Vein Care How To Relieve Varicose Vein Pain

Varicose veins are usually a cosmetic issue, but for some people they can be painful. There are several ways to manage the discomfort, including lifestyle changes, compression stockings, and medical procedures. Center For Advanced Vein Care can evaluate your veins and curate a treatment plan just for you.

One of the most immediate ways to relieve vein pain is to elevate your legs, either by lying down with your feet elevated on pillows or by standing and raising your legs on a higher piece of furniture, such as a chair or ottoman. This simple act uses gravity to get blood flowing out of the unhealthy varicose veins and back toward your heart. This helps to eliminate or significantly reduce the uncomfortable symptoms of a varicose vein and can prevent the condition from worsening in the long term.

Regular exercise, such as brisk walking, helps to improve circulation and tone the muscles of the legs and ankles, which aid in moving blood through the veins. If you sit or stand for a long period of time as part of your daily activities, take short breaks to walk around and change positions. Avoid wearing tight clothing, particularly girdles or pants with tight waistbands, as this restricts blood flow. Some over-the-counter or prescription pain medications, such as acetaminophen and aspirin, may help alleviate mild vein pain caused by a varicose vein.

Several medical procedures are available for the treatment of varicose and tributary veins, such as Center For Advanced Vein Care. In sclerotherapy, a doctor injects a chemical into small and medium-size varicose veins, which causes the vein to collapse, close, and eventually fade from view, thereby relieving pain and discomfort. In this ablation, heat is applied to the walls of a varicose vein or its underlying tributary with a catheter (small tube) inserted through a tiny incision near the bulging vein. This procedure causes the damaged vein to close and is performed in the office using local anesthesia.

The older surgical procedure called stripping -- in which varicose and swollen veins were removed through incisions under general anesthesia -- has been largely replaced by less invasive options. In some cases, these less invasive treatments may be covered by your insurance. In most instances, a health care professional will need to look at your bare legs and feet and do a duplex ultrasound of your leg veins to determine the cause of your varicose veins before recommending a treatment option. A health care provider will also review your medical history and ask questions about any family members with the disease to see if you have a genetic tendency to develop varicose veins.