Varicose veins are veins that are swollen and agonizing. They can become huge and twisted to look similar to ropes. In the normal vein there are valves that keep blood moving forward toward the heart, but with varicose veins the valves do not perform properly, this permits the blood to pause in the vein and it pools, causing it to enlarge.
Warnings to look for are distress and a feeling of fullness in the legs, visible dilated veins, mild bulging of the ankle and discoloration of the skin around the ankle. If you begin to have a lot of pain, and your veins do not answer to your own healing, you should see a varicose vein doctor. When you begin to have indications, sitting or lounging with your feet tilted may help.
Varicose vein remedy will be conservative at the beginning. Your doctor will probably order you to abstain from standing, especially for long periods of time. Remain off your feet as much as possible, and wear elastic support stockings when you are on your feet.
Should you ensue a sudden surge in pain, swelling, fever, or redness, you should touch base with your doctor directly, as you can develop complications such as soreness of the vein (Phlebitis), leg ulcers, or the rupture of a varicose vein. You can treat your varicose veins for as long as it helps, by keeping your feet tilted, by staying off your feet as much as possible, and by wearing elastic support stockings. Varicose veins, however, will only worsen over time. However, by taking the proper care of yourself, you can hold off the worst for as long as possible.
If you get to the point that your ache is unbearable, you may have to have surgery done. There is a treatment called Sclerotherapy which is executed while the patient is standing. A solution is injected into the vein to cause thickening. This closes off the vein. Afterwards an elastic bandage is wrapped snugly around the leg or part of the body where the varicose vein was situated.
Another remedy is called Endovenous ablation therapy. This procedure uses heat to destroy vein tissue. A slender tube is put into the vein through a small incision under local anesthesia. Then by using laser or radio wave energy the vein is cauterized, closing it off. This is an outpatient procedure.
Surgical vein stripping (or varicose vein removal) is a procedure that is done under general anesthesia. You are asleep and do not feel pain. This is also an outpatient procedure. The doctor makes a cut at the top and the bottom of the varicose vein. A thin, plastic, tube like tool is put into the vein and is linked around it, then when the tube is pulled out the vein is removed with it. The vein stripping is not done as often nowadays as it was in the past, since the Endovenous ablation treatment has been shown to work as well, or better, than the stripping procedure. There looks to be less pain, also, and patients typically recover swifter. These therapy will, more than likely, cause scarring.
