The choice of compressive stocking

Correct prescription of an elastic stocking necessitates a thorough acquaintance with the physiopathy of the disorder in question and also of the patient's psychological make up. Superficial venous pressure at the ankle when a patient presenting venous insufficiency walks, as is to be seen in the clinical picture, determines the strength of the compensatory compression of the stocking. The length of the stocking is determined by the spread of the disorder over the lower limb. The mensurations of the limb free of oedema determine the option of the stocking prescribed according to specific measurements and the stocking prescribed according to a standard series of measurements; it also determines the width and length of the latter. If a patient is obese or if his profession obliges him to stand for long, the choice will probably be of a high-compression stocking. The patient is consulted before thigh-stockings are prescribed. Before prescribing a stocking, the doctor must convince the patient that all other possibilities of treatment have been exhausted and that the compressive stocking is the only efficient support for his venous insufficiency. There ought to be as much care and caution in the choice and prescription of a medical compressive stocking as in the prescription of drugs.