Understand Your Varicose Veins

Varicose veins are enlarged, swollen, twisted, and sometimes extremely painful veins that are filled with an abnormally large amount of blood. Their role in the body’s circulatory system is to pump blood back from your extremities to your heart. Unlike the arteries in your body, the veins rely on a series of valve like pumps to ensure that the blood is moving in the direction that it should be: back towards the heart.
These valves in your body are like a one-way road; when they are healthy and working properly, they only allow the blood to flow in one direction. This ensures that your blood does not flow backwards or away from your heart. The valves in your veins, however, are not indestructible. They can become damaged. When damaged valves occur, they allow blood to gather and pool in the veins below.
Blood, like electricity and most natural things, takes the path of least resistance. When your vein’s valves get damaged it is like blocking a lane on the highway, or even like closing a whole entire road. The ensuing traffic jam is what causes varicose veins to occur in the human body. These unsightly occurrences affect an estimated forty percent of women and twenty-five percent of men.
There are a number of causes of this condition. Many people have problems from hereditary issues, standing occupations, elderly age, hormonal imbalances or extreme hormonal changes during pregnancies, weight fluctuations, and trauma to the area. It is not totally uncommon to see this condition present in just one leg instead of two.
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