Varicose veins are enlarged veins that are swollen and raised above the surface of the skin. They can be dark purple or blue, and look twisted and bulging. Varicose veins are commonly found on the backs of the calves or on the inside of the leg. They develop when valves in the veins that allow blood to flow toward the heart stop working properly. As a result, blood pools in the veins and causes them to get larger.
Varicose veins affect 1 out of 2 people over age 50. They are more common in women than men. Hemorrhoids are a type of varicose vein. Spider veins are like varicose veins, but they are smaller.
Exercising, losing weight, elevating your legs when resting and not crossing them when sitting can help keep varicose veins from getting worse. Wearing loose clothing and avoiding long periods of standing can also help. If varicose veins are painful or you don't like the way they look, your doctor may recommend procedures to remove them.
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Varicose Veins
(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/vv/vv_whatis.html
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Varicose Veins
(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/varicoseveins/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/varicoseveinsspanish/htm/index.htm
- Spider/Varicose Veins(American Academy of Dermatology) - http://www.skincarephysicians.com/agingskinnet/spiderveins.html
- Varicose Veins(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/varicose-veins/DS00256/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
- Varicose Veins and Spider Veins(National Women's Health Information Center) - http://womenshealth.gov/faq/varicose.htm
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Ultrasound - Venous (Extremities)(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) - http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=venousus
Also available in Spanish http://www.radiologyinfo.org/sp/info.cfm?pg=venousus&bhcp=1
- Sclerotherapy(American Society of Plastic Surgeons) - http://www.plasticsurgery.org/public_education/procedures/Sclerotherapy.cfm
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Bilberry(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/bilberry/
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Horse Chestnut(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/horsechestnut/index.htm
- Chronic Venous Insufficiency(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Chronic_Venous_Insufficiency.html
- Spider Angioma(Logical Images) - http://www.visualdxhealth.com/adult/spiderAngioma.htm
- Telangiectasias(Logical Images) - http://www.visualdxhealth.com/adult/telangiectasia.htm
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Varicose Veins (Varicosities)(Logical Images) - http://www.visualdxhealth.com/adult/varicosities.htm
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Varicose Veins(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/varicoseveins/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/varicoseveinsspanish/htm/index.htm
- Treatment of Varicose Veins through Laser Surgery(OR-Live) - Requires media player - One hour program - http://www.or-live.com/distributors/NLM/rnh.cfm?id=200
- VNUS Closure Procedure: Minimally Invasive Procedure to Treat Varicose Veins(OR-Live) - Requires media player - One hour program - http://www.or-live.com/distributors/NLM/rnh.cfm?id=182
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Telangiectasis(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Telangiectasis%22
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Varicose Veins(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Varicose+Veins%22
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Three-Dimensional CT venography of varicose veins of the lower extremity:... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18806163&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Could leg ulcer service provision in the community be improved? - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18773765&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Compression bandaging: avoiding pressure damage. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18773761&tool=MedlinePlus
- Varicose Veins -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=varicose+veins[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Find a Dermasurgeon(American Society for Dermatologic Surgery) - http://www.asds.net/find.aspx
- Find a Dermatologist(American Academy of Dermatology) - http://www.aad.org/findaderm/
- Find a Plastic Surgeon(American Society of Plastic Surgeons) - http://www.plasticsurgery.org/find_a_plastic_surgeon/
- Find a Vascular Specialist(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/Member_Search/Physician_Search.html
- Find an Interventional Radiologist(Society of Interventional Radiology) - http://members.sirweb.org/eseries/scriptcontent/index_members_search.cfm?section=customer
- American Society for Dermatologic Surgery - http://www.asds.net/
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National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
- What Are Varicose Veins?(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/grownup/getting_older/varicose_veins.html
- Varicocele(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/Varicocele/DS00618/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
- Blood, Heart and Circulation - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bloodheartandcirculation.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Varicose Veins is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/