Varicose veins

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For other uses, see varices.

**Varicose veins**
*Classifications and external resources*
ICD-10	I 83., I 84., I 85., I 86.
ICD-9	454-456, 671
OMIM	192200
DiseasesDB	13734
MedlinePlus	001109
eMedicine	med/2788
MeSH	D014648

Varicose veins prior to treatment

Varicose veins after EVLT

Vein gymnastics in the barefoot park Dornstetten, Germany.

An Indian Railways worker affected by varicose veins in Karnataka, India.

Varicose veins are veins on the leg which are large, twisted, and ropelike, and can cause pain, swelling, or itching. They are an extreme form of telangiectasia, or spider veins. They occur in 25-30% of the western population. Male and females are equally affected. 1 in 8 teenagers develop early signs of "leaking valves".

Varicose veins result due to insufficiency of the valves in the communicating veins. These are veins which link the superficial and deep veins of the lower limb. Normally, blood flows from the superficial to the deep veins, facilitating return of blood to the heart. However, when the valve becomes defective, blood is forced into the superficial veins by the action of the muscle pump (which normally aids return of blood to the heart by compressing the deep veins).

1 Symptoms
2 Complications
3 Causes
4 Non-medical treatment
5 Medical treatment
6 External links

[edit] Symptoms

Aching, heavy legs (often worse at night)
Ankle swelling
A brownish-blue shiny skin discoloration around the veins
Skin over the vein may become dry, itchy and thin, leading to eczema (venous eczema)
The skin may darken (stasis dermatitis), because of the waste products building up in the legs
Minor injuries to the area may bleed more than normal and/or take a long time to heal
Rarely, there is a large amount of bleeding from a ruptured vein
In some people the skin above the ankle may shrink (lipodermatosclerosis) because the fat underneath the skin becomes hard.
Restless Leg Syndrome. Restless Leg Syndrome appears to be a common overlapping clinical syndrome in patients with varicose veins and other chronic venous insufficiency.

[edit] Complications

Most varicose veins are relatively benign, but severe varicosities can lead to major complications, due to the poor circulation through the affected limb.

Pain ,heaviness , inability to walk or stand for long hours thus hindering with work
Skin conditions / Dermatitis which could predispose skin loss
Bleeding : life threatening bleed from injury to the varicose vein
Ulcer : non healing varicose ulcer could threaten limb amputation
Coagulation of blood in varicose vein cause thrombosis , deep vein thrombosis ( DVT) & could precipitate stroke in predisposed individuals
Cancer: long standing venous ulcer has the potential risk for cancer.

[edit] Causes

Varicose veins are more common in women than in men, and are linked with heredity. Other related factors are pregnancy, obesity, menopause, aging, prolonged standing, leg injury and abdominal straining. Varicose veins are bulging veins that are larger than spider veins, typically 3 mm or more in diameter.

[edit] Non-medical treatment

The irritation -- especially the itching -- of varicose veins can be controlled to an extent with either of the following:

anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen or aspirin -- but there is a risk of intestinal bleeding.
regular exercise, including vein gymnastics, wading through water and going barefoot.
astringent herbal creams such as witch hazel for reducing topical expression of the vein.

[edit] Medical treatment

The treatment of varicose veins varies per patient. It depends upon the results of an ultrasound examination.

Some of the treatment options include surgery which uses lasers to close off the blood flow to the abnormal vein. Below is a list of vein treatment options: