How to Cure and Prevent Varicose Veins Naturally

To prevent and maintain varicose veins, you need to strengthen the walls of your veins. There are several natural treatments available today that will cure and prevent varicose veins without the use of drugs or chemicals.

The herb horse chestnut provides hope for those people with varicose veins. Horse chestnut has in it a natural chemical called aescin, which strengthens vein walls and prevents leaking.

In a study of 22 people with varicose veins, 22 percent of people given horse chestnut had decreased vein leakage, compared to an increase in vein leakage in the people who were given a placebo.

It is recommended that people interested in using horse chestnut to cure varicose veins take two to four 500-mg capsules of the herb daily.

Another thing found to help cure and prevent varicose veins is antioxidants. Antioxidants contain bioflavonoids that strengthen veins. People with varicose veins should eat antioxidant-rich foods, which include fruits and vegetables. The more colorful the fruits and vegetables, the better.

Acupuncture can also help varicose vein problems. Acupuncture reduces the size of varicose veins with no side effects. In one study, five treatments of acupuncture reduced the pain in most people with varicose veins.

Believe it or not, pineapples also contain a natural chemical that treats varicose veins. The chemical, called bromelain, reduces the swelling and soreness that are caused by varicose veins. Bromelain can be taken in capsule form.

Onions, apples, and black tea have also been found to help varicose vein problems. These foods have a chemical called quercetin, which is an anti-inflammatory. Quercetin also comes in capsule form. It should be taken together with bromelain for optimum effectiveness.

Another, simpler way of preventing and treating varicose veins is to simply put your feet up for 10 minutes per day. The idea is that your legs should be raised higher than your heart so that blood can flow away from your veins and give them a chance to get stronger. To do this, lie back and put your feet up on a coffee table or chair.

If this 10-minute-per-day break is hard for you to fit into your schedule, you can purchase a mattress wedge that raises the foot of your bed by several inches. This way you can help your varicose vein problem while you sleep.

Another solution is to wear compression stockings or an anti-embolism hose. You must get these fitted because if they are too tight they can do more harm than good. Compression stockings and anti-embolism hoses restore veins and help them function properly.

If these natural solutions fail to help a varicose vein problem, there are other, more invasive procedures, including: laser and low-level radiofrequency energy, sclerotherapy, TriVex, and endovenous ablation. These procedures may remove varicose veins but they can be expensive and inconvenient..

The above-mentioned treatments are simple, pain-free ways to deal with varicose veins. They can always be used on their own or as a complement to varicose vein removing procedures.

Can One Learn How to Prevent Varicose Veins?

As a woman ages, there are several things that she can expect to occur. First of all, the amount of hyaluronic acid that is in the skin will naturally start to deplete, resulting in fine lines and wrinkles. The pigmentation in the hair will start to turn it silver or white. Additionally, vein irregularities might start showing up on the legs.

Actually, these vein irregularities (such as varicose veins) do not just show up in older people. They can also, because of various lifestyle habits, show up on younger women. Of course, the key in figuring out how to prevent varicose veins from happening has everything to do with figuring out what causes them in the first place.

Varicose veins are among the most instantly recognizable of the vein irregularities. These kinds of veins are considerably swollen, and are purple, blue, bluish red, or bluish purple in color. They are usually found on the lower legs, right around the calves.

One of the main causes of this kind of vein irregularity is obesity. Obesity is a growing trend amongst both men and women, but women are more likely to develop these kinds of veins than men. How exactly can obesity cause these kinds of veins? The excess weight places lots of pressure on the legs, which carry most of the body weight as it is.

So, this pressure slows down the circulation in the legs. In an effort to get the circulation working correctly again, some of the veins start to swell, and that is how these kinds of veins start. It usually takes a lot of weight to be gained in a short amount of time for this to occur. Thus, pregnant women need to pay special attention to the comfort of their legs.

How can this be done? First of all, it will be very important for the pregnant woman to stop wearing high heels. High heels, as much of a fun fashion statement that they can make, are actually not very healthy for a woman to wear, whether or not she is pregnant. They are alright as long as the woman does not have to walk very much or stand for long periods of time, but the reality is that they just put too much additional pressure on the legs.

So, what can a pregnant woman do to prevent problematic veins from happening? She should first and foremost start wearing shoes that focus more on supporting the foot and the circulation. Yes, there are shoes that do this and can be fashionable at the same time!

Although varicose veins are usually just ugly to look at and not actually serious, there are times when they can be indicative of a more serious health problem. If the woman experiences poor circulation because of high cholesterol or high blood pressure, then both of those reasons can contribute to the presence of these veins. If the leg on which these veins appear is often aching and stiff, that could be indicative of a clot.

Varicose Veins - Causes and Treatments

Varicose veins are enlarged, discolored veins. They appear swollen and twisted. Varicose veins are typically 3 millimeters or more in diameter. They are commonly found on the backs of the calves or on the thighs. Varicose veins are often painful and itchy. Scratching them can cause open sores to appear. Varicose veins occur more frequently with women than men and with people over the age of 50. Despite the best efforts of researchers, the exact cause of varicose veins still remains a mystery, but there are some theories.

A person who is overweight passes the additional weight in the abdominal muscle to the leg veins, which causes the veins to enlarge. In most cases varicose veins are found in the legs, which suggests that this condition comes from standing for long periods of time.

Veins have valves that prevent the blood from flowing backwards as it moves up the legs. In a varicose vein, however, these valves fail or become weak and result in blood going away from the heart and leaking back into the vein and collect there. This pooled blood enlarges and stretches the vein and it becomes varicose.

Weak vein walls can cause the vein to stretch and this can cause the vein valve to malfunction. This tends to occur with women who are pregnant, or on their period, because they produce hormones that can weaken the vein walls.

It appears that varicose veins are hereditary. Studies have shown that people who have family members that have varicose veins are more likely to get it. Weak veins and walls may also be inherited characteristics.

Arterio-Venous shunts can weaken the vein walls because it helps bypass the capillaries, which keeps the high blood pressure of the arteries from overwhelming the veins. The hormones created during puberty, pregnancy and menopause can create Arterio-Venous shunts.

Researchers have not been able to determine a cure for varicose veins, but there are treatments that can alleviate some of the problems of varicose veins.

Surgery can be used to treat severe varicose veins. This technique is called vein stripping. This is usually done under local or partial anesthesia. This surgery involves inserting a flexible implement through the varicose vein. When the implement is taken out, the varicose vein is removed with it.

There are two endovenous procedures that can be used to remove severe varicose veins in the legs or thighs. These techniques are less invasive than vein stripping and do not require an overnight stay. Both procedures require the insertion of a device inside the varicose vein. The endovenous radio frequency closure procedure uses a catheter to transmit radio frequency energy to seal the varicose vein. The endovenous laser procedure uses a diode laser to transmit laser energy to seal the varicose vein. In both cases, the varicose vein will turn into scar tissue and eventually fade away in several weeks. After either procedure, a person could resume his or her normal routine the very next day.

The most common treatment used to eliminate severe varicose veins is sclerotherapy. This procedure requires no anesthesia and does not require an overnight stay. A solution such as sodium tetradecyl sulfate, hypertonic saline, or aethoxyskerol is injected into the varicose vein. This solution will seal the vein walls and stop the blood flow. Then the varicose vein will turn into scar tissue and eventually fade away in several weeks. Additional treatments may be required for some cases.

Laser Cure for Varicose Veins

A varicose vein starts out as little more than a visual problem but it can lead, over time, to leg swelling, fatigue and pain. The reduced flow of blood to your legs causes your varicose vein in legs to tire quickly and often make them feel as heavy as lead weights. If left untreated the varicose vein can get serious to the point of causing leg ulcers, impaired walking, leg cramps and blood clots. Correcting the problem used to involve hospitalization, surgical removal of the varicose vein and a long recovery period. It can make one shudder just to think about it. Today, however, utilizing the latest laser technology, in many cases, much of that old surgical procedure can be a thing of the past.

The benefits of this new laser procedure for varicose vein treatment are considerable. There is really no preparation work required at all. It can be done as an outpatient procedure and generally takes less than an hour start to finish. The old surgical procedure often took 4 to 6 hours or more. Total anesthesia for the laser procedure is not required and there is only minimal pain. When everything is done there is no scarring. The incision to insert the laser is so small that there is no need for stitches. When the doctor is done with the laser there is really no recovery period at all. Vigorous physical activity is discouraged for the first day or two after laser treatment but generally you walk out of the outpatient facility and return to your normal daily activities immediately. There may be some minor itching and tenderness for a week or so afterwards but not enough to limit your activities. Sometimes you have to go back for a second or third follow up laser procedure to obtain complete resolution of the problem. Of course that will vary from individual to individual.

The heat from the laser energy will cause the blood in that area of the vein to coagulate and close off the diseased varicose vein. This will cause the entire vein from there down into your lower leg to shrink and be absorbed back into your body. The number of veins in your legs is huge so the loss of the one varicose vein is not a problem for your circulatory system. The blood that normally would have gone through the diseased varicose vein will now go through other healthier veins.

The technical name for this procedure is endovenous laser therapy. The laser used is very precise and delivers a very controlled dose of laser energy. The doctor will insert a very small thin laser fiber into your thigh. Even though your varicose vein shows up in your lower leg area the real cause of the problem is almost always a faulty valve in your upper leg. Once the laser is properly positioned in your upper leg he will activate the laser.

This laser procedure has proven to be more than 96 percent effective at eliminating the problem with a varicose vein. So there is still a chance that you may have to undergo the old vein removal procedure. But your chances of solving a varicose vein problem quickly and easily with laser technology are better than ever before.