- If a pregnant lady develops any leg problem, she should consult a vascular surgeon without fail. It will be better, if she keeps her legs checked up regularly every two months by a vascular surgeon, so that timely intervention can be done to control the leg problem effectively.
- A pregnant lady should give top priority for prevention of any problem in the leg, because to control the problem, certain medicines are required which might be injurious to foetus in the womb. Secondly surgery if done for leg problems during pregnancy may jeopardize continuation of pregnancy. Therefore every pregnant lady must take her leg problem seriously and take timely precaution to nip in the bud any deviation in normal leg function, because medicine as well as surgery both are harmful to both mother and foetus during pregnancy.
- During pregnancy, a lady should avoid prolonged standing more than one hour. She should not use chairs with hard edge for sitting and avoid hanging of leg for a long time while sitting. For a pregnant lady, leg exercises such as cycling and swimming are very useful. Any working lady who is pregnant should keep herself mobile in her office, and take a break after sitting on chair for a long time. She should keep doing ankle exercise regularly in her office.
- During air travel, or watching movie in cine theatre or enjoying TV serials at home she should keep moving ankle and legs from time to time and must wear graduated compression stockings during these occasions. She should not walk without these special stockings. These GC stockings for pregnant ladies are also available in the market.
- Avoid hot bath and and prolonged exposure to sunlight especially direct sun rays, because heat will dilate the leg veins resulting into more accumulation of unoxygenated blood.
- Keep your legs and feet cold in summers as well as after a really tiring day. First elevate your legs and pour cold water on your feet and towards the legs. While sleeping keep pillows underneath the legs, so that legs remain elevated at least 10-12 inches above the chest level. Daily wear graduated compression stockings during the day time. While taking bath you remove the stockings then again wear the cleaned ones after bath. These GC stockings give two advantages. Firstly, it prevents accumulation of deoxygenated impure blood into the legs and thus control the swelling of leg. Secondly, These stockings create positive impact on blood flow to foetus as well as mother which is beneficial to both.
- If during pregnancy, there occurs a sudden swelling with increased temperature of leg, it indicates deposition of blood clots in leg veins. In such a situation, immediately go to a hospital where a full time vascular surgeon is available and facility for angiography, MR venography and Doppler study are equipped with. In such a condition, carelessness may even kill the patient.
Dr. K. K. Pandey is a Senior Consultant in Cardiothoracic, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi, with nearly 30 years of surgical experience. He has previously worked at Batra Hospital, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi and the Bakulev Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery in Moscow. Dr. Pandey specializes in thoracic, lung and chest tumour surgery, varicose veins, vascular bypass procedures and diabetic foot management, using both open and minimally invasive techniques. A surgeon, writer and health educator, he regularly writes columns and books to make complex medical topics easy for the general public, believing that medical knowledge must reach every common person.