Do your legs feel tired and heavy after a long day? Are you woken up by leg cramps in the middle of the night? Have you just undergone surgery or are you planning a long-haul flight? Compression stockings could help you in all these situations.

Do I even need compression stockings, I hear you ask. Compression stockings always support healthy blood circulation in your legs which is vital to prevent various health conditions and alleviate symptoms in many situations:

• Varicose veins
• Spider veins
• Chronic venous insufficiency
• Pregnancy
• Economy class syndrome
• Prolonged sitting and standing
• Jogging and other physical exercise

Modern lifestyle is far from being ideal for our veins. In most cases, people spend a lot more time sitting or standing than walking and moving around. Your heart always has to pump blood up your legs against gravity, and the deepest calf muscles help with this process. Naturally, these muscles would be strengthened by regular walking, but since that is no longer the case in most our lifestyles, our calves get extremely weak. By the age of 40 the majority of Americans have suffer from at least a mild chronic venous insufficiency – a condition when the vein valves in the calf are damaged and they can’t pump blood to the heart properly. And that’s when this special kind of elastic hosiery comes in handy.

Compression stocking are a blessing in disguise for your veins, and not only the damaged ones – you can also use them as prevention or simply for comfort on a long day. Compression stockings compress your legs and thus support healthy blood circulation. The pressure on the legs, but mainly ankles is quite significant; it compresses the surface veins and arteries, so that more blood can return to your heart and less blood is allowed to pool in your feet and calves. In other words, these elastic babies will not only cover and hide your varicose veins, but they will also make your legs feel much lighter and reduce the eventual swelling and cramping.

There’s a huge selection of compression stockings on the internet these days, depending on the pressure of the stockings (from light pressure to very strong), various lengths (from knee-high to the top of the thigh), and also numerous colors and materials – even the light sheer ones that will go well with a dress. It takes a little bit of time to make the right measurements of your legs, but most websites that sell compression stockings have their own measuring charts which are very accurate. Just pick some light material and the right color for your outfit!