Varicose veins aren’t just unattractive. They’re also broken and dysfunctional. They don’t do you any good, and they can even do you harm.
Although usually regarded as an aesthetic issue, varicose veins are more than that. Even if your ugly, bulgy veins don’t cause you any discomfort at the moment, they can lead to complications — even serious complications — if you leave them untreated.
At Texas Heart and Vein Multispecialty Group, our skilled and knowledgeable cardiovascular surgeon, Jon-Cecil Walkes, MD, treats varicose veins so that your circulation can reroute itself to healthier blood vessels. All vein treatments are performed at our Houston, Texas-area offices.
Should you treat your varicose veins? The following are 5 reasons why you should view this “cosmetic” problem as the health risk that it is.
Your circulatory system has to fight against gravity to get your blood back up to your heart when it’s passed into your feet and legs. The reason that varicose veins are blue and swollen is that the blood that’s supposed to be flowing upward to your heart and lungs for re-oxygenation has pooled backward instead.
In healthy veins, small valves open and close to allow blood to move forward and to prevent it from back-flowing. With varicose veins, however, those valves are completely broken or weakened.
The broken valves allow the blood to stagnate or pool behind the valves, swelling the vein portion directly adjacent. When you remove these twisted, inefficient veins, your circulatory system immediately reroutes your blood to your healthy veins to keep things flowing as they should.
Most of the time, varicose veins are merely cosmetic. You don’t like the way they look or feel. However, over time, the swollen veins may also make your legs feel heavy or painful, too.
Compression socks can help alleviate the pain. They also give your circulation an upward boost. But leg pain is a clear indication that your cardiovascular system is struggling to circulate freely and healthily. You may eventually develop discolored skin or nonhealing ulcers on your legs due to the lack of healthy circulation.
When your varicose veins become inflamed or irritated, you may develop a condition called phlebitis. Although phlebitis is associated with blood clots, you may develop inflammation and swelling even without the presence of a blood clot.
Superficial phlebitis usually isn’t serious, though it may be a warning sign. If it doesn’t resolve on its own within a couple of weeks, contact us for an evaluation.
A type of phlebitis — called thrombophlebitis — occurs when a blood clot develops inside a varicose vein. When it’s near the surface, it’s called superficial thrombophlebitis. You may notice symptoms such as a small segment of the vein that’s:
If you find an area like this, go straight to the emergency room. Unfortunately, these superficial veins connect to deeper veins in your legs. Even a small clot can move from a superficial varicose vein into one of your deep leg veins.
When a clot develops in one of these deeper veins, it’s called deep-vein thrombosis (DVT). About a quarter of women and men who have superficial thrombophlebitis also have DVT.
The clot can break away from the vessel and travel through your bloodstream to your lungs. If it lodges in a blood vessel that services your lungs, you develop a life-threatening condition called pulmonary thrombosis.
You won’t have to worry about the complications of varicose veins if you don’t have them anymore. Luckily, varicose vein treatment is simple and relatively pain-free. You don’t even need to go to the hospital to have them removed. In-office options we offer include:
All of our varicose vein treatments force damaged veins to shrink or collapse so that your circulation can reroute itself efficiently.
Take care of your varicose veins before they become a problem. Just phone us at the office nearest you or schedule an appointment online today.
We service Greater Heights, Pearland Market, League City, Lake Jackson, Manvel, Rosharen, Alvin, Fresno, Missouri City, Arcola, Friendswood, South Houston, Kingwood Market, Humble, New Chaney, Atascocita, and Northeast Houston, Texas.
