What is pheripheral vascular disease? i have brown spots around the neck and leg/ankle area and was told to wear pressure hose when standing for long periods of time. could i use bleaching creams on the spots?

If : If you were told to wear compression stockings, my guess is those dark brown spots are hemosiderin deposits. Our red blood cells live for 120 days. We are always making some, and some are always dying. When they die, they break open, and the hemoglobin molecule inside them is released. It's the hemoglobin molecule that gives our blood its red color. When red blood cells die while in our circulatory system, the hemoglobin that is released is absorbed by the body. If you have venous stasis, which is the pooling of blood in the lower legs because of varicose veins or an incompetent valve (the veins in the legs have valves to fight the force of gravity and help bring blood back to the heart), then the blood will pool in the lower legs due to gravity. When the red blood cells die while blood is pooling, the hemoglobin is released into the tissues, and stain then that dark brown color. That's called hemosiderin. There is no way to remove hemosiderin stains from the skin, but wearing compression stockings will help to prevent it from getting worse. The muscle action of walking helps bring blood back to the heart, whereas just standing is the worst thing for venous stasis. I assume you're under the care of a vascular surgeon, who is best trained to treat this problem. If not, i strongly suggest you make an appointment with one. Good luck, and i hope this helps.

Peripheral Vascular : Peripheral vascular disease usually refers to arterial disease of the legs, in which plaque builds up in the arteries & decreases blood flow to the legs. In your case, it sounds like you don't have pad, but rather u likely have vein disease (venous insufficiency), as this leads to the darkened skin at the ankles and is helped with hose. Bleaching creams won't help. Get a vein ultrasound to check.