It’s September. For my wife, who teaches here in Ontario, that means back to school. For us at the pharmacy on Bank Street, it means the start of the end-of-year rush.
It happens every single year. By mid-December, we get a flood of people scrambling to use their health insurance benefits before they expire on the 31st. And honestly, one of the biggest things people just let go to waste is their coverage for compression stockings.
You don’t need a medical condition to get these covered. If you stand on your feet all day—like my wife in her classroom, or the nurses and retail workers we see every week—your legs are going to ache by 4 PM. It’s just gravity. Proper, medical-grade compression socks actually push that blood back up. It stops the swelling and gets rid of that heavy, tired feeling.
A lot of folks hesitate because they picture those thick, beige surgical stockings from twenty years ago. That’s not what we carry. The compression socks we fit people for today look exactly like normal dress socks or running socks.
Check your benefits plan. Most of them reset on January 1st, meaning it’s a “use it or lose it” situation. You usually just need a quick prescription from your family doctor (usually for 20-30 mmHg).
Once you have that, bring it in to us. My advice? Don’t wait until mid-December when the dispensary gets crazy. Come in now while things are a bit quieter. We can take our time in the consultation room, get your exact leg measurements, and make sure you get a pair that actually fits.
Learn more about getting fitted for compression stockings at our Glebe pharmacy