Women suffer from varicose veins twice as often as men. This is due to the fact that females wear high heels, carry children, and take birth control pills. However, varicose veins can also occur in young and active people, regardless of gender. This is due to a genetic predisposition. With a congenital weakness of the blood vessel walls, veins quickly lose their elasticity and stretch under the pressure of blood.
Varicose veins may also occur due to leg injuries, flat feet, heart disorders, and liver diseases. It’s necessary to treat not only the varicose veins but also the primary disease.
If left untreated, varicose veins can develop into dangerous diseases such as phlebitis, venous thrombosis, and venous eczema. In addition to the above reasons, there are at least eight factors that can lead to varicose veins:
- Constipation
Constipation increases blood pressure in the pelvis, and this leads to varicose veins. If you have frequent intestinal problems, you should change your diet. You need more fresh fruits and vegetables, dried fruits, vegetable juices (especially from beets and carrots), and a minimum amount of flour products. - Cough
Cough also increases intra-abdominal pressure and this causes increased pressure in the leg veins. Therefore, it’s important not to ignore a prolonged cough. - Fast Weight Loss
Obesity causes an additional load on the leg vessels, making the veins less elastic. To prevent varicose veins, you should maintain a healthy weight that won’t harm your body. But you should remember that an unbalanced diet, starvation, and fast weight loss will only worsen the situation. - Smoking
Nicotine has a significant effect on varicose veins. Heavy smokers have impaired blood flow. Blood stagnates in the legs and causes frequent leg pains. People who smoke now have another reason to give up this bad habit. You will save not only the health of your lungs but also the appearance of your legs. - Unbalanced Nutrition
Unbalanced nutrition can provoke and exacerbate varicose veins. If you constantly eat thermally processed foods and rarely eat fruits and vegetables or deny meals regularly, your body will face a lack of bioflavonoids. These are natural substances that strengthen the walls of capillaries, preventing spontaneous bleeding and improving blood circulation in the heart. Bioflavonoids are contained in grapes, quince, mountain ash, apples, green tea, chocolate tomatoes, lemons, and oranges. - Frequent Stress
Vein walls have nerve endings that give them elasticity. If you are nervous or worried, this increases blood pressure. Increased blood pressure, in turn, affects the vessels. Frequent increases in blood pressure make the vessels lose their tone. All this contributes to varicose veins. The less often you have stress and anxiety the less risk of varicose veins. - Flat Feet
If you have flat feet, then the muscles of the feet and lower leg most likely work with increased load and are constantly in tension. Thus, flat feet can not only contribute to varicose veins but also aggravate its course. - Driving a Car
Blood in your legs begins to stagnate during prolonged sitting when driving a car. If this happens regularly, blood stretches the blood vessels and veins and this leads to varicose nodes. The legs will often swell, hurt, and become very tired from this.