No more pressing folds

Medical compression stockings improve venous reflux, but are not usually designed for the special requirements of people who spend most of their time sitting. The VenoTrain soft S is very different in this regard, as Felix Krämer from Switzerland was able to find out recently.

Felix Krämer, who works part-time in a bank, has already been dependent on compression stockings for ten years. In May 2009, he had a drug injected directly into the spinal canal in the course of treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It went wrong. “I’m now paralyzed up to T9, so up to about the level of my bellybutton,” he says. This was followed by prolonged hospitalization – including bedsores and a thrombosis in one leg. Initially, he was treated with compression bandages, then with custom-made compression stockings – first as thigh-high stockings and then as below knee stockings. “Since my legs have been more or less the same thickness again, I wear standard-size stockings. I do, however, have very sensitive skin. And when I sit in the wheelchair, the previous stockings always formed wrinkles on the instep, which led to pressure sores and reddening of the skin,” the paraplegic describes a long-time problem. A problem for which, until now, he helped himself with an unconventional method: with an approximately three-millimeter-thick silicone-like insert , which he cut to fit himself and placed at the transition from foot to lower leg. “Of course, that didn’t exactly make putting on the stocking any easier,” he says with a wink.
Felix Krämer was provided with the optimal stocking for himself by chance: at an information event for paraplegics of a Zurich hospital , he got into a conversation with a sales representative of Bauerfeind Schweiz AG a few months ago. She recommended that he test the VenoTrain soft S. Shortly afterwards, the 56-year-old had the compression stocking measured at ­Amavita pharmacy in Zug. “My experience of the VenoTrain soft S has been very good. It’s comfortable to wear and sits well , which means that there are no more folds. And the silicone dotted band in the cuff prevents the stocking from slipping down,” Felix Krämer says.

The special requirements of people
who are sitting down

Patricia Schelbert , CEO of Amavita pharmacy in Zug, is also pleased that her new customer Felix Krämer now has the optimal product for himself, the VenoTrain soft S. “In the case of a longer-term restriction to the ability to walk, circulation in the lower extremities is impeded. The VenoTrain soft S stimulates venous reflux and takes into account the special requirements of people who spend a lot of time sitting down,” the pharmacist explains. In contrast to the VenoTrain soft , the VenoTrain soft S features a generous heel area, thus offering the angled foot enough space. At the same time, the stocking has less knitted fabric on the instep to ensure that the foot resting at a 90° angle is optimally covered, no wrinkles can form when sitting and pressure sores and constriction are prevented. “With its firmer knit , the VenoTrain soft or soft S unisex stocking is particularly recommended for patients with soft tissue and a tendency for edema,” Patricia Schelbert says.
Felix Krämer wears the design with an open toe. “On the one hand, the stocking can then be put on easily with a donning aid, and on the other, I sometimes have to bandage individual toes due to inflammation. That works really well with stockings that aren’t closed,” Felix Krämer explains.

“The VenoTrain soft S stimulates venous reflux and takes into account the special requirements
of people who spend a lot of time sitting down.”

Patricia Schelbert

Customers praise the high wearing comfort

The VenoTrain soft is the second most common stocking supplied by pharmacist Patricia Schelbert , right after the VenoTrain micro. “We provide treatment for many pregnant women and primarily patients who require a compression stocking after vein surgery,” the CEO of the Amavita pharmacy explains. It is part of the Galenicare pharmacist network, in which patients are provided with VenoTrain compression stockings without any additional costs if the annual excess has been used up.

“Our customers give us very good feedback on the stockings: the quality and the level of wearing comfort are high,” Patricia Schelbert says. She hopes to be able to provide even more people with compression stockings in the future, and explains: “Here in Switzerland, we have the unusual option that , in some cantons, physicians are also allowed to sell their patients the drugs they have prescribed. This self-dispensation also exists in the Canton of Zug. As a result of this, many patients are not at all familiar with the range of services that pharmacies actually provide.”
Health awareness has, however, generally improved in the population. “More people now come to us who put on compression stockings as a preventive measure, for long flights, for example. And those who are medically prescribed compression stockings from class 2 onwards generally use the possibility of obtaining two pairs per calendar year and value the many services provided by the pharmacies, particularly the individual advice and the direct settlement with the health insurance funds.” Felix Krämer also confirms: “Two pairs per year are absolutely fine.” Less ideal , in his opinion, is the fact that he, as a paraplegic, has to get a prescription again every year. After all , he will wear compression stockings all his life.

Bilder: Udo Schönewald