Dealing With Spider Veins & More

Aside from aesthetic considerations, this can lead to more serious problems, so it’s best to catch it early:

Chronic venous insufficiency

Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is a failure of the veins of the lower legs to push blood back towards the heart because the one-way valves weaken, leading to backward flow, pooling, increased pressure, swelling, and skin damage.

There are risk factors, some of which some are modifiable and some aren’t. Namely: older age, heavier weight, prolonged sitting or standing, limited mobility, family history (+50% risk if one parent affected, +80% if both), female hormonal changes, previous deep-vein thrombosis, and leg injuries that damage valves.

In terms of early warning signs, watch out for: heavy, aching, or tired legs (often worsening by day’s end and improving with elevation), ankle swelling that disappears overnight and returns daily, spider veins, varicose veins, and/or rust-brown ankle discoloration from iron deposition.

If it’s not caught early, then you can expect to also see: stasis eczema with itching, flaking, and dryness; tightening and fibrosis of the lower leg (lipodermatosclerosis); pale white patches (atrophie blanche); and there’s also a progressively increasing risk of leg ulcers, especially near the inner ankle.

Early diagnosis matters, because chronic inflammation, impaired wound healing, recurrent infections, skin breakdown, and long-lasting ulcers can take months or years to heal—if ever.

Upon diagnosis, there are lifestyle options and medical options:

• Lifestyle options:
  • regular movement to activate your calf “muscle pump”
  • taking frequent breaks from prolonged sitting or standing
  • elevating your legs whenever possible
  • wearing compression stockings
  • maintaining a healthy weight
  • reducing sodium intake
• Medical options:
  • consistent compression therapy as the cornerstone
  • medical-grade fitted stockings
  • minimally invasive vein-closure procedures such as:
    • sclerotherapy
    • endovenous laser therapy
    • radiofrequency ablation

If you’re still at the happy stage of prevention rather than cure, then Dr. Suarez recommends hourly movement breaks at a desk job, weight-shifting and calf flexing if standing all day, routine leg elevation (especially evenings), wearing compression if at high risk, protecting the skin, and paying attention to early signs like swelling or visible veins.

For more on all of this, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like:

Remedies To Reduce Varicose Veins (Or Avoid Them Entirely)

Take care!