What are varicose veins?
In order to understand varicose veins, it helps to think about how your circulatory system works. Each time your heart beats it pumps freshly oxygenated blood through your arteries, reaching all the areas of your body.
Once your cells make use of the oxygen, nutrients, and other components of your blood, the deoxygenated blood returns to your heart via your veins.
Your veins are effectively pushing blood against gravity. They’re equipped with tiny muscles and valves to keep the blood moving in the right direction. When one or more of those valves is damaged, blood can pool in that portion of your vein and the vein walls can begin to bulge and twist.
Your body compensates for this by simply redirecting blood to nearby healthy veins. However, the blood left within the damaged vein has no way to escape. When this occurs near the surface of your skin, those veins can be visible as varicose veins.
How do I know if I have varicose veins?
The primary symptom is the ability to see your veins through your skin. They may have a dark blue or purple color, and often appear twisted, lumpy, or swollen.
Varicose veins can also present the following symptoms:
- Aching legs
- Swollen ankles
- Areas of hardened fat just beneath your skin
- Eczema near the affected veins
- Abnormal bleeding in the area
- Sensation of heavy legs
- Restless leg syndrome
- Patches of white, flat, shiny skin near your ankles
If you notice changes in the appearance of your legs, schedule an appointment to determine if varicose veins are the cause and what can be done to treat them.
How are varicose veins treated?
There are several options to choose from, and your physician at NJ Vein Specialists helps you select the treatment that’s right for you. In some cases, compression stockings or socks can help by improving the circulation in your legs and ankles.
Laser therapy can also be an effective treatment path. This approach directs a concentrated beam of light to the affected area. That light creates heat that damages the walls of the varicose veins such that the cells are no longer viable, and are then processed and eliminated through your lymphatic system.
Another option is called sclerotherapy, a minimally invasive outpatient surgery in which your specialist injects a solution into the affected vein to create scarring. That scarring eventually closes off the treated vein, causing it to collapse. Your body processes the treated section of vein and eliminates it from your body.
Endovenous ablation, another minimally invasive procedure, uses radiofrequency or laser energy to force a varicose vein to close, prompting your body’s natural healing function to clear those cells over the following weeks.
To discuss these options in greater detail, schedule a consultation at NJ Vein Specialists online or by phone today.
