Compression for Venous Ulcers

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What are Venous Ulcers? A venous ulcer, or stasis ulcer, is a shallow wound that occurs when the leg veins don't return blood back toward the heart the way they should; this is called venous insufficiency. Causes Due to chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), the veins are no longer in the position to transport blood quickly from the legs to the heart. The blood pools and widens the veins. This so-called stasis ultimately damages the smallest blood vessels, or capillaries. These supply the cells with oxygen and nutrients and transport metabolic breakdown products away from the tissues. In turn, the damaged capillaries can no longer fulfill this function properly. First, the skin in the affected areas becomes sensitive, loses its elasticity, and grows hard. Eventually, the skin dies off and even the slightest, barely noticed injury turns into an open weeping wound. Symptoms and Treatments The open wound is typically very painful, and microorganisms that colonize the wound and its surroundings cause unpleasant odors. In many cases, those affected are afraid to go out and try to avoid contact with other people. The patients take on a protective posture due to the pain, and they barely move the affected leg at all. This lack of mobility, in turn, switches off the pump mechanism that transports the blood back in the direction of the heart and starts a vicious circle. Efficient treatment of venous leg ulcer may include: Wound debridement and wound care: cleansing of the wound and care of the surrounding skin. Compression treatment is an element of wound care, even if many people believe that wound care is restricted to cleaning and dressing skin defects. Treatment of the underlying disease: in the case of venous leg ulcer, this means that the venous disease has to be treated. Medical compression stockings are used as disease-modifying treatment. Solutions to effectively prevent relapse of the diseases. If CVI is left untreated, the skin surrounding the lower leg above the ank