Medical decompression elastic stockings or elastic bandage is a product with the function of promoting venous blood return to the heart, as one of the effective means of preventing and treating varicose veins, has been widely accepted and used by vascular surgery experts and patients at home and abroad, and the product has been clinically used with very obvious effect. Elastic stockings can be used for the treatment of lower limb blood circulation disorders, heavy and sore lower limbs caused by prolonged standing, sitting still or lying in bed.
Mild varicose veins, chronic varicose veins, stagnant venous blood flow, phlebitis, varicose veins during pregnancy, swelling of lower limbs, after saphenous vein stripping, after sclerotherapy of varicose veins, calf ulcers, post-thrombosis syndrome of deep veins of lower limbs, etc.
It is worth reminding that in clinical work, the application of medical circulating compression stockings is only a part of various methods of vascular disease prevention and treatment, and has a good auxiliary effect, which can slow down the development of the original disease and has a certain therapeutic effect on the complications, but not the root cause.
Principle of medical compression stockings or elastic bandages
The medical compression stocking establishes the highest support pressure at the ankle and gradually decreases up the leg. In the calf, the pressure is reduced to 70%-90% of the maximum pressure value, and in the thigh, it is reduced to 25%-45% of the maximum pressure value. This decreasing change in pressure allows venous blood to flow back into the lower extremities, effectively relieving or improving the pressure on the veins and valves of the lower extremities.
Selection of medical compression stockings or elastic bandages
When choosing compression stockings, consult your doctor or product specialist to make the best choice of stocking type, pressure and size for different symptoms and varicose veins.
1.Choose the right elastic stocking. The so-called “suitable” means that the pressure is the most in the ankle, the second in the calf and the least above the knee, and it does not affect the movement of the knee joint and fits comfortably.
2. Choose the length of the socks according to the location of the lesion.
Before you buy elastic stockings, you should choose the right size and pressure according to your condition. The application of medical elastic stockings has some considerations: one is to choose the right elastic stocking. The so-called “suitable”, that is, after wearing the ankle pressure is the most, the calf is the second, above the knee is the smallest, and does not affect the knee joint activities, sitting or squatting will not pleat, comfortable fit.
If you feel the same pressure throughout the sock after putting on the elastic sock, it is not suitable, and it will do more harm than good, not only does not improve blood circulation, but also hinder blood flow.
Use a soft ruler to measure the three main dimensions of your legs: minimum ankle circumference (cm), maximum calf circumference (cm) and maximum thigh circumference (cm).
According to the size of the pressure, there are three kinds of low pressure, medium pressure and high pressure.
Low pressure (prevention type 18mmHg): It is suitable for daily health care prevention of people with high incidence of varicose veins and thrombosis.
Medium pressure (therapeutic type 20-30mmHg): suitable for the treatment and prevention of superficial varicose veins, thrombosis, swelling of lower limbs, etc.
High pressure (therapeutic type 30-40mmHg): obvious varicose veins of lower limbs, stagnant venous blood flow, phlebitis, severe varicose veins during pregnancy, after saphenous vein stripping, after sclerotherapy of varicose veins, calf ulcers, post-thrombosis syndrome of deep veins of lower limbs, irreversible lymphedema, etc.
Selectable sock length: medium socks (below the knee), long socks (and thighs), pantyhose
Medical decompression stockings or elastic bandages for people
1.Those who stand for a long time: teachers, traffic police, shopping guides, beauticians, doctors, nurses, etc.
2, long time sitter: IT people, white-collar workers, civil servants and other office workers – long time standing or sitting: due to muscle fatigue and gravity, resulting in poor blood flow back to the legs, blood viscosity increases leading to lower limb venous disease.
3, pregnant women, long-term use of contraceptives – pregnancy hormonal changes in the body, blood volume increased by more than 20%; the fetus and the enlarged uterus compression of the pelvic veins and iliac veins, pregnancy weight increase, leg venous pressure increased, resulting in poor blood return, resulting in lower limb venous disease.
4, frequent business trips, airplanes, long-distance car people, flight attendants – commonly known as economy class syndrome, due to weightlessness at high altitude, resulting in poor blood flow back to the legs, resulting in lower limb venous disease, and in serious cases, prone to pulmonary embolism.
5, obese people – due to high blood cholesterol and blood lipids, blood viscosity increases, coupled with high weight makes it difficult for venous blood to return to the heart, resulting in lower limb venous disease.
6.People who have already suffered from lower limb vein disease–as the veins are already in the disease state, they must be improved by treatment, otherwise the disease will continue to develop.
7.People with high incidence of lower limb deep vein thrombosis – patients after major surgery, patients with malignant tumor, patients with hemiplegia, women in late pregnancy and maternity, patients with lower limb fracture, patients with serious infection, elderly people and so on.
The role of medical decompression elastic stockings or elastic bandages
1.Restore the function of lower limb veins after surgery; prevent the recurrence of varicose veins.
2.Eliminate edema and promote wound healing after various surgeries.
3.Eliminate the swelling and soreness caused by varicose vein and lower limb vein blood return obstruction, make the darkened and hardened skin gradually turn better and the ulcerated skin heal. The varicose veins that have become less varicose are restored to their original state.
4.Prevent deep vein thrombosis of lower limbs in long term bedridden patients.
5.Eliminate the lower limb edema of pregnant women in late pregnancy, and prevent varicose veins and deep vein thrombosis of lower limb of women after delivery.
6.Preventing economy class syndrome in air travelers.
7.It can reduce the discomfort of lower limb soreness and swelling to prevent varicose veins of lower limbs for those who stand, sit and work hard for a long time.
Medical decompression elastic stockings or elastic bandage wearing, maintenance methods
The best time to wear compression stockings is in the morning when you wake up, because at this time the leg vascular system is in the state of starting the maximum function and the swelling has not yet occurred; or after the lower limb is elevated for 1/2 hour and the swelling disappears.
Wearing method.
1.Reach into the sock with one hand and pinch the part of the sock two inches inside the head, and turn the sock to the heel with the other hand.
2. Turn most of the sock over and smooth it out so that your foot can easily fit into the toe of the sock.
3.Prop your thumbs on the inside of the sock, grasp the body of the sock with your four fingers, put your foot inside the sock, hold the sock tightly outward with your thumbs, pull the sock toward the ankle with your four fingers and thumbs, and place the heel of the sock in the correct position.
4.Turn the sock leg back and pull it upward in order, and put on the sock to flatten it against your body.
If you are not comfortable with the tightness at the beginning, you can wear the appropriate tightness gradually (avoid losing patience and giving up lightly). As it is easy to sweat in summer, you can put some prickly heat powder on your legs beforehand to lubricate and prevent the socks from being pulled.
Therapeutic elastic stockings require a high degree of pressure, so they are more difficult to wear than regular stockings and elastic stockings.
When putting on or taking off the stockings, please be careful not to scratch the stockings with diamonds or long nails. Please cut your nails regularly and prevent your heels from cracking during the dry season to avoid scratching your stockings.
Also, check the inside of your shoes frequently to prevent unnecessary wear and tear on your stockings. Wash them in warm water with neutral detergent, do not wring them out, squeeze them by hand or use a dry towel to absorb excess water, and dry them in a cool place, not in the sun or under artificial heat sources. Any high quality product, only with careful care can prolong its service life and achieve the best use effect.
The necessity of wearing elastic stockings or elastic bandages after varicose vein surgery of the lower extremities
Many patients do not wear medical compression stockings after varicose vein surgery, and as a result, the swelling in the legs does not go away and new symptoms appear. The advantage of wearing elastic stockings is that they can prevent bleeding at the peeling site and incision and reduce venous blood stagnation, and you should insist on wearing medical sequential decompression stockings for about half a year, and you should not stand and sit for a long time so as to consolidate the effect of surgery.
Because varicose vein surgery is a destructive treatment, saphenous vein stripping, after all, is to remove a part of the human lower limb venous reflux, correspondingly, the burden of deep veins increased, varicose vein surgery, the doctor will give patients wrapped elastic bandage, after removing the bandage to use elastic stockings, 3 months to six months, the use of sequential decompression elastic stockings can help lower limb venous blood flow back, eliminate post-operative The use of compression stockings can help lower extremity venous blood flow, eliminate post-operative swelling, consolidate the effect of surgery, and prevent recurrence. Thigh stockings with secondary compression are appropriate after varicose vein surgery.
The necessity of wearing elastic stockings or elastic bandages for patients with deep vein thrombosis
Deep vein of lower limb is the main return channel of venous blood of lower limb, only a small part of venous blood returns through superficial vein, if thrombosis is formed in deep vein, the return flow of deep venous blood of lower limb is blocked, most of venous blood has to rely on superficial vein to compensate, which will cause superficial vein to expand outward.
During the recovery period after DVT treatment, it is necessary to wear circulating decompression stockings to offset the increased venous pressure caused by DVT blockage with external pressure, promote venous blood return, improve local skin malnutrition, reduce edema, and also enable patients to get out of bed early after the acute period, and the ground activity itself has the effect of preventing the re-formation of DVT in the lower limbs.
Some patients after DVT treatment will have various symptoms due to incomplete tolerance or other reasons, so they should insist on wearing it for a long time.