How often do diseases scare you? I mean I agree that diseases often scare us, especially the chronic ones. We do not care much about diseases we know or face regularly like cough and cold, fever, sinus problems, body pains, etc. It’s the diseases like diabetes, cancer, asthma, thyroid, etc. that scare us. And why not? It’s the life of the patient that is at stake. And death, my friend, is a very scary feeling. The possibility of losing our loved ones forever is something that most of us can’t even dare to think about. So the common doubt arising in our minds is, are varicose veins dangerous? Well, to answer it in one word, it’ll be – NO. various veins are not dangerous. Find out more about it here.
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION ON WHAT IS VARICOSE VEINS
The varicose veins are a condition of the veins, where the valves carrying the blood in the veins get damaged or become weak. This makes the blood accumulate, causing the veins to swell up, get twisted, and enlarge.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF VARICOSE VEINS?
There are two of the most vivid symptoms of varicose veins. These are:
● Change in color
● Change in characteristic feature
We get to see color changes in the vein. The color changes to a bluish-black or red color. The color is so dark that the veins become visible from the skin as well. The color change often makes people wonder whether varicose veins dangerous or not, but that is simply the color of clogged/accumulated blood. Normally, veins are blood-carrying tubes that are slim and scattered throughout the body. However, during varicose veins, the veins become twisted and enlarged due to the increase of blood in the veins. They often tend to bulge out as well. This is why pain in varicose veins occurs.
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF VARICOSE VEINS?
Arteries and veins in the body are designed to flow through a specified direction only. Arteries are responsible to carry the oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the other organs, while veins are responsible to bring back the carbon-dioxide rich blood from the entire body to the heart. So basically, the arteries flow downwards mostly while veins flow upwards from the organs below the heart. At times, these one-way valves get damaged or become weak, which is why the blood flow hinders. With the increase in blood pressure, the veins enlarge and bulge out. Some of the reason leading to the damaging or weakening of the veins are:
● Long hours of walking
● Sitting non-stop without getting up due to work or laziness
● Obesity leads to straining of legs
● In old age, even a little performance of leg activities can strain the leg
● Pregnancy, the increased weight of a woman and the baby in the womb strains the leg and causes the pooling of blood due to the inability to hold weight. However, it adjusts with time.
● Menstruation causes severe abdominal, lower back, and leg cramps in the female body. At times, the intensity of the pain strains the veins in the legs causing varicose veins.
● Injury in the leg
● Over-activity of the leg. The above picture depicts the legs of a cyclist after finishing off the marathon. The overexertion of the legs leads to the swelling of the veins, thereby resulting in the color and characteristic change.
IS VARICOSE VEINS DANGEROUS?
In simple words, varicose veins are not dangerous. The accumulation of blood in the veins leads to the occurrence of the condition. However, there are no organ or tissue damages that result in varicose veins. Though, jamming of blood is no joke itself. Jammed blood inside the body hinders the over- blood circulation of the body, delaying the reach of oxygenated blood in the blood. We all know the importance and need for oxygen supply in the body. But, don’t worry. The situation does not reach such severe extent. Although there may be some complications in the process, it won’t be dangerous. Some of the complications are:
● Skin Ulcers
● Bleeding
● Blood Clotting
These complications can be treated with the help of laser therapy, surgery, injections, etc.
CONCLUSION
Life is very precious. Any little thing that causes danger to our life, creates fear and panic in our mind. Though these feelings are very natural, they often act as a setback. Even if we get a disease by chance, a healthy diet is as important as a healthy mind. Our subconscious is a lot more powerful than we give it credit to be. Varicose veins are caused due to overexertion in the veins. This is mostly seen to occur in the legs where the veins change their color into dark bluish-black colors and swell up. It occurs for both, over-activity and under-activity of the legs. So, we must make sure to maintain a balance between both. Commonly asked: are varicose veins dangerous, they are not. Remember it and do not panic if you get varicose veins.