Compression Stocking Guide
What Are Compression Stockings? Compression stockings are worn for many different reasons including varicose veins, spider veins, edema, orthostatic hypotension and venous insufficiency. These tightly fitted socks gently squeeze your legs to promote blood flow from the legs back toward the heart. Thigh or waist-high stockings help reduce pooling of blood in the legs that is common to patients suffering from vein disease. A few benefits of regular use include prevention of edema, symptom control with varicose veins and following vein treatment for venous insufficiency. Compression Stockings and Varicose Veins Varicose veins appear when the one-way valves in your veins fail and allow blood to leak backward. As a result, blood pools in the lower legs and dilates the veins to cause venous insufficiency. Compression stockings provide support around the superficial veins and enable the blood to flow more effectively back towards the heart. Compression stockings are graded to provide m