When should I wear compression socks?
Last updated September 3, 2026.
The solid uses: long flights, long standing or sitting days, pregnancy, varicose veins, and post-surgery or hospital DVT prevention, per NHS practice. Put them on first thing in the morning before swelling starts, in the right size and graduated pressure, and off at night unless told otherwise. Ask a doctor first with peripheral artery disease, diabetes leg complications, skin infections, or heart failure. And new one-sided swelling, pain, warmth, or redness is a get-assessed pattern, not a sock pattern.
What to do
- Wear them for flights, long shifts, pregnancy, and varicose veins.
- Put them on in the morning before your legs swell.
- Check sizing; a biting top band means wrong fit.
- Ask a doctor first with artery disease, diabetes leg issues, skin infection, or heart failure.
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