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Varicose veins is a form of health condition that features with change in structure appearance and function of these blood vessels. They get enlarged and winding. Veins in legs are prone to enlargement most. Still each vein in the body can get affected. These blood vessels are in charge of carrying the blood to the heart. The normal structure includes so called valves. Valves prevent blood from moving backwards. This muscles surrounding veins helps in pumping the blood towards the heart. In case of varicosity the valves do not function properly hence the blood does not move to correct direction and tends to retain leading to even greater expansion of the veins. Both superficial and deep veins can be affected by the process and the standing position leads to heaviest load. Resting and elevating the extremities reduces the symptoms but they tend to reoccur the moment person returns to regular activities.
If superficial veins are affected they present obvious enlargement. If large portion of veins is affected the appearance of the changes may resemble string of beads. These changes are dark blue or even purple. Even the surrounding tissue is swollen. The edema mainly affects ankles. However the whole length of a calf can be swollen. The skin of the extremities becomes dry and itchier and in case of additional inflammation the skin color changes to red. The pain is regularly present. The intensity of pain varies so that some patients feel slightly discomfort while others complain about prolonged and strong pain. What bothers people most is the appearance of the veins.
In case of varicosity of inner veins the pain and edema of lower extremities may be the only symptoms.
In both cases varicose veins tends to lead to additional complications. The most common is thrombophlebitis which is a term for inflammation of veins. Hemorrhage is rather rare and happens only in case the affected vein is cut. Varicose eczema is typical for people who are suffering from varicose veins for a long time. It features with brownish or purple skin discolorations which are present on the surrounding skin. In chronic forms of the disease varicose ulcer occurs. These are painful changes on the skin which take time to heal completely.
There is no full explanation why this condition occurs. Still there is one theory according to which people with so strong connective tissue are more prone to the disease. Generally women especially pregnant women tends to develop varicose veins more than men. Elderly and obese people are also more susceptible to the disease. Still no matter who gets affected the most important thing for one is to spot the symptoms and signs of the disease and report them to the doctor.
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