How to Prevent Varicose Veins

1. 
   Exercise regularly. Walking and jogging improve circulation in the legs, and proper circulation helps ward off varicose veins. Exercise also reduces overall high blood pressure and strengthens the entire circulatory system.
   
   
2. 
   Avoid prolonged standing. Standing in one place for a long time increases venous pressure in the legs and feet, and over time this pressure weakens the blood vessel walls. Since prolonged standing is almost unavoidable in some jobs, mitigate the harm by shifting your position as frequently as possible, and try to walk around at least every 30 minutes. If your job can be performed while sitting, see if you can arrange that.
3. 
   Maintain a healthy weight. If you’re overweight, you put excess pressure on your legs. Exercise regularly and develop healthy eating habits, and you’ll reap a whole host of health benefits, including reduction of your varicose vein risk.
4. 
   Quit smoking. Everybody knows that smoking contributes to myriad health problems, but if you need one more reason, keep in mind that the high blood pressure associated with smoking also helps cause varicose veins.
5. 
   Put your feet up for a while. Especially if you have to stand up for long periods, take time to relax your legs and improve circulation by elevating your legs and feet for several minutes throughout the day or when you finish your shift. With your doctor’s blessing, you might also try using an inversion table or elevating the foot of your bed so that your feet are slightly higher than your head when you sleep. Taking pressure off the legs and letting gravity act on your body a little differently from time to time will help prevent blood from pooling in the veins.
6. 
   Redesign your wardrobe. Improve circulation to your lower body by avoiding tight-fitting clothes on your legs and around your waist. Wear comfortable, low-heeled shoes instead of high heels, and make sure your shoes are properly fitted.
7. 
   Sit properly. Sit up straight and don’t cross your legs. Good posture improves circulation, while crossed legs restrict blood flow to and from the legs.
8. 
   Avoid high-estrogen birth control pills. Long-term use of high-estrogen birth control pills have been shown to increase the risk of varicose veins by altering circulatory valve functioning. If you require birth control for an extended period of time, ask your health care provider about other options.
9. 
   Wear compression hose. If you’re developing varicose veins, try regularly using compression hose (support hose). These can be purchased at medical supply stores or pharmacies and come in a variety of different compressions. Check with your doctor or pharmacist to make sure you get the proper fit and compression level.
10. 
    Consider medical options. While the steps above can help prevent the appearance of varicose veins, stop new ones from forming, and reduce the size and painfulness of existing ones, medical treatment may be advisable if you are in severe pain or if these less severe methods don’t work. Treatments include sclerotherapy, laser surgery, and vein stripping. Consult your physician to determine the best option for you.
    From **here

Oral Bacteria are a Possible Risk Factor for Valvular Incompetence in Primary Varicose Veins

Objectives

To investigate a possible link between valvular incompetence in primary varicose veins and chronic infection of periodontal disease by assessing the presence of oral bacteria in the great saphenous vein from patients with varicose veins and control subjects.

Material and methods

Forty-four primary varicose vein patients were enrolled in the study. 12 control saphenous veins were obtained from patients undergoing peripheral arterial bypass without clinical evidence of venous reflux. In total, 56 saphenous vein specimen (44 varicose veins and 12 control veins) were examined for 7 periodontal bacteria using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method.

Results

Of the 44 primary varicose vein patients, 31 patients were women and mean age was 59 years (range, 39–79 years). PCR examination of the diseased vein specimens showed that 48% were positive for at least one of 7 periodontal bacterial DNA. No bacteria were detected in the control specimens.

Conclusion

Bacterial colonisation or infection of varicose veins is a frequent event although we were not able to establish whether this is a cause or consequence of the development of varices but this could be considered a risk factor for the development of varices.

Keywords: Primary varicose veins; Valvular incompetence; Periodontopathic bacteria; Polymerase chain reaction

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Review Journal Varicose Veins

Abstract

This contribution discusses the epidemiology, aetiology, diagnosis and management of varicose veins. Reticular and thread veins are discussed briefly.

Keywords

compression hosiery; endovenous laser ablation; foam sclerotherapy; primary varicose veins; radiofrequency ablation; recurrent varicose veins; reticular; thread; vascular surgery

Author
Rebecca J Winterborn
Frank CT Smith


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Can laser be used to treat varicose and spider veins?

Cause varicose veins. Spider veins and small varicose veins can be treated with laser treatment applied from the surface of the skin. The laser applies an intense energy that essentially destroys the small blood vessels in the surface of the skin. Results are variable, and multiple treatments may be necessary to have some benefit. This is generally less invasive than sclerotherapy and vein stripping (no insertion of needles or catheters are required). Possible problems may involve a temporary discoloration of the skin. Larger varicose veins may be treated with endovenous (inside the vein) catheter ablation or laser surgery. This basically involves inserting a probe (or catheter) into the large vein in the lower leg (saphenous vein) and closing the vein by applying heat generated through laser. This technique has proven to be less painful, and it also has a faster recovery time compared to the vein stripping surgery.

What type of doctors provide treatments for varicose and spider veins?

Doctors providing surgical treatments (stripping and laser ablation) include general and vascular surgeons. Sclerotherapy and laser treatments are often performed by dermatologists. Some general, vascular, and plastic surgeons also perform sclerotherapy treatments. You may want to consult more than one doctor before deciding on a method of treatment. Be sure to ask the doctors about their experience in performing the procedure you want.

What are the side effects of these treatments?

A patient should carefully question the doctor about the safety and side effects for each type of treatment. Thoroughly review any "informed consent" forms your doctor gives you explaining the risks of a procedure. For surgical removal of veins, the side effects are those for any surgery performed under anesthesia, including nausea, vomiting, and the risk of wound infection. Surgery also results in scarring where small incisions are made and may occasionally cause blood clots.

For sclerotherapy, the side effects can depend on the substance used for the injection. People with allergies may want to be cautious. For example, Sotradecol may cause allergic reactions, which can occasionally be severe. Hypertonic saline solution is unlikely to cause allergic reactions. Either substance may burn the skin (if the needle is not properly inserted) or permanently mark or "stain" the skin. (These brownish marks are caused by the scattering of blood cells throughout the tissue after the vein has been injected and may fade over time). Occasionally, sclerotherapy can lead to blood clots. Laser treatments can cause scarring and changes in the color of the skin.

How long do cause varicose veins or spider vein treatment results last?

Many factors will affect the rate at which treated varicose veins recur. These include the underlying diagnosis, the method used and its suitability for treating a particular condition, and the skill of the physician. Sometimes the body forms a new vein in place of the one removed by a surgeon. An injected vein that was not completely destroyed by sclerotherapy may reopen, or a new vein may appear in the same location as previous one. Many studies have found that varicose veins are more likely to recur following sclerotherapy than following surgery. However, no treatment method has been scientifically established as being free from recurrences. For all types of procedures, recurrence rates increase with time. Also, because venous (vein) disease is typically progressive, no treatment can prevent the appearance of new varicose or spider veins in the future.

What Causes Varicose Veins?

What are varicose veins and what causes them? Maybe you or someone you know has this problem. Read on to find out more about this disorder.

What are varicose veins and who gets them? Well, you may have them yourself, but why? What causes varicose veins in the first place? Varicose veins are defined as swollen, distended veins, usually occurring in the legs. They are quite unsightly as I am sure you already know, but more than that, they can be painful. First we must know the normal functioning of the circulatory system. Arteries bring oxygen rich blood from the heart to the entire body. Then veins bring unoxyegenated blood back up to the heart. Under normal conditions, the actions of your leg muscles causing movement help circulate the blood through the veins and back toward the heart. But with varicose veins, the walls of the veins in the legs are weakened. Usually, these veins are superficial, or near the skin's surface where they protrude and are more easily visible. You also have tiny valves inside the veins, just as you have valves inside your heart. With varicose veins, the valves inside the veins are damaged and do not function properly. Gravity can then cause the blood to "pool" in the vein, which means the blood stays in the veins, becoming stagnant there and making them bulge out. Varicose veins can also occur in deeper veins under the skin. 

Varicose veins like these can lead to venous thrombosis, which is the medical term for a blood clot. When this occurs, circulation becomes poor. They may lead to swollen ankles, feet and legs, scaly, itchy skin, darkening of the skin, changes in temperature in the legs and feet and may even cause sores and ulcers on the skin to develop. These are called venous stasis ulcers. Blood clots in the legs can be dangerous. Symptoms of venous thrombosis, or blood clots in the legs include, but are not limited to swelling, redness and tenderness along a vein.

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The longer a person stands without moving, the more the blood pools in the veins. As more blood pools in the veins, the walls of the veins stretch. Symptoms of varicose veins are the appearance of bluish, soft, and sometimes tender lumps and bulging veins under the surface of the skin. These can be painful at times, but not always. Very tiny veins of the legs can also dilate. These are called spider veins because of the spider web pattern they form. They are actually not related to real varicose veins at all. 

It is suspected that varicose veins run in families. Simply looking at the legs for deep veins can make a diagnosis, a Venogram can be taken, which is an x-ray of the blood vessels. Doppler ultrasound may also be used to study the blood flow. This is less invasive than the venogram because for the venogram an i.v. must be started to inject dye and with the ultrasound it is simply like any other ultrasound, no needles are necessary. 

Treatment and prevention entail the following common sense, self help approach. Treatment includes raising your legs when sitting. This may help reduce the pain, swelling and may help prevent getting varicose veins at all. When sitting watching TV or reading or even at the computer, try to remember to put you feet up on a chair or footstool, the higher the better. This will help the blood to recirculate back into the body. Another thing that can be done is to get custom fitting support stockings. While they are not very attractive, you could wear them under pants and when at home. Prevention of varicose veins includes the following recommendations:

-take breaks from standing, especially if you have a job where you stand all day, mostly in one place. Raise your feet on a stool, one at a time, switch side and move around when you can. Walking is better than standing still all day. 

-wear your support stockings or pantyhose

-avoid wearing tight knee hose or knee socks, and tight girdles which all impair circulation.

-take short walks during the day, walk on your lunch break. Do calf pumping and make circles with your ankles during the day.

-avoid sitting with your legs crossed

-each day lie on the floor or bed near a wall. Put your feet up on the wall. Lie there for at least fifteen minutes each day. This will allow some or most of the blood that has pooled down in your legs to move out of the legs and back into the body. It is also very relaxing and destressing. Take a catnap or read a book while doing this exercise, if you like.

AP-1 Protein Causes Varicose Veins

Varices, commonly called varicose veins, are a cosmetic problem if they occur as spider veins but in their advanced stage they pose a real health threat. In those patients, the blood is no longer transported to the heart unhindered but instead pools in the veins of the leg because the vessel walls or venous valves no longer function adequately.

According to the German Vascular League, 30 million people suffer from minor vein-related symptoms, women are affected around twice as often as men. According to a health report published by the German government, 15 to 20 percent of the population has varicose veins.
 

Dr. Thomas Korff of University Hospital Heidelberg and colleagues write in The FASEB Journal that the pathological remodeling processes causing varicose veins are mediated by a single protein, the activator protein 1 (AP-1).

As a response to increased stretching of the vessel wall, the AP-1 transcription factor triggers the production of several molecules promoting changes in wall architecture, findings which may offer a possibility for using drugs to decelerate the formation of or even prevent new varicose veins. Previously, no suitable experimental systems existed for studying the way in which these changes in the cells of the blood vessels are controlled. For their studies, Korff and his team took advantage of the fact that blood vessels in the mouse ear are clearly visible and are also easily accessible for minor surgical procedures. In order to artificially set off processes that are similar to the formation of varicose veins, they tied off a vein with a thin thread. The elevated pressure in the vessels caused by the pooled blood led to the recognizable remodeling characteristic of varicose veins.

In addition, in the affected veins, the cell proliferation rate and the production of MMP-2 increased. The MMP-2 enzyme breaks down the non-cellular components of the connective tissue of the blood vessels. On the other hand, there were no signs of an inflammatory response, which can be observed during other vessel remodeling processes. "Nevertheless, the cellular mechanisms that control the formation of varicose veins appear to be similar to mechanisms that orchestrate the remodeling of arteries in patients with high blood pressure," Korff explains. The transcription factor AP-1 which regulates the activity of certain genes and thus the corresponding protein production is regulated by the filling pressure in the blood vessels and in turn controls the formation of varicose veins, Korff adds.

If AP-1 is inhibited, thus prohibiting it from activating genes, the characteristic corkscrew-like varicose veins do not form and cell proliferation and the production of enzymes that break down connective tissue remain at normal levels.

In a further experiment, the group showed that the results obtained in the mouse are also valid for humans. Varicose veins that have been surgically removed from patients exhibited the same cellular and molecular changes as the varicose veins created artificially in the mouse ear. Based on these results, Korff plans more studies. "Using our model, we can now more precisely analyze the early stages of the disorder and test possible drugs for their ability to prevent varicose vein formation, which, as a result, may improve the quality of life of afflicted patients.

Cause Varicose Veins video