Woman’s Doc: Treating Venous Insufficiency

January 10, 2011

Condition Causes Aches, Swelling

BALTIMORE — Roughly 8 million to 10 million people in the U.S. suffer from an uncomfortable condition called venous insufficiency, which can affect people who stand for long periods of time, such as nurses or teachers.

Dr. Paul Lucas, of Mercy Medical Center’s Vascular Center, said venous insufficiency is a buildup of pressure going down the legs.

“It can be as mild as achiness, with or without swelling, and one leg may swell more than another,” he said.

Lucas said the condition is caused by leaky valves in the legs.

“When the heart beats, the valve opens, and the blood moves in an upward direction. When the heart is at rest, the valve closes, preventing reflux of blood back down the leg,” he explained. “There is a failure of the valves to fully close when the heart is at rest, which causes reflux of blood back down the veins through the valve, which increases pressure in the lower part of the leg.

“He said the treatment is often simple — avoid long sessions of sitting or standing and wear compression stockings.

“I’m on my feet a lot, so I wear these stockings. It helps give my legs support and makes them feel better and not as tired,” said Cheryl, who’s been a nurse for 25 years.

Doctors said while most patients with venous insufficiency are women, men can also have problems with it.

This is a re-post from WBALTV.com

SIGVARIS Launches New Soft Opaque 840 Series

Finally a compression therapy series for women who like a truly opaque design… Think tights or leggings! SIGVARIS Compression stockings has launched their highly anticipated 840 series, called Soft Opaque.

Available in 15-20mmHg and 20-30mmHg, these compression hose are free from the additionally added chemicals that many stockings have. Knee high, thigh hi, and pantyhose – in your choice of four great colors: Black, Graphite, Midnight Blue, and Espresso. The pantyhose may be worn as tights or leggings, masking those areas of the legs that women may not want people to see! The line also features a first for SIGVARIS – a measured fitting in a support (15-20mmHg) compression garment. They have always opted for support therapy sizing based on shoe size, height, and weight. But the 15-20mmHg Soft Opaque allows for a larger population fit by utilizing ankle, calf, and thigh measurements.

With the new Advanced Moisture Management system, legs are kept dry and cool. The knee hi boasts a comfortable wide top band to prevent rolling, and the thigh high features the fashionable Sensinnov top band to prevent rolling/sliding.

SIGVARIS Price Increases for 2010 Happen Feb 8, 2010

SIGVARIS has chosen to increase their pricing for 2010 effective Monday, February 8th on all of their compression stockings and support stockings. This is an across-the-spectrum price increase of varying percentages but all seem to hover around the 10% mark. Note that this increase is not within the control of Healthy Leg Depot , but will be affecting this, and every website that sells the SIGVARIS brand.

I have to say…. I’m really not looking forward to sitting in front of the TV for the Super Bowl, with my laptop updating the pricing!  

Beat the price increase…. place your order immediately!

Introduction

Thanks for coming by! I’m Rob Travers and I hope you’ll find my (almost) 20 years of experience helpful. I’m excited about my new association with Healthy Leg Depot because this is a company that has chosen to launch its new website with the compression therapy products of just one manufacturer – SIGVARIS. It’s the product that I currently wear, and have worn for many years. There are other manufacturers who make a quality product, but none offer the consistency and reliability that SIGVARIS does. I should mention – anytime I use this manufacturer’s name, I will put it in all capital letters. I’m not “yelling” at you… this is how SIGVARIS requires that their (trademarked) name be used. Unlike most other manufacturers’ products, most of SIGVARIS products are manufacturered in the good old USA (and Peachtree City, Georgia is physically a little too close for me to mess with their name
Anyway, I invite you to come back frequently, comment on my posts and/or link to this site.  I’ll be blogging frequently as we dive into all aspects of compression therapy.  I hope we can all learn a lot.

All my best,
RT