Aging and Varicose Veins: What is the Correlation?

Just because you are getting older, that doesn’t mean that you have to endure treatable age-related vascular changes. Varicose veins are the dilated, curling, winding rope-like blue blood vessels visible underneath the skin that are often greater than ¼ inch in diameter. It is estimated that 16% of the population with varicose veins are over the age of 60. Many believe that varicose veins are just a cosmetic issue, but these veins may cause a constellation of symptoms that can have significant consequences for the health of adults. If you have veins that are bothering you, you can learn about your treatment options when you visit us for a consultation.

Varicose Veins are More Than Unattractive

If you are not one of the 35% of seniors with varicose veins who do not experience any symptoms related to their varicosities, then you have options to treat your leg veins and improve your health, such as endovenous ablation. Varicose veins may start out as cosmetically unappealing, but they can progress to some potentially serious conditions.

Uncomfortable and Encumbering

Seniors often use words and phrases such as throbbing pain, heavy legs and burning to describe the discomfort in their legs. When discomfort is also due to the swelling (edema) that is caused by pooling blood within the veins and fluid leaking out into the surrounding tissue, seniors tend to limit their physical activity, which in and of itself can create more problems.

Varicose Veins Botch Up the Blood Supply

These veins fail to do the job they were designed to do. Sluggish blood flow increases the risk of blood clot formation, a potentially deadly complication. The veins are engorged with blood and lie close to the surface of the skin. Trauma to these compromised vessels can lead to significant bleeding.

Varicose Veins Screw Up the Skin

Complications of these veins such as the pooling of blood and edema of the surrounding leg tissue cause cellular-level changes that make even the smallest of breaks in the skin hard to heal. Leg ulcers and other open wounds, as well as the swelling itself, can cause skin infections.

Getting Started with Professional Treatment

Aging is unavoidable, but varicose veins are not something that has to be endured. If you don’t like the way your veins look or feel, come by O’Donnell Vein & Laser and discover how our vein treatments can help you. Contact us today to book an appointment at our office in Easton or Annapolis.