What Causes Varicose Veins to Happen?

Too many people take their legs for granted. Throughout a person's life, legs are relied upon to carry their body weight and walking. When it comes to women, they can put even more pressure on their legs when they are pregnant. Women are more conscious (mainly for fashion reasons) as to how their legs look, so when irregularities surface on their legs, they are very quick to notice.

Irregularities that have a tendency to sometimes occur on the legs of a woman include varicose veins. While these kinds of veins are usually attributed to older women, they can also happen on younger women during pregnancy. In order to understand the various ways in which varicose veins are caused, it is important to first understand the circulation of the body.

The body is a network of veins that carry blood to and from the heart. The blood keeps the organs healthy, and also carries oxygen around the body for this purpose. So, when it comes time for the blood to be carried down to the legs, the veins in the legs are meant for that purpose. However, when the woman laces pressure on her legs, the veins start to swell in order to accommodate the blood flow, and varicose veins are often the result.

These kinds of veins are immediately recognizable, because they are puffy, considerably raised above the level of the skin, and dark blue, green, or purple in color. What kinds of things place pressure on the veins to cause this? The first thing to keep in mind is significant weight gain.

For many women, the main cause of this is pregnancy. This is why wearing comfortable shoes with the proper amount of support is so important for pregnant women. Indeed, even if a woman is not pregnant, walking around for long periods of time in high heels places pressure on the circulatory system in the legs, which in turn can cause these kinds of veins.

Yet another cause of various veins is, ironically, sitting in one place for long periods of time. This can easily happen to a woman who is working behind a desk all day. It is important to not only get up once and a while to make sure that the circulation is not becoming inhibited, but also not to cross the legs while sitting, because this too places pressure on the legs.

While these kinds of veins usually more of a cosmetic concern than anything else, sometimes varicose veins are indicative of a more serious problem. For example, if a woman has high cholesterol or high blood pressure, then chances are that her blood will become thicker and start to clot.

If the veins cannot accommodate that thicker blood, then they will start to swell. One way to tell if these kinds of veins are more serious is if the legs frequently ache, and if there is a rash that surrounds the veins. If a woman has more questions, it is important that she speak to her doctor. Also, the appearance of the veins can be considerably lessened, if not erased, by laser treatments.