Varicose Veins

Varicose veins happen when the one-way valves in your veins don’t work correctly. Usually, these valves close so blood doesn’t back up into your legs when you sit or stand. If your valves are weak, your blood can pool. This increases pressure on your leg veins, making them expand.

Spider veins are a milder type of varicose veins. They don’t bulge out. Instead, they’re closer to your skin’s surface and look like webs on your legs.  

Varicose veins may or may not cause pain. Still, they produce other signs. You can experience these symptoms in your legs:

• Achiness
• Bulging, twisted veins
• Burning
• Dark blue or purple veins
• Itching around the veins
• Muscle cramps
• Restlessness in your legs
• Skin color change around the veins
• Swelling
• Throbbing
• Worse pain when standing or sitting for a long time

If your condition continues to worsen, you can experience additional skin symptoms:

• Eczema
• Inflammation
• Lower leg ulcers 

Specialists at Emory Healthcare take a comprehensive approach to diagnosing your varicose veins. First, they will review your medical history and complete a physical exam. They look for signs of swelling in your legs while you stand. This is a good time to mention any achiness or discomfort you feel.

If our experts think you have varicose veins, they may order a venous Doppler ultrasound. This imaging test uses sound waves to get a real-time picture of how blood flows through your vein’s valves. This quick, painless test can also detect blood clots. 

Most cases of varicose veins are inherited. You’re at higher risk if some of your family members also have this condition. But putting more significant pressure on your legs and leg veins can also boost your risk.

These factors can increase the pressure on your legs:

• Being female (females are 50 percent more likely to develop varicose veins)
• Inactive lifestyle
• Leg injury
• Medications (oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy)
• Older age
• Overweight or obese
• Pregnancy (increased hormone levels, blood volume and weight)
• Previous deep vein thrombosis
• Smoking