The anti-varicose t-shirt is designed to normalize the work of the circulatory system in the lower extremities. Compression underwear exerts precisely designed pressure on certain areas of the veins which, due to their location away from the heart, are at risk of developing pathological venous disorders. Thus, thanks to the use of medical underwear, the state of blood flow improves, painful sensations, swelling and heaviness in the legs are eliminated. Therefore, if you are at risk of developing varicose veins, have already found them or show signs of impaired venous circulation (due to static charges, pregnancy, sedentary lifestyle), you should start wearing preventive compression underwear in daily use. .
Compression underwear for varicose veins
Previously, for this purpose, phlebologists prescribed elastic bandages. Now, this tool is not popular due to the presence of a number of significant disadvantages: the difficulty of bandaging, an uneven degree of compression, an unsightly appearance, a rapid loss of compression properties and, as a result, slippage.
The difference between modern compression underwear is completely opposite to the above disadvantages:
- ease of use (compared to bandage) from putting on, wearing and taking off clothes;
- 4 compression classes, which allow the individual selection of clothing with the required level of compression of the dilated veins;
- made of high-tech materials: linen - from hypoallergenic natural cotton with a high degree of elasticity; hosiery made of synthetic fibers - nylon, lycra, elastodien, microfiber, which allows to wear skirts and dresses;
- tight fit does not allow clothes to slip;
- Long life of clothing, with proper care: 5 to 12 months (with daily use).
What is compression underwear for? The compression garment creates a distributed pressure from the lower legs to the upper part. The graduated pressure of different force varies from the ankle to the thigh, in percentage terms, this is 100% to 20% of the compression exerted by the underwear.
Expert opinion
A gradual decrease in the percentage of compression is physiologically justified: with upward blood flow, the load on the venous system decreases. Therefore, it is advisable to reduce the maximum pressure upwards. Due to this principle of action, the use of compression underwear stimulates and normalizes the flow of blood and lymph to the heart, avoiding venous congestion.
Types of compression underwear
How to choose compression underwear for varicose veins and what is this or that type of knitwear used for?
The medical industry offers a fairly large variety of compression underwear. There are compression stockings for women and underwear for the treatment of varicose veins in men. There is also a classification according to the therapeutic tasks assigned to the compression garment:
- preventive underwear - minimal compression of the lower extremities to eliminate arterial hypertension in them;
- medical lingerie: medium and maximum compression for the treatment of varicose veins;
- postoperative underwear: used in hospitals, the selection of compression stockings is done by a doctor.
In direct dependence on the existing or probable location of the venous disorders of the lower body, you can choose a certain type of medical underwear: compression stockings, knee-high stockings or stockings.
Compression socks
Socks are primarily recommended for athletes with a higher running load for preventive purposes. Wearing compression socks will reduce the risk of venous disorders and help those who have experienced them. While wearing compression socks, blood circulation to the foot improves and muscle tone increases due to point-directed compression of the heel and foot area. This type of clothing can be used both during and after prolonged exertion.
Knee High Compression Stockings
Socks are suitable for the prevention and treatment of varicose veins, as long as the varicose veins are below the knee. The knees cover the leg from the foot to the knee. Its elastic compression properties ensure a precise fit on the foot, maintain ankle tone, and are effective in preventing foot heaviness.
How to choose compression stockings for men? More compression garments seem to be aimed at women. It is a hoax. In terms of design, men's knee-high socks practically do not differ from the usual socks, so they should not cause restrictions during the period of use.
Sizes for such compression garments, such as knee lengths, are selected according to the anatomical profile of the lower extremities.
To do this, you need to perform some measurements (in centimeters):
- shin circumference above the ankle and below the knee;
- length from foot to knee.
Compression socks
It is possible to achieve a therapeutic and prophylactic effect in the fight against pathologies of the venous system with the help of stockings. By necessity, longer varicose elastic stockings are sometimes used: up to the groin area or with a closure at the waist.
There is a silicone elastic inside the stocking. Keep these compression stockings from slipping. Medical stockings with a closure at the waist are fixed with an elastic belt with a contact tape. Such stockings are divided into half pairs, there are left and right. There is the possibility of combining mono stockings in stockings.
This type of stockings, such as special compression underwear for legs with varicose veins, has the highest degree of effectiveness.
Finding the best compression stockings for women and men is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. The range of underwear of this type on the medical market is quite wide. It takes into account the financial possibilities and preferences for the appearance of clothing. Therefore, it is possible to buy compression stockings according to your own wishes, and not only being guided by the doctor's recommendations regarding the therapeutic and prophylactic properties of flax. When making a purchase, it is important to remember that an orthopedic salon or pharmacy that sells compression underwear protects you from buying a fake. Only there you can purchase a high-quality certified compression product.
Compression stockings for women
The most common type of medical and prophylactic underwear for women are compression stockings, even though they are quite difficult to put on.
Depending on what effect it is important to achieve, the following types of compression stockings are distinguished: preventive and therapeutic. Preventive stretch tights are selected independently based on parameters such as height and weight. You can buy these compression stockings both in pharmacies and in common medical supply stores. In addition to improving the venous system, they have a corrective and slimming effect on the waist, buttocks and thighs.
Expert opinion
If you can choose preventative compression products on your own, medical compression stockings are exclusively selected by a physician. Such stockings, stockings and socks are subject to mandatory medical certification according to the RAL-GZ 387 standard and are available for sale only in medical equipment salons and pharmacies.
The line includes types of compression stockings of different texture and color. They are both the most transparent and the most dense opaque, which make it possible to mask venous manifestations on the skin. When choosing a model, pay attention to the sock: there are products with split and closed ends.
It is advisable to combine medical compression stockings for varicose veins with the use of local venotonic agents for the legs. The foot cream with horse chestnut and ginkgo biloba extracts is suitable for daily home care. Due to its natural composition, it relieves pain, tones, has an anti-inflammatory and cosmetic effect. The cream is applied to the skin of the legs from the bottom up with massaging movements until completely absorbed, 1-2 times a day in the morning before putting on the compression garment and at night after removing it. The cream has been the subject of clinical studies and is considered by phlebologists to be an effective adjuvant in the fight against varicose veins of the lower extremities. For use outside the home, a spray foot toner with butcher extracts and witch hazel is very convenient. Thanks to its lightweight, non-marking formula and comfortable release form, it can be applied over nylon compression leggings. Spray 1-2 times a day from a distance of 15 cm to slightly hydrate the skin. Both products were developed by specialists from a pharmaceutical company and have the necessary quality documents and certificates.
Elastic compression underwear: leggings, stockings and knee high stockings, require effort to put on. It is important to observe the following rules:
- lying down, after waking up;
- do not stretch or twist the product excessively;
- Pick up the tops of the leggings and gradually stretch them towards the lower leg and up.
To facilitate the procedure of donning compression stockings, special devices are produced for consumers of different categories: overweight, with limited mobility, for travelers (folding design).
How to choose compression stockings?
When the question arises of how to choose compression stockings, given the size, you should read the information on the package.
Compression garments are manufactured in strict accordance with quality standards. The strictest is the European standard RAL-GZ 387. Its standards regulate:
- composition of compression underwear;
- safety of the materials used;
- compression properties, elasticity, resistance of manufactured linen;
- requirements for labeling of containers.
According to these standards, on the packaging of quality certified bedding, the compression class and pressure must be indicated in millimeters of mercury and not in denominations (as is the case with ordinary stockings).
If there is an Oko-Tex® Standard 100 inscription on the clothing packaging, it means that this compression garment has been tested by independent institutes that are part of the international Oeko-Tex community. They check fabric swatches for pH compliance, formaldehyde content, chlorine-containing substances, and the possible presence of heavy metals. Based on the results of a successful verification, a quality certificate is issued: Oko-Tex® Standard 100.
When buying underwear with the above brands, you can be sure that it is:
- will allow you to achieve an appropriate therapeutic effect;
- Environmental friendly;
- It will have a useful life not less than that specified by the manufacturer.
Stretch compression hosiery: compression classes for all garments
According to the degree of pressure generated in medical elastic knitwear, 4 compression classes are distinguished, in accordance with the RAL-GZ 387 standard.
- Compression class I: has a low (light) preventive pressure (18-21 mm Hg). The indications for wearing class I compression underwear are: tendency to develop varicose veins, heaviness in the legs, edema, spider veins, pregnancy.
- Compression class II: has medium pressure (22-32 mm Hg). This is the most commonly used compression class for medical garments. It is used for the prevention and treatment of deep vein thrombosis, in the treatment of varicose veins and acute thrombophlebitis (Thrombophlebitis).
- Compression class III: exerts strong pressure (33-46 mm Hg). This flax is used for severe lymphovenous insufficiency, trophic pathologies, deep vein thrombosis.
- Compression class IV: exerts the highest possible pressure (more than 59 mm Hg). Underwear with this kind of compression is used for congenital anomalies of the veins and to eliminate lymphedema with the accompanying edema.
Preventive underwear with the first compression class can be purchased independently. But only a doctor can tell you how to choose medical compression underwear with already developed varicose veins. He will explain why you need compression garments in your particular situation.
Compression stockings: how to choose the size.
Varicose veins are an irreversible disease that requires treatment. And the compression stockings will be for the veins as a support frame. Precise leg measurements will help you choose the right stockings, namely:
- length from foot to knee;
- shin circumference above the ankle and below the knee;
- thigh circumference at a distance of 25-30 cm from the knee;
- the length of the leg from the foot to the crease of the groin.
After the phlebologist prescribes clothing of the appropriate compression class and takes measurements, it is important to determine the size of the stockings. The range includes a large number of sizes from XS to XLX. The size of the grid may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Therefore, the choice of compression garments should be made according to the size chart of a particular manufacturer.
Correctly selected stockings will fit your leg well. Perhaps at first there will be a feeling of discomfort from wearing medical underwear, but with time it will pass.
How to choose compression stockings?
To choose stockings, in addition to the above measurements, it is necessary to measure the volume of the hips and the circumference of the waist.
Compression garments are produced by many manufacturers. And with varicose veins, I want to understand which one is better than the rest, so as not to waste valuable time and money. Unfortunately, the best compression stockings for varicose veins can be chosen only based on your own feelings for the direct use of such underwear.
The peculiarity of the meshes is that they are selected strictly according to size, because the area on which they will produce pressure is maximum.
In most cases, the packaging contains information on how to wear compression stockings. Do not neglect these recommendations, they will extend the life of the clothes:
- Wear stockings after waking up or after taking a shower. Important: the skin must be completely dry.
- It is necessary to monitor the condition of the skin: it must be hydrated and soft so as not to damage the fibers of the compression underwear.
- Compression leggings must not be stretched or twisted.
- As you put on, gather the tops of the leggings into an accordion, and gradually distribute along the leg, straightening the emerging folds.
Compression stockings should be worn all day and removed just before bedtime. The duration of wearing the clothes is determined only by the doctor.
Compression stockings after surgery.
The hospital shirt is irreplaceable after surgery. A good compression underwear in the postoperative period of varicose vein treatment can alleviate a number of possible complications. Wearing hospital gowns reduces the risk of congestion and deep vein thrombosis.
The optimal compression pressure for this type of underwear is 15-18 mm Hg.
The compression of the recovery underwear is calculated taking into account that the patient will be in a horizontal position. Therefore, this type of underwear is not suitable as everyday compression stockings.
The postoperative compression garment can be combined with any part of the body. The following types of clothing can be distinguished:
- knee-high stockings, stockings;
- spine corsets;
- bandages
A distinctive feature of postoperative compression garments is that they must be worn (not removed) for the first few days. Therefore, hospital underwear must be highly elastic, seamless, hypoallergenic and provide an antimicrobial effect.
Compression underwear for women
Basically, under the compression hospital clothing for women, it is customary to understand cosmetic stockings. It is used after plastic surgery, greatly facilitating and shortening the rehabilitation period. The most common type of underwear of this type is a compression bra after mammoplasty (Mammoplastica). During the rehabilitation period after surgery to correct the shape of the breast, it is important to wear compression compression underwear, which:
- prevents scars;
- help relieve postoperative swelling;
- reduces pain;
- relieve the feeling of heaviness in the operated area.
The required compression class of the bodice is regulated by the bras. Sometimes, in conjunction with a compression bra, an additional compression belt is used to create maximum compression with postoperative underwear in needed areas of the body.
The doctor determines how to choose and how to wear compression garments for women for a long time. Improperly selected underwear can harm your body.
Compression underwear for pregnant women.
During pregnancy, due to the increased load on the body, the manifestation of symptoms of various diseases is possible. Varicose veins too. To protect themselves from such manifestations, many pregnant women are advised to wear preventive and therapeutic compression underwear.
In the first trimester, prophylactic compression stockings are used, mainly knee-high or stockings, which will also protect the woman from the syndrome of heavy legs and swelling.
During pregnancy, wearing a brace reduces stress on the spine.
From the second trimester, if indicated, medical clothing is prescribed: bandages, stockings, stockings. After delivery, this type of medical clothing will help you recover faster. Often times, the function of the bandage is assigned to a high elastic insert at the front of compression stockings. It takes into account the anatomical features of a pregnant woman. Such underwear supports the stomach well and does not squeeze it. However, there may be contraindications to wearing such a shirt, so it is advisable to consult with your doctor before purchasing medicated underwear.
For pregnant women with varicose veins, a phlebologist recommends wearing compression stockings during labor and for a short period afterward.