Are Your Legs Ready For Summer?

By Jeffery J. Dormu, DO, FACOS

Minimally Invasive Vascular Center of Maryland

. http://www.minimallyinvasivevascularcenters.com/

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Are Your Legs Ready For Summer?

For many women the idea of wearing shorts or even a bathing suit can be a cause for concern. Summer clothes mean that more of the leg is visible. And while women are seldom satisfied with their bodies, more women voice dissatisfaction with their legs than any other part of the body.
Varicose veins and spider veins are two problems that can plague our legs as we get older. Over 50% of women and 40% of men over the age of 50 complain of vein problems. The legs are susceptible to these vein problems because they work very hard pumping oxygen-poor blood back up to the heart while the arteries pump blood rich in oxygen from the heart to other parts of the body.
Without getting too technical, there are flaps in the veins that keep the blood from flowing backwards as it makes its way toward the heart. These valves tend to weaken as we get older causing the blood to pool in the veins. This pooled blood causes the veins to enlarge and become what we know as varicose veins.
Varicose veins look thick and rope-like. They cause the skin to protrude and look blue, purple or flesh-colored. They can hurt and over time, do pose some health concern, but they tend to look much worse than they feel. They are certainly the more serious of the two conditions.
Spider veins are thin web-like veins that appear much smaller than varicose veins. They may be purple or blue and unlike varicose veins are thin and may spread across a wider area.
Both spider veins and varicose veins can show when wearing a shorts, bathing suits or skirts. They can be camouflaged by wearing tights and colored or opaque stockings, but they are likely to show in the more sheer stockings that are a fashion staple of the season.
For that reason many of us are turning to surgical solutions to help with the problem of varicose and spider veins. Some of the surgical solutions are more invasive than others. Most can be performed in the doctors office under local anesthesia. They vary in effectiveness and long term results and, of course, price.
Call a doctor who specializes in the removal of varicose and spider veins for additional information.