Gourt > Health > Conditions and Diseases > Cardiovascular Disorders > Vascular Disorders > Varicose Veins (1)
Varicose veins are veins on the leg which are large, twisted, and ropelike, and can cause pain, swelling, or itching. They are an extreme form of telangiectasia, or spider veins.
Varicose veins result due to insufficiency of the valves in the communicating veins. These are veins which link the superficial and deep veins of the lower limb. Normally, blood flows from the superficial to the deep veins, facilitating return of blood to the heart. However, when the valve becomes defective, blood is forced into the superficial veins by the action of the muscle pump (which normally aids return of blood to the heart by compressing the deep veins).
Other symptoms of varicose veins include:
- Aching, heavy legs (often worse at night)
- Ankle swelling
- A brownish-blue shiny skin discoloration around the veins
- Skin over the vein may become dry, itchy and thin, leading to eczema (venous eczema)
- The skin may darken (stasis dermatitis), because of the waste products building up in the legs
- Minor injuries to the area may bleed more than normal and/or take a long time to heal
- Rarely, there is a large amount of bleeding from a ruptured vein
- In some people the skin above the ankle may shrink (lipodermatosclerosis) because the fat underneath the skin becomes hard.
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American College of Phlebology - Information for both physicians and patients on all aspects of the treatment of vein disorders.
Meta Description: [ Phlebology.org : Specializing in Veins, Venous insufficiency, Venous ulcers, Varicose veins, Varicose veins, Varicose vein treatments, Varicose vein surgery, Thrombosis ]
eMedicine Health - Varicose Veins - Consumer health resource center providing information on the causes, symptoms, and treatment of this disorder.
Meta Description: [ Veins are blood vessels that return deoxygenated blood from the outer parts of the body back to the heart and lungs. When veins become abnormally thick, full of twists and ... ]
Venous Digest - Full text articles on venous topics from The Venous Digest. Issues available from 1996 to present.
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