Varicose Veins
When it comes to a problem like varicose veins, they can sometimes be problematic for two reasons. The first reason is for cosmetic reasons. Let’s be honest, these are not the prettiest vein issues in the world. They primarily happen on your lower legs, inner legs and thighs, and they can lead to serious self-esteem issues because of the way they look. Varicose veins are not only different colors and tend to stand out more than your other veins that are deeper in the legs, but they can also protrude, and sometimes make the skin on the leg look odd. The other reason these veins can be problematic is because they CAN be painful. Not only painful, but just uncomfortable. They can cause itching and burning, swelling, they can cause you to not be able to walk as well as you once could walk, and sometimes in some rare cases, they can become so painful that it might keep you from standing on your legs at all. This is not the result we want. Doctors want to find a way to make you as comfortable in your skin as well as comfortable with your body, so when it comes to varicose veins its important to know exactly what causes them, so that perhaps you can keep from getting them - sometimes though, if they are genetic, you can slim down your chances of getting them, but in the end there is still a small percentage that you will get them anyway. Without further ado, here are a few causes of varicose veins.
Age - Getting Older
No one likes to admit they are getting older, but unfortunately no matter how much you don’t want to admit you’re getting older, your body sometimes has the opposite effects and leaves you with things like varicose veins. Yes, varicose veins can be and probably can be caused by getting older. The reason for this is because your veins, just like your skin and muscles, can sometimes lose the elasticity that they once had. When this happens, the veins begin to stretch, over time, the more they stretch, the weaker they become. It’s almost like a rubber band. A brand new rubber band can be stretched far and as many times as you want. But, if you put the rubber band away for a few years or you stretch it again and again for a few years, either way, the band will become thinner, sometimes brittle, until one day you stretch it and it breaks! Valves work the same way. They become weak over time - whether you use them too much or too little, they still become ragged after a while. When the valves become weak, the blood that is supposed to flow through your body, instead gets backed up. This causes pools of blood to form in the veins and they become enlarged and become varicose veins. They tend to be blue-green from the deoxygenated blood. Some would compare this to a contusion in the leg, where the blood essentially dries because the lack of oxygen, and turns green, blue, or even purple.
Being Pregnant
Being pregnant won’t always cause varicose veins, but sometimes it does happen. Essentially, being pregnant can increase the volume of blood as well as decrease the flow of blood. This is a circulatory change to help support the growing baby inside of you, but unfortunately it also has adverse side effects - enlarged veins in the legs. If you have varicose veins while you are pregnant, chances are this is the first time you have seen them appearing in your legs, and sometimes you may see them getting worse the longer you carry the baby in your uterus. However! And this is a good however, most women that get varicose veins while pregnant, also get rid of them once the child is born, your hormones go back to normal, and you lose the weight of the baby. If you are still seeing varicose veins 3 months after you have given birth, you can talk to a doctor about any questions regarding varicose veins and how to get rid of them. Most of the time you can get rid of them on your own through eating healthier and exercising, but sometimes you may need to have surgery if they worsen or you may need medication.
Obesity & Lifestyle Changes
In the same way that extra pressure from pregnancy can cause varicose veins, being obese or overweight can also cause varicose veins because of the extra added pressure you are adding to your legs. In order to remedy this, make sure that you exercise the recommended 30 minutes a day, you eat a healthy diet of protein, fruits and vegetables, and that you also get your vitamins and minerals. If you have always had weight issues and nothing seems to work for you, you might consider hiring a professional trainer to get the weight off and in some special situations, getting surgery or a lap band to shrink your stomach - this makes it so that you can take less food in and it often helps train your body to realizing you don’t need as much food as you once did. Surgery and lap bands also give some people that extra push that they need. If you tend to not be obese, but you do lead a sedentary lifestyle, you could also be at risk to getting varicose veins. People that tend to sit a lot - people that work at desks, people that watch too much TV or sleep too much, or people that have jobs where they need to sit a lot, will be at a higher risk to get varicose veins, than someone that is much more active.
Age - Getting Older
No one likes to admit they are getting older, but unfortunately no matter how much you don’t want to admit you’re getting older, your body sometimes has the opposite effects and leaves you with things like varicose veins. Yes, varicose veins can be and probably can be caused by getting older. The reason for this is because your veins, just like your skin and muscles, can sometimes lose the elasticity that they once had. When this happens, the veins begin to stretch, over time, the more they stretch, the weaker they become. It’s almost like a rubber band. A brand new rubber band can be stretched far and as many times as you want. But, if you put the rubber band away for a few years or you stretch it again and again for a few years, either way, the band will become thinner, sometimes brittle, until one day you stretch it and it breaks! Valves work the same way. They become weak over time - whether you use them too much or too little, they still become ragged after a while. When the valves become weak, the blood that is supposed to flow through your body, instead gets backed up. This causes pools of blood to form in the veins and they become enlarged and become varicose veins. They tend to be blue-green from the deoxygenated blood. Some would compare this to a contusion in the leg, where the blood essentially dries because the lack of oxygen, and turns green, blue, or even purple.
Being Pregnant
Being pregnant won’t always cause varicose veins, but sometimes it does happen. Essentially, being pregnant can increase the volume of blood as well as decrease the flow of blood. This is a circulatory change to help support the growing baby inside of you, but unfortunately it also has adverse side effects - enlarged veins in the legs. If you have varicose veins while you are pregnant, chances are this is the first time you have seen them appearing in your legs, and sometimes you may see them getting worse the longer you carry the baby in your uterus. However! And this is a good however, most women that get varicose veins while pregnant, also get rid of them once the child is born, your hormones go back to normal, and you lose the weight of the baby. If you are still seeing varicose veins 3 months after you have given birth, you can talk to a doctor about any questions regarding varicose veins and how to get rid of them. Most of the time you can get rid of them on your own through eating healthier and exercising, but sometimes you may need to have surgery if they worsen or you may need medication.
Obesity & Lifestyle Changes
In the same way that extra pressure from pregnancy can cause varicose veins, being obese or overweight can also cause varicose veins because of the extra added pressure you are adding to your legs. In order to remedy this, make sure that you exercise the recommended 30 minutes a day, you eat a healthy diet of protein, fruits and vegetables, and that you also get your vitamins and minerals. If you have always had weight issues and nothing seems to work for you, you might consider hiring a professional trainer to get the weight off and in some special situations, getting surgery or a lap band to shrink your stomach - this makes it so that you can take less food in and it often helps train your body to realizing you don’t need as much food as you once did. Surgery and lap bands also give some people that extra push that they need. If you tend to not be obese, but you do lead a sedentary lifestyle, you could also be at risk to getting varicose veins. People that tend to sit a lot - people that work at desks, people that watch too much TV or sleep too much, or people that have jobs where they need to sit a lot, will be at a higher risk to get varicose veins, than someone that is much more active.