
August 22, 2001
Complications
Question from Marietta, Georgia, USA:
My 84 year old father has always worn support socks, but he is beginning to experience more difficulty with his feet discoloring. Do his socks promote circulation or would less fitted socks be better to promote circulation to his feet?
Answer:
You have asked a good question. Support stockings, if fit well, are helpful to promote circulation. If they are not fitting well, they can actually cause problems by cutting down the blood supply. I strongly urge you to visit have your father’s physician and have him exam your father’s legs both with the stockings and without to see if they are helping. At that visit, it would also be a wonderful opportunity for a complete exam of your father’s feet, both for circulation and nerve sensitivity.
KS