What do your legs look like?
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PrintWondering if you know anyone with legs like this?
As we have been talking about, these are varicose veins.
Varicose Veins are the swollen veins on the surface of the leg. People
are affected by varicose veins because they stand upright for the
majority of the time, which in turn gravity puts pressure on the veins.
With this increase pressure it is more difficult for the veins to pump
the blood back to the heart, which sometimes can make the valves
weak or even break. The valves purpose is to control the blood
flow to only go one way. This means that if there is a weak valve
or no valve, blood can pool in the vein and cause the vein to bulge.
Varicose veins are made worse by standing or sitting long periods
of time, pregnancy, heredity, hormonal changes, birth control pills,
smoking or being overweight. (Surgery Specialists of Green Bay, brochure of varicose veins and spider veins www.surgeryspecialistsofgb.com ).
What are the treament options?
- compression stockings
- sclerotherapy
- stab phlebectomy
- VNUS tm closure
- vein stripping
More pictures and a brief description of each of the above treatments will be in the next post, some come on back!
