Varicose veins are swollen and enlarged veins – usually blue or dark purple – that usually occur on the legs. They may also be lumpy, bulging or twisted in appearance. Other symptoms include: aching, heavy and uncomfortable legs.
The most recognizable sign of varicose veins is a gnarled, blue or purple vein just under your skin's surface. Symptoms include: Bulging veins: Twisted, swollen, rope-like veins are often blue or purple. They appear just below the surface of the skin on your legs, ankles and feet.
It may begin to appear as though you have brown stains on your skin, which occurs as blood leaks from your blood vessels into the surrounding soft tissue. Stage 5: In the final stage of vein disease, leg ulcers develop. These may be extremely painful and itchy, requiring constant care and dressing to avoid infection.
Ulcers (Stage 4)
This is the final stage of varicose veins. Your leg will be swollen with discoloured skin and an ulcer may develop. If left untreated it can be extremely painful and the veins may burst. Treatment at this stage is pretty much limited to minimally invasive treatments like EVLT or Surgery.
Feeling of heaviness, itching, or tingling in the affected limb. Pain that gets worse when you lower your legs or stand. Swelling, darkening, or irritation of the skin. Appearance of varicose veins.
What to Watch For. If you are experiencing pain or you notice swelling or discoloration of your lower legs, these can be signs of a more serious problem and you should consult a doctor. Other symptoms might include burning, cramping, itching or throbbing in the legs, and some might experience restless leg syndrome.
Varicose veins are rarely a serious condition and they do not usually require treatment. But speak to a GP if: your varicose veins are causing you pain or discomfort. the skin over your veins is sore and irritated.
Blood Clots
Clots in deep veins can travel through the bloodstream to the lungs, causing potentially life-threatening issues like a pulmonary embolism, which can be fatal. This is one of the most serious health risks associated with untreated varicose veins.
There's some good news, though. "Varicose veins typically aren't life-threatening or limb-threatening, and they generally don't increase your chance of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or developing blood clots, which is what a lot of people worry about," says Dr. Lu.
Severe varicose veins may eventually produce long-term mild swelling that can result in more serious skin and tissue problems. These include ulcers and nonhealing sores. The symptoms of varicose veins may resemble other medical conditions or problems.
Conclusions: A total of 869,220 surgeries were performed to treat chronic venous disease over twelve years, with an overall rate of 4.52 procedures per 10,000 population per year. The mortality rate was very low, 0.0056%.
Progression: Varicose vein disease will never improve, go away, or cure itself. It will only get worse, increasing in size, number and extent on the legs. The result is worsening symptoms of heaviness, aching, swelling, etc.
Varicose veins happen when there is damage to the valves within your veins. These appear as swollen dark-colored veins that are visible just beneath the skin's surface and are most commonly found in the legs. Swollen veins cause blood to flow less efficiently, which leads to poor circulation.
Leaving varicose veins untreated can lead to skin ulcers from small cuts or minor wounds that refuse to heal. The area will swell, and the tension from the veins prevents the swelling from receding. In order to treat the veins, you'll have to first treat the swelling.
Varicose veins get worse over time for several reasons. The underlying cause of varicose veins is venous insufficiency. This is a condition where the one way valves in the veins in the legs fail, causing blood to flow backward and pool in the leg veins. This is a chronic condition and it gets worse over time.
While exercise won't cure varicose veins, it can help improve your symptoms and reduce your risk of developing more. Walking, biking and swimming are all great low-impact exercises that are easy on the joints and help circulation in varicose veins.
In most cases, veins are simply closed using a chemical or radiofrequency energy that gently heats vessels to close them. Each of these treatments is virtually painless. This is because veins have no nerve endings.
Vein ligation and stripping is a surgical treatment for varicose veins. One or more cuts are made over the vein, and the vein is tied off (ligated) in two places. All or part of the vein between the tied off areas is usually removed (stripped). You'll need general or spinal anesthesia for this surgery.
At worst, they can be indicative of a progressive disease process called chronic venous insufficiency, which causes poor wound healing, ulcers and, in severe cases, can lead to amputation.
That said, varicose veins can be associated with some health-related issues, such as swelling in the legs, blood clots, or damage to the skin caused by pressure from the veins. They may also make you more prone to skin damage, infections, and ulcers.
Yet “fewer studies have established an association between varicose veins and peripheral arterial disease,” he said. Inflammation has become “increasingly recognized as a key player in the development of vascular disease, including deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, stroke and heart attack,” Piazza said.
Because of how blood flows throughout our bodies, you have more veins on the left side of your body. According to this theory, more veins mean a greater chance of varicose veins developing on the left leg.
While varicose and spider veins are more likely to develop after the age of 50, especially in women, plenty of young people find themselves developing varicose veins as early as their 20s.