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Varicose vein homepage
Laser treatment for spider veins
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What are varicose veins? Well,Varicose, (which basically means swollen) veins are twisted and swollen veins that you can see just below the surface of the skin. The majority of the time they form in your legs, but they can also form in other parts of your body, including the pelvic region if your like my dad. Varicose veins are certainly not uncommon, it is estimated that around 35 % of women and 19 % of men have them, me included! I play a lot of sport and my legs look like a map of England when i look down at them!
Our veins are blood vessels that carry blood back to the heart and lungs from the outer parts of our body. When veins become knotted and gnarled they are called varicose veins. In my case the veins are swollen and twisty just below my knees, in my lower legs and also near my ankles and feet. I am now seeing them forming above my right knee and up my thigh. For some reason my varicose veins are much more prominent in my right leg than in my left. I also seem to have my veins on the outside of my body! im not kiddin either. I know this is a bit weird but if i press hard on my forearm and run my fingers back towards my hand and then let go i can see my blood running back through my veins! Is this normal? Right, where was i? Oh yes, veins! Ok, veins are either superficial( near the surface of the skin) or deep (you can't see these). The superficial veins are the ones that usually become varicosed. Deep veins are surrounded by muscle and tissue, and this helps to pump the blood in the veins back to the heart and lungs. The veins have one way valves in them to stop blood falling back down. This is needed in veins because there is very little pressure to pump the blood back up the legs and up to the heart. Our body depends on breathing and muscle movement to help bring this blood back. This is one of the reasons why standing still for long periods of time will not help your varicose veins, and mine in particular!
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