People who stand all day may find themselves with tired, aching legs at the end of the day. Sometimes the aching continues even after they’ve rested their legs. The aching may be combined with a heavy feeling, or appearance of dark blue lines running along the leg. If these symptoms sound familiar, you may have varicose veins.

Imagine the blood moving through the body in a constant circuit: Oxygenated blood is pumped from your heart to the body through the arteries and returns through the veins. While the pressure coming from the heart is great enough to keep the blood flowing out, it is not necessarily enough to keep the blood flowing back. Instead, veins have valves that keep the blood moving toward the heart. Sometimes these valves wear out and blood pools in the vein resulting in a varicose vein.

Sufferers of varicose veins may be most concerned with their appearance. As the blood pools, the vein becomes enlarged and becomes visible through the skin. Although not particularly attractive from a cosmetic standpoint, the visibility of varicose veins is a relatively minor symptom. People who develop varicose veins may also experience aching or heavy feeling legs, itching around the affected vein, cramping of the legs, or swelling. Less common, but more serious are skin ulcerations or even blood clots in the affected vein.

For the most part, treatment of varicose vein symptoms is optional and depends on the discomfort level of the sufferer. In order to improve circulation and relieve some discomfort, sufferers can wear compression stockings. These tight-fitting stockings help keep blood moving forward instead of pooling in the vein. Elevating the legs after standing for any period of time may also alleviate some of the symptoms. For sufferers with sharp pain or with ulcers, a physician may recommend more invasive treatment. Vein stripping is the process of removing the affected veins surgically. This can cause discomfort, bruising and scarring though and suffers may wish to inquire about the Closure Procedure from VNUS. In this procedure, physicians use a heated catheter to shrink and then close the affected vein. The body then naturally diverts blood flow to non-affected veins.

Because of the constant pull of gravity, people who stand for long periods of time, especially in one place, are more likely to develop varicose veins. If you spend a lot of time on your feet and notice that your legs ache, or there are blue lines showing through your skin, you might be developing varicose veins. Moving rather than standing in one place, wearing compression stockings, and putting your legs up for a couple of hours each night can lessen your symptoms or keep them from worsening.

Roo Sadegi is an expert on several topics, including venous diseases.

Proper blood circulation is the key to managing varicose veins. There are medications to improve your situation; however it is up to you to provide the doctor with meaningful information for an informed diagnosis. If you have any of these three signs of poor blood circulation, please point them out to your health professional as soon as feasible. The 3 signs are:

1. A sign that you may have poor circulation in your legs is discoloration of the skin. If you notice a blue, purple or pale area on your leg, then this may be a sign that the blood is not flowing as well as it should to the spot. Keep a health journal and note where you see the spots and share the information with your doctor.

2. Another sign of poor blood circulation is slow healing. For example, if you have an open sore on your leg for a longer period than normal, and it is discolored, this is the “slow healing” symptom of poor blood circulation. Slow healing may also be a sign of diabetes, so you should mention it to your doctor for a proper diagnosis.

3. Fatigue during the day or even in the morning when you first wake up may be a sign of poor circulation to the legs. Sleeping with your legs elevated improves the blood circulation and gives the stressed veins a chance to repair. The leg pillow wedge can be portable for you to use in bed or on the sofa when watching TV or reading a book. For improved circulation the proper leg pillow wedge keeps the ankles, calves and knees at the same level. A common pillow under the knees actually is worse for circulation than lying flat. When you only have a pillow under the knees, the blood circulation from the toes and ankles actually is uphill. So if you have poor blood circulation in your legs, never use a knee pillow wedge or pillows only under your knees.

Varicose Veins

Varicose veins are permanently dilated (widened) and twisted veins. Although this can occur in any part of the body, it usually develops in the legs. If the resulting poor blood circulation worsens, there is a risk of developing:

1. Phlebitis (inflammation of the wall of the vein). Phlebitis is swelling of a vein caused by a blood clot. There are two main types of phlebitis: deep venous thrombosis affecting deeper, larger veins, and superficial phlebitis affecting veins near the skin surface.

2. Dermatitis. Skin rashes. Properly circulating blood is important for the health of all the body tissues including the skin. When your blood circulation is impaired, a number of pathologies may arise, such as Stasis Dermatitis. The best way to prevent stasis dermatitis includes elevating the legs to increase return of venous blood to the heart and reduce leg swelling.

3. Leg ulcers. These are open sores that do not get the proper blood flow to heal. Your immune system cannot overcome poor circulation. Your circulationmust be improved for relief.

Proper blood circulation is critical to your whole body and you can improve it in your legs to relieve pain in your calves cause by varicose veins. Please discuss with your health professional the idea of using a leg pillow wedge to improve circulation and get relief for any secondary conditions that poor blood circulation is causing. Each person is different and you may require more or less bed rest or other medical recommendations. If you are interested in a leg pillow wedge, please visit Pillow Wedge.