Diabetes, obesity, and other disorders result in a good bit of pain in the lower limbs due to the lack of proper blood flow, and one of the best treatments that you can find for that is the use of compression socks. While there is definitely some added attention that you are going to have to take in order to care for your compression hosiery, it is not nearly so bad as you may be fearing. The following guidelines will help you when it comes to taking care of your compression hosiery.
Your manufacturer may have included a list of washing or care instructions with your socks; be sure that you read them before you do anything else. In order to ensure that you don't accidentally ruin your socks, reading the instructions ensures that you can take any care irregularities into account before you try washing your socks for the first time. The only way to avoid running into any problems is to know about them before you begin.
There are a few different ways to actually go about the washing of compression hosiery. You are going to have to wash most compression socks on the market by hand in order to extend their lifespan, but some of them can handle the delicates cycle of the washing machine. In order to prevent damage to both your socks and your hands, a mild soap in warm water is definitely the way to go. Stretching them out is a concern, so gentleness is key in washing them. The compression in these socks is provided by elastic, and that elastic can be more easily stretched out after it has warmed up.
Unfortunately, even the best compression hosiery that is given the best care is still going to wear out sooner or later. Since they are continually getting stretched out, even from regular use, compression socks need to be periodically replaced if you are going to continue receiving the full benefits of them. The reason that this occurs is that the elastic that makes up the compression component of compression hosiery, even when it is treated as gently as possible, still wears out over time. Compression socks can be expected to last about three months or so under regular use. When the time comes that you notice how easy it is to put your compression socks on, it is time to get a new pair.
Whatever kind of medical compression socks you buy, the thing that you are going to want to be sure to keep in mind is that each and every one of them is a little bit different. Your manufacturer's instructions are going to be the best place to start looking when it comes to figuring out how exactly to take care of them. Just remember that, more than likely, you are going to need to be hand washing them.
If you are suffering from circulation problems, there are several different symptoms that normally appear that you can use to help spot it as it develops. When a doctor describes circulation problems, he will usually be talking about a condition that is a bit more specific than you may expect, as in the body's inability to properly pump blood into the legs and then return it back into the body. Throughout the rest of this article, you will find described the most common symptoms of poor blood circulation that cause patients to visit their doctors to determine whether or not there is a problem.
The first symptom that we will be going into is also the one that is usually the first one that a patient notices on his own. Before most of the other symptoms, he will begin to notice a numbness or cramping in the feet or lower legs. If the patient is diabetic, there is even more reason to be concerned if this develops.
When the symptoms of circulation problems in the legs occur, they almost never occur without at least some degree of swelling that affects not only the feet, but the legs as well. This kind of swelling in the legs and feet is referred to among medical practitioners as edema. An easy way to determine on your own whether or not you are suffering from edema involves little more than firmly pressing one or two fingers against your lower leg in the area near your ankle. If you pull your finger away and the skin of your leg remains in a sunken indentation for longer than two or three seconds, it is a definite sign that you are experiencing edema of the legs. Over time, these accumulated fluids will discolor the skin of the lower legs, turning it first red, and then brown.
Legs that easily begin to ache or grow very tired is another sign that indicates that you may be suffering from circulation problems in your legs. You know that this is even more likely to be the case if it gets worse when you are standing or sitting for a long time. The elevation of the legs or moving around somewhat tends to help alleviate this pain.
The next symptom of bad circulation has to do with the libido of the patient, which is a very personal issue for many people. It goes without saying that in order to engage in intimate activities, you need to have a healthy blood flow to ensure that everything works as it should; when this blood flow is not present, it can have a seriously detrimental effect on performance.
One of the most worrisome symptoms of poor circulation that people develop is the presence of unhealing wounds or ulcers on the legs. In order for the body to be able to heal itself, the wound needs to have a good supply of blood flowing both to and away from it, and when that blood flow is no longer present, it can no longer heal properly.
As you can see here, there are many different symptoms that may develop as the result of impaired blood circulation in the legs and feet. Just make sure that you keep in mind that the development of numbness, cramping, or any sort of discoloration in your legs are the most common signs that circulation issues may be occurring.
Compression socks, among other tools, are frequently recommended in order to help treat those circulation issues on your own. There are many different manufacturers who produce compression stockings for the treatment of circulation issues in the legs, but Jobst medical legwear is one of the most popular.
