Varicose Veins During Pregnancy – What You Should Know

Medically speaking; arteries carry oxygenated blood away from your heart towards extremities of your body.

On the other hand; the capillaries are the small vessels, which enable the exchange of nutrients and oxygen with the rest of your body.

The veins are the vessels that help in carrying the blood back to the heart.

What causes the varicose veins?

There are in fact 3 different kinds of veins in the legs. The first are the superficial ones that lie closest to the top of the skin. Then there are the deep set veins, which lie within the muscle group. Finally there are perforating veins that typically connects the superficial veins to the deep veins.

Once our leg muscle pump the blood out of our deep vein, the superficial veins collect more blood from our skin and from the superficial tissues and move it into our deep veins.

Then our leg muscles continue to pump this blood up to the heart. Although this system works pretty well in most of the cases however there are many things that may go wrong.

Some of the situations that may cause the vein pumps to work less efficiently occur. The deep veins can withstand very short periods of increased pressure. This also means, more than 90% of the blood back up the legs toward the heart and the remaining 10% is carried by the superficial veins. When blood begins to pool in the veins instead of moving upward it leads to numerous problems. Some people develop visible signs of vein disease such as varicose veins, spider veins and often sores called ulcers on the legs.

What causes them during your pregnancy?

During your pregnancy body produces extra volume of blood. Although the extra volume is essential in supporting two growing bodies however; it also puts some amount of extra pressure on your leg’s blood vessels . Moreover your heavy uterus puts pressure on your pelvic blood vessels. Yes; thus you have the perfect recipe for varicose veins during pregnancy.

What you need to know

It’s natural that you won’t like the way the varicose veins may look. They may even ache and itch.

The good news is; if you did not have varicose veins before your pregnancy; your varicose veins will disappear within a few months after your delivery.

The not so good news – if you have another baby, there’s no way of preventing the varicose veins around that time.

Get your fact aligned –like many other pregnancy symptoms such as stretch marks etc – the varicose veins tend to be hereditary. This means; if your mother had varicose veins during pregnancy, you’re more likely to have them, too.

Varicose veins treatment during pregnancy

Preventing the varicose veins is not a perfect science; however these tips can help you –

Preventing varicose veins isn’t a perfect science, but these tips can definitely help:

• Keep your blood flowing – Yes, you should get off your feet and also keep your feet in an elevated pattern to help in keeping the blood flowing. When standing for long time, put one foot on a low stool and also try to alternate legs.
• Do some moderate exercise – Needless to say; exercise is the key in preventing varicose veins. So either take a brisk walk or do some other blood circulation increasing – low key exercises to keep the varicose veins at bay
• Stay away from super tight fittings – Avoid tight fitting clothing and keep it comfy. Also; stay away from wearing tight belts and tight socks with tight elastic tops. Also; avoid tight-fitting shoes and stiletto heels.
• Wear compression stockings – Putting them bed in the morning helps in preventing the blood from pooling.
• Keep your weight down – Watch your weight under control during pregnancy. Remember; extra weight will be only increasing the demands on your overworked circulatory system. Also; make sure to eat lots of Vitamin C enriched food C.

Usually varicose veins will go away after the baby has arrived, however if the veins don’t go away you can consider surgical treatment for varicose veins after your delivery

Fret not; our varicose vein treatment in Huntington Beach is absolutely a non-invasive procedure and it is absolutely unusual for the leg to be painful.