Causes & symptoms of varicose veins

Why do we get varicose veins?

The primary defect of varicose veins are the damaged valves within the vein. The defect may be something you are born with or may arise follow injury or an episode of clotting (thrombosis) in the vein.

The aggravating factors include: heredity, race, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, your sex (commoner in females), standing for long periods, thrombosis, a warm environment or climate and pregnancy

What are the symptoms of varicose veins?

The first sign that one of the veins is varicose is that when you stand up, the vein becomes visibly swollen with blood. "

This may cause:

  • Restlessness in the legs 
  • Heaviness or pain in the legs on prolonged standing or walking,
  • Appearance of spider veins in the legs,
  • Appearance of swollen, tortuous veins below the skin on prolonged standing
  • Swelling of the ankles
  • Dark coloured skin at the ankles,
  • Itching in the legs (eczema)
  • Sudden bleeding from the leg
  • Leg ulcers  
  • Thrombosis

People with almost with the first sign of varicose veins become worried that they may develop the rather nasty complications that seem to lead from this condition:

  • Dark coloured spots on the feet (pigmentation)
  • Slow healing ulcers
  • Thrombosis or clotting and so on

A small varicose veins on the leg will not suddenly grow into a mass of grape like structures from the ankle to the groin. It is important to know that these changes occur slowly, over years.

If you develop a patch of eczema or pigmentation on the leg, than you should regard it as a warning that treatment of the varicose veins is required.