Compression stockings apply pressure to your legs and ankles and helps by; helping blood to flow properly through the heart, helps prevent blood from refluxing or pooling downward to the foot or laterally into superficial veins and reduces the diameter of major veins by increasing the volume and velocity of blood flow. Wearing compression stockings has a lot of beneficial traits and a lot of people can benefit from it from people who have varicose veins to neuropathy, people who just go out of extreme surgery, athletes, pregnant women and people who work all day standing up or sitting down. Wearing compression socks can even help manage orthostatic hypotension, or low blood pressure when you stand up after a period of sitting down, it lessens the dizziness you feel when you stand up.
Side effects of wearing compression socks or stockings
Even though compression stockings are helpful and can be beneficial for an individual’s health there are also factors or side affects that you should be aware of. These side effects often happen if the stockings are not worn or taken off properly,you have an infection, you are allergic to the sock material the stockings you are wearing doesn’t fit you properly or you wore compression stockings for long periods of time even if it’s not advisable in your condition. It’s important to get proper prescription stockings and you wear and take care of them properly. Here are some potential risks that you should be aware of if your compression stockings are not right for you:
- Can cut off your circulation – You might be wondering how it can cut off your circulation, when initially using compression stockings should help your blood to flow properly and provide continuous pressure that supports circulation. But when compression stockings are not fitted properly, they can have the opposite effect on your legs and prevent blood from circulating properly in your legs. That is why it’s important that you get professionally fitted when you buy your compression stockings so that it won’t be too tight so that it constricts your blood to flow properly.
- Can chafe and bruise your legs – If you have a dry skin or travelling in climates with dry air like on an airplane, this can more likely cause your skin to chafe, crack and scrape. People who have compromised skin barriers may experience cuts, scrapes and even bruises from wearing compression stockings. When your compression stockings fit you properly, this is far more likely to happen.
- Can cause itching, redness, and irritation – Compression stockings can aggravate skin irritation and also cause itching. When your compression stockings are not properly fitted it can cause redness, and temporary dents in your skin may appear on your legs at the edge of the sock’s fabric. Keep in mind that if you have an allergy, your skin may react to the sock material and cause irritation. That is why consult your doctor first if you can use compression stockings or if there is a particular compression stockings that you can only use.
A 2014 case report also states that improperly worn compression stockings have the potential to cause problems such as breaking or tearing the skin. A 2007 study stated that misuse of compression stockings can also lead to peripheral nerve damage and a 2014 article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, if you have impaired arterial flow, using compression stockings can worsen ischemia, or inadequate oxygenated blood flow. That is why you should know how to properly use compression stockings, have a right pair of compression stockings that will fit you properly and consult your doctor first if compression stockings will be helpful in your condition. One of the best pairs of compression stockings available in the market are from the Diabetic Sock Club