Women suffer from varicose veins much more than men. In the Netherlands, at least one million women suffer to a greater or lesser extent from those unsightly veins on their legs. As you get older, the risk of varicose veins increases, but as a young woman you are not exempt from varicose veins. How do varicose veins arise and how do you get rid of them?

General

Between 10% and 15% of young women already have varicose veins. Sometimes genetically motivated (predisposition to weak vessel walls) and sometimes stimulated by their profession. Consider professions such as catering staff, shop assistants or hairdressers. Furthermore, the chance of developing varicose veins during pregnancy is also many times greater. The amount of circulating blood is greater than normal and the growing uterus can stagnate the return of blood from the legs.Complete prevention is not always possible, but there are some things you can pay attention to.

Cause

The blood in our veins is normally pumped back to the heart. The large leg veins contain a kind of valves that ensure that the blood can only flow in one direction, as mentioned, back towards the heart.If the elasticity disappears from the vein, the covering becomes weaker and wider. At some point the valves no longer fit together properly. The underlying part of the vein then becomes overfilled with blood and the vein wall comes under pressure. What you see on the skin is the accumulated blood in those (small) veins.

Painful

A small vein will not immediately hurt, but if you suffer more from varicose veins (this often looks like thicker cables that lie on the skin, as it were), it can become very painful. You often suffer from very tired legs, especially as the day progresses. But strong cramps in the calf are also common and / or a heavy and full feeling of the legs.

Prevent or cure

Prevent

Prevention is not always possible, but there are a number of things you can pay attention to (especially if you know that you have a certain sensitivity to varicose veins or you have had them removed before). Regularly massaging the legs to stimulate blood circulation can help and make sure you keep moving (walking or cycling is best), also paying attention to contracting the calf muscles. This is good against the development of varicose veins. Furthermore, there is a natural remedy that appears to strengthen the vessel walls and therefore significantly reduces the risk of (new) varicose veins. It comes from the horse chestnut, namely Aescine. In terms of naturopathic medicine, there are also a number of nutritional supplements that you can take for better blood circulation.We also know the solid support stockings, these stockings relieve the burden on the legs, so to speak. There are fewer grandma-like ones for sale these days, but it always looks a bit strange.Finally, it is always useful to give your legs some extra rest in the evenings, especially after a busy working day. Place the legs just a little higher than the buttocks, on the bed, on the couch, on the kitchen chair, it doesn’t really matter. This position relieves the strain on your legs and it also feels good for your legs.

Cured

The varicose veins that are there cannot be removed with a pill. You can have varicose veins injected or cauterized in the hospital, but they can also be treated with a laser or the classic way, surgically.In principle, the removal of varicose veins is always reimbursed by your health insurer.

Finally

Ugly and/or difficult, there is something you can do about varicose veins and it doesn’t even have to be such a major procedure if you catch it in time. Don’t let it get too bad when the first veins appear, you may be able to prevent worse if you act immediately. Finally, hemorrhoids are also varicose veins, but this is slightly different in terms of treatment.