(Edited from contributions to the Stockings HQ discussion forum)
- I have been advised by my doctor to wear thigh-high support stockings. I am a man with varicose veins in the thighs. I have had a look at the prescription stockings and thought they may be very uncomfortable.
As I'm active I was looking for something lighter that I could wear everyday. The various support hosiery I have seen round the net appear to be for women. The manufacturers assure me that men wear them too! However, these support stockings still appear to be heavy.
My wife noticed in a department store various support tights and stockings. Are these suitable for men? Obviously being a man the choice is between stockings and tights. I suffer from athlete's foot, which sometimes travels to the groin, therefore I would prefer stockings. The choice seems to be between suspenders, i.e. garters, hold-ups or glue. I 'm not keen on the glue and hold-ups could be very embarrassing. Does anybody have any experience wearing support stockings with suspenders? What type of suspender belt is best ?
- I have the same type of condition (early varicose veins) but also edema. I wear support pantyhose on a regular basis. I also wear opaques (tights as we call them here in the states) so I don't have to wear socks and possibly create/exacerbate the odd times I get a little athlete's foot. The extreme support hose you can get at medical supply houses/drugstores are incredibly heavy and only the women's models go higher than the knee anyway. Jobst may make a compression stocking for both sexes but they are incredibly heavy and restrictive. If your doctor prescribes them, you need them!
I have been searching for good support stockings for wear during the summer. I also tried thigh high support stockings but for the support to be worthwhile, the grip band at the top feels like a tourniquet. I have tried some that were very comfortable in their grip but the support was significantly less but still fair on those days when my legs are not too bad off.
I have tried a garterbelt and support stockings but it's very hard to find a garterbelt that does not look frilly. Yes, I know, no one sees it but it was uncomfortable to me. The support stockings with the garter worked better than the thigh highs but it takes a lot of adjustment with the straps to get them right.
- Yes, a LOT of men do wear hose (stockings, thigh highs, pantyhose/tights, etc) for many various reasons. The hosiery companies know this but don't actively promote it. There are a lot of men in the same boat as you and I and this is the first and only forum where I admitted it. Most people are fine with it. It helped me by just looking at it as any other garment.
There are a few companies that make a garment for men. Wolford makes tights. They are very expensive and only slightly supportive. Comfilon makes pantyhose/tights for men. I've recently tried them and they do work fairly well unless you need heavy support. As a bonus, their main line has a convenient draft front opening. Recently they added a new line and unfortunately dropped the draft front. The downside is they are slightly more expensive than regular support hose and can only be ordered online/phone.
I've found that for comfort, accessibility, value and performance, many of the current brands of women's hose work well, and you can get them almost anywhere.
- What about pantsliners? Rago makes a pair that have quite a bit of compression, and would allow you to wear regular socks instead. You might find this to be the better solution.
- A very good friend of mine wears surgical "support" stockings, and lists the main drawbacks as:
1. Price, The damn things are, apparently, prohibitively expensive!
2. Extreme discomfort in hot weather (I live in Australia). She tells me they are even hotter than normal stockings or pantyhose.
3. The need to make sure they are on perfectly straight, or they can't do their job. An ill fitting RHT, at worst, looks unsightly or causes the wearer embarrassment (and at best, turns on wrinkle-perverts like me). Ill fitting support stockings are not only useless but, apparently, can even be dangerous.
The good points are the obvious ones about feeling far less tired in the legs and knowing you are helping to counter vascular disease. Also, the sheerer ones look very much like conventional stockings, quite unlike the ugly things of years ago.
- I have recently been prescribed support stockings which I now have to wear for the rest of my life, I have lymphoedema, so have swollen legs. The main problems that I have found is that they are very restrictive, too hot in summer, and very embarrassing to wear in public. Even though nobody can see them you know your wearing them, and I always think that people can see the bumps where the suspenders are. It should be easy to deal with. but the only way that any man would know what it was like would be to go down your local high street or stand in a pub wearing your wife's stockings and suspenders , surrounded by 20 stone rugby players.
- You raise a good point about embarrassment. With the issue of DVT, more men will have to wear support hosiery. I know that Jobst in the USA have just released a thigh-high hold-up support stocking for men. Take a look, it's still a big step for a man. I know from hearing women talk that if they notice anything strange, it's pervert first and only, if they can be bothered to find out, a man with varicose veins problems last !
I tried a British medical help site, advertised at a local clinic, when I mentioned these sorts of problems and if they could offer any advice I was given a very curt reply.
- A very good point indeed about embarrassment and one of the reasons that I stay with support pantyhose (also I don't have a severe case, as I related previously, and have been recommended to them so I don't develop a more severe case of edema and varicose veins).
The embarrassment factor is considerable and while I'm comfortable now, the first year was horrible. Unfortunately too, a lot of hosiery retailers/distributors are very curt (regardless) when it comes to men purchasing their products and the immediately connotation is pervert or fetishist.
The Jobst support thigh highs look very favourable but their price is extreme in my book. They also made the ONLY non-frilly, non-feminine garter belt I've seen and at a very reasonable price.
- Remember that when a doctor prescribes support hose (for anyone) they will also determine what compression you will need. This can be anywhere from 15mm at the foot to 8mm at the top or 22mm at the foot to 15mm at the top. Your doctor can tell you what he feels is best or suggest you try a few that work and feel comfortable to you.
It is very important to fit them correctly. If you can get by with the non-medical-prescription or "over the counter" types, they are much more forgiving in their fit.