About venous leg ulcers
A venous leg ulcer is a break in the skin of the lower leg that stays open because the veins beneath it are not doing their job. Most appear between mid-calf and ankle, commonly on the inner side near the ankle bone. They are usually shallow, with an irregular outline and a moist red or yellowish base. Drainage can be heavy enough to soak through dressings and socks.
The skin nearby tells part of the story. It may look stained brown or purple, feel tight, hard or itchy, and swell more as the day goes on. Pain varies. Some people feel a dull ache that eases when the leg is raised, and others feel very little.
What the treating clinician looks at
A plan for a venous leg ulcer has to work on ordinary days, so the treating clinician looks at how you live with the leg. Can you bend far enough to reach your foot? Do your hands have the grip to pull on a stocking? Who is in the house to help, and how often? What shoes fit over a wrap?
The answers guide the kind of compression that is ordered. Layered wraps applied by a clinician suit some people. An adjustable garment that a caregiver can manage suits others. A plan that fits your routine is more likely to stay on the leg, and compression only helps while it is worn.
Local context: Lake St. Louis
In Lake St. Louis, a vein specialist or vascular lab can be a long drive away, and a car ride is hard on a venous ulcer. Sitting with the knees bent and feet on the floor for a long stretch each way lets fluid settle in the lower legs. When routine wrap changes and wound checks happen at home, those drives can be saved for appointments that truly need a specialist’s equipment. Gateway arranges home visits with a partner clinician, helps schedule any testing the clinician orders, and groups appointments where possible so one trip covers more than one need.
Homes here include lakefront houses with walkout lower levels, villas and condominiums built for easier upkeep, and newer subdivisions toward the edges of the city. Sloped lots and stairs are common, which matters when someone uses a walker or wheelchair. Lake St. Louis also has assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing communities. Gateway arranges partner clinician visits in all of these settings. We ask which entrance has the fewest steps and, for facilities, which nurse should receive the treating clinician’s orders after the visit.
When care happens at home
At a home visit, the partner clinician removes the old wrap and dressing, checks the skin, measures the ulcer and the swelling, and reapplies what was ordered. Seeing the home helps. The clinician can look at the chair where you spend most of the day, whether a footstool or recliner raises your legs, and how far you walk to the bathroom or kitchen. Details like these often explain why a leg is more swollen on some days than others. Gateway schedules the visits, confirms the day with you or a family member, and passes the clinician’s notes and orders to the others involved in your care.
For residents of nursing and senior living communities
Assisted living is a different setting from a nursing home. Staff may help with bathing and dressing, but licensed nursing hours are often limited, and many communities do not apply compression wraps. For a resident with a venous leg ulcer, that affects the plan. The treating clinician may choose compression that stays on between visits, or a type that a home health nurse reapplies. Gateway coordinates with the community’s nurse or wellness director, the family and any home health agency so each knows who is responsible for which task. We also ask staff to report slipped wraps, wet dressings and new swelling early.
Signs to tell the clinician about
Changes in the skin around a venous ulcer are worth reporting even when the wound itself looks the same. Let the treating clinician know about:
- Dressings that soak through earlier than expected
- Skin near the ulcer that turns white, soggy or raw
- A new itchy rash or blisters under a dressing, tape or wrap
- A new open area anywhere on either leg
- Clear fluid weeping from skin that was intact
- A dressing or wrap that got wet or dirty
Call 911 if bleeding will not stop with firm pressure, or if the person becomes confused, very drowsy or hard to wake.
Primary care and overall health
The calf muscle acts as a pump for the leg veins, and it only works when the ankle moves. Arthritis, nerve damage, an old injury, pain from the ulcer itself or fear of falling can shrink a person’s walking to a few steps a day. A primary care clinician can look at what is limiting movement, manage pain, review fall risk and order physical therapy or equipment when appropriate. Sleep is part of this too. People who sleep upright in a recliner because of breathing trouble or back pain keep their legs down all night, and the reason behind that habit needs a medical answer.
Arranging venous leg ulcer care in Lake St. Louis
You may already have a surgeon, a wound clinic or a home health nurse and still want help with venous leg ulcer care closer to home in Lake St. Louis. That is a fine reason to call 314-325-0126. Tell us who is treating the wound now and what is not working, whether that is the travel, the gaps between appointments or unclear instructions. Gateway does not replace your current clinicians. We can arrange for a partner clinician to see the wound where you live and, with your permission, share notes with the offices already involved so the plans agree.
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital in Lake Saint Louis is the closest hospital for most residents, and Progress West Hospital in O’Fallon is a short drive east. Neither is affiliated with Gateway. When a patient is being discharged with a surgical wound, a pressure injury or a leg ulcer, the family or the hospital case manager can contact us to ask about follow-up at the Lake St. Louis address. A fax to 314-786-7966 with the discharge summary and wound orders gives the treating clinician what is needed to plan a first visit.
- County: St. Charles County, Missouri
- ZIP codes: 63367
- Nearby hospitals: SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital in Lake Saint Louis; Progress West Hospital in O'Fallon (not affiliated with Gateway)
- Nearby communities: Wentzville, O'Fallon, Missouri, Dardenne Prairie, St. Charles County
- Care settings: Private homes, skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care and rehabilitation
More wound care in Lake St. Louis
Read the full guide to venous leg ulcers, or see everything Gateway arranges on the mobile wound care in Lake St. Louis page.
- Diabetic foot ulcers
- Pressure injuries and bed sores
- Arterial and mixed wounds
- Non-healing wounds
- Post-surgical wounds
- Reopened (dehisced) surgical wounds
- Surgical site infections
- Skin tears and traumatic wounds
- Wounds with lymphedema
- Skin graft aftercare
- Wound VAC (NPWT) follow-up
- Venous leg ulcer care in Wentzville
- Venous leg ulcer care in O'Fallon
- Venous leg ulcer care in St. Charles County
Common questions
My mother lives in a nursing home in Lake St. Louis. Can Gateway arrange venous ulcer care there?
Often, yes. Partner clinicians see residents in skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care and rehabilitation settings, working alongside the facility’s nurses and the attending physician. Start by telling us the facility’s name, or ask its nursing staff to contact Gateway. We confirm whether visits are available at that location and what the facility needs in order to begin.
Can I shower or bathe with a compression wrap on?
Most wraps need to stay dry, because a wet wrap can irritate skin and lose its hold. How you bathe depends on the type of compression ordered. Some garments come off for bathing, while layered wraps usually stay on until the next change. Ask the treating clinician what applies to you and which cover, if any, they suggest. Report a wrap that gets wet.
How often will someone visit for a venous ulcer?
The treating clinician sets the schedule based on the leg. Heavy drainage or newly started compression often calls for more frequent changes, and visits may spread out as swelling and drainage settle. Home health nurses or facility staff sometimes handle changes in between. Gateway cannot promise a specific frequency or timing, since availability is confirmed by location and care setting.
My parents live in Lake St. Louis and I live out of state. Can I set up care for them?
Yes. Adult children often make the first call. Give us your parents’ names, their Lake St. Louis address and phone number, and tell us who should get updates. With your parents’ permission, Gateway can keep you informed about visit dates and what the treating clinician orders. The web form takes contact details only, so share health information by phone.
General information to help you talk with your own clinician. It is not medical advice, and the treating clinician makes every clinical decision. For a medical emergency, call 911.