orthopedic salons or retailers of well-known brands. In them, trained staff know how to choose the size of the laundry exactly, since the wrong size can make the treatment absolutely ineffective. In a special shop, the seller measures the leg in 4 places and selects the size of the tights or stockings according to a special table.
There are 4 degrees of compression:
- 18-21mm. rt. Arts. Compression class 1 is a prophylactic compression that can and should even be worn constantly by people prone to varicose veins, pregnant women, people with the first signs of varicose veins, when the veins under the skin become prominent, when there is pain in the legsprolonged sitting or standing, when the spider veins are pronounced and edema appears in the area of the feet and ankles at the end of the day, healthy people whose lifestyle and work force them to sit or stand for a long time - to office workers, drivers, hairdressers, salespeople.
- 23 - 32mm. rt. Arts. Compression class 2 is the best and most popular class for treating thrombophlebitis and varicose veins.
- 34 - 46 mm. rt. Arts. Compression class 3 - used for trophic diseases and severe venous insufficiency.
- 49 and above compression class 4 - extremely rarely used, with lymphedema.
Anyone who opts for anti-varicose vein knitwear for the first time should not buy expensive underwear of the 2nd degree of compression right away, it is possible that your vascular system will not be able to withstand this. If you've been walking around in inexpensive underwear for some time, get used to it, if you feel comfortable in it, then you can get better and more expensive compression garments.
For prevention, it is of course only worth using underwear of the 1st compression class and the compression class is determined by the phlebologist as soon as varicose veins develop. Compression underwear cannot cure varicose veins, as the reasons for their occurrence are very deep and only exposed to external influences, not further developed, ie compression tights for varicose veins are intended to prevent the appearance of new varicose veins. Of course, in the summer it is impossible to wear knitwear, so in the warm season you should take medication orally or use other methods of treatment.
You should also know that any compression underwear will not hold compression for more than 5-7 months.
The opinions of some women about the quality of compensatory underwear from different manufacturers show that expensive models are not always qualitatively better than cheap models. Bed linen made in Germany is of good quality and the prices are reasonable.
What should you watch out for when buying and how do you avoid counterfeits?
There are quality standards for medical compression garments for varicose veins, one of the most important and strictest is the European standard RAL-GZ-387. In order for a manufacturer to be able to use the logo of this standard, he must undergo strict certification in Germany or Switzerland. If the underwear has such a certificate, it means that it is really of high quality, produces 40-70-100% distributed pressure and is therapeutic, you can find this standard on the packaging and label on the product.
It is worth choosing a manufacturer very carefully, since there are a lot of fakes in our market. Therefore, it is better to buy compression stockings or compression tights either in specialist stores or in specialty stores, where specialists will choose the right model based on your measurements.
Since such knitwear is intended to be worn every day, it must be hypoallergenic; In order to determine this, the purchased product must bear the mark of the European environmental safety standard Oeko-Tex Standard 10.
Are there any special features when putting on compression stockings, tights, golf?
You should be aware that even the second class of compression stockings, considered to be the most common, are sometimes "beyond their power" for the patient:
- Often this happens due to the inconvenience and difficulty of putting underwear on on the feet. The peculiarity of such knitwear is that it cannot be worn like children's tights, collected in an accordion, and then pulled up. Both stockings and tights should be pulled on gradually, spreading out across the leg. If a person has a big belly and tying a lace on a boot is already a problem, putting on underwear will also be difficult.
- To make it easier to get dressed, many use special devices that are offered in the same salons. And also gloves that must be worn, they can be used for both household and medicine, since expensive underwear can be ruined by a manicure, and if you wear gloves on your underwear, it will slip better.
- Of course, the toenails should be shortened and filed, there should be no corns or roughness, otherwise the bed linen will burst quickly or there will be many puffs.
- It is also important to keep your legs dry, as well as your underwear, to wear compression stockings in the morning when your legs are not swollen and rested.
- It is especially difficult to wear Class 3 compression products - this is a lot of work, and if the patient believes his phlebologist and is sure that he needs such treatment, then be patient, otherwise you should not start treatment from this class. As a rule, it is recommended to wear class 3 and 4 compressions with a special specialized device.
How do I care for compression stockings?
- It is best to have 2 pairs of compression tights with you, as these should be washed every day - this is necessary to get rid of the smallest stains, dust and skin particles, as these can damage the fibers of the laundry faster than detergents.
- It should only be hand washed with baby soap as it cannot be washed in washing machines. The temperature of the water when washing should not be higher than 40 C, and it is not possible to iron or bleach the laundry.
- Rinse aid and conditioner have a structure-destroying effect, so they should not be used for washing.
- Dry the laundry in a flat shape on a horizontal surface, never wring it out, just press it gently into a towel. Do not dry knitwear on a battery, in a conventional dryer in an upright position, in the sun, or with a hair dryer.
- You should also take care of the silicone strips on the stockings, they quickly lose their fixing properties after contact with water, try not to wet them when washing, but wipe them off with an alcohol napkin.