Compression socks

Socks for days on your feet

A shift in healthcare is mostly spent standing or walking, often on hard floors and rarely with planned breaks. Compression socks are therefore one of the garments many healthcare workers get early on and then wear routinely — they are part of the work outfit in the same way as shoes, and are often bought in several pairs so that there is always a clean one.

Details on size, fit and material are on each product page. If you need compression stockings for medical reasons — after surgery, during pregnancy or for a condition affecting the legs — that is something to be assessed and fitted by a healthcare professional, with the right compression class and the right measurements. The socks here are workwear, not a treatment.

The patterns

The designs are made to be seen, because that is exactly what happens when a trouser leg rides up during a shift. Penguins, dogs and pineapples are the purely fun designs; stethoscopes, syringes and pills are the profession's in-jokes; the ECG trace in black and the modern striped pair are for those who want something understated. They also work as a gift for someone who has just started a healthcare education.

Size, care and how many

Size, length and material are stated on each product page — read them before you order, because the fit determines whether the sock stays in place through a whole shift or needs adjusting all the time. Care instructions are on the garment, but if your workplace has its own rules for how workwear is to be washed, those apply.

Most people who wear compression socks routinely have several pairs in rotation, since they are washed after every shift. That also makes them one of the gifts that actually gets used: a pair of patterned socks for someone who has just started in healthcare never ends up in a drawer.

The rest of your personal items are under personal equipment: nurse fob watches, scrub caps, badge holders and name badges.