29 May 2013

Stylish compression garments


Anyone who has dealt with edema will be familiar with compression stockings (we used to call them TED hose).  They were designed for function, not fashion, and were colored and styled to be as inobtrusive as possible.  The only ones I ever remember seeing were either white or "flesh" colored (and the "flesh" was always Caucasian - though that may have changed in recent years).

Now a new product is available to breast cancer patients and others wishing to prevent or suppress lymphedema in the upper extremity.
It used to be that the only kind of sleeves available looked like big ugly bandages, but LympheDIVAs, a company started by two women with breast cancer in Philadelphia, was one of the first to change that. LympheDIVAs creates sleeves and gauntlets so funky and pretty, you could imagine wearing them just because they look cool. I wear their product regularly, and have found them to be pretty great. When I put on my "Lotus Dragon" one, people think I have an actual sleeve tattoo, which cracks me up.
Further details at Boing Boing.

9 comments:

  1. Love these! I have lymphedema and wish they made them for legs too...

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    Replies
    1. Just wear colored hose over your support hose.

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  2. Isn't everyone's flesh the same color? The skin is different, but the flesh underneath is the same.

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    1. The compression wear comes in various shades and has for at least a decade, since that was the last time I was actively working as a certified compression garment fitter. None of the colors are particularly a good match for any skin tone, but there are definitely various shades in skin-like range

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    2. Thanks, D. It has been quite a few years since I've encountered them on a regular basis.

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  3. Lots of compression gear in sports these days from socks to arm sleeves. We have a lot of Ironman triathletes in our town and the compression gear appears to be quite popular among them.

    Add for sports compression arm sleeve
    http://www.zensah.com/men/men-accessories/compression-arm-sleeves.html

    --gem

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  4. So who hss a link to a better looking product for the legs?

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