You’ve worked hard to develop toned legs by doing hundreds of lunges and squats, but you still have a frustrating problem. Those ugly blue veins that stick out on the back of your legs. As you probably already know, those swollen vessels are varicose veins. Varicose veins are veins that are dilated and enlarged. They’re primarily a common cosmetic problem, although they can also cause legs to ache, burn, itch or feel heavy, especially for people stand for long periods of time. What causes them and what can you do about them?
Causes of Varicose Veins
Veins in the legs have valves that keep blood from flowing backwards as it makes its way back to the heart. If these valves become damaged, blood can pool in the legs. This causes the veins to dilate and become larger so they’re visible as varicosities.
Women are more susceptible to varicose veins than men, especially during pregnancy when the growing fetus puts pressure on the veins in the lower extremities and the amount of blood and fluid veins are forced to carry increases. Hormones also play a role. Pregnancy-related hormones can weaken the walls of veins and cause them to dilate.
Genetics also play a role in who gets varicose veins. If your mother had them, you’re more likely to have them too at some point too. People who are obese or stand for long periods of time are at greater risk since blood pools in the legs during prolonged standing. The valves that keep blood from pooling in the legs also weaken with age, so varicose veins become more common as you get older.
What Can You Do About Them?
Exercising, losing excess weight and wearing support hose all help to prevent new varicose veins from forming. It’s also important to avoid standing for long periods of time and keep your legs elevated when you’re sitting in a chair. This keeps blood from pooling in the veins and causing them to further dilate. Unfortunately, even these measures won’t take away varicose veins that are already there.
One way to treat varicose veins is by using a procedure called sclerotherapy. This procedure is done by a doctor and involves injecting the dilated vein with a solution that causes it to seal off and eventually shrivel up. It may require more than one treatment to be successful, and there’s the risk of infection, bruising, bleeding, inflammation, blood clots, and scarring. Laser surgery is also effective for treating small varicosities, but it usually takes several treatments, which can be expensive. In more extreme cases, varicose veins can be removed surgically.
An Alternative Therapy?
An extract from the horse chestnut plant contains a compound called aescin that may help to treat some of the burning, leg heaviness and itchiness some women experience with varicose veins. Horse chestnuts are poisonous in their natural state and have to be processed to make them non-toxic, but there are horse chestnut supplements available online.
The Bottom Line?
Varicose veins are a common problem, especially among women. Unfortunately, there are no creams or lotions that will take them away, but there are procedures like sclerotherapy and laser therapy that work to remove these unsightly veins.
References:
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007 Jan 24;(1):CD001066.
Medscape.com. “Primary Management of Varicose Veins”
Medline Plus. “Horse Chestnut”
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