When your legs swell and tingle, is it a vein circulation enhancer? You might overlook 'varicose veins' if you're not careful.

 

 

If your legs swell and tingle due to familiar advertisements, it is common to purchase and take venous circulation improvement medications from a nearby pharmacy. If you see results, that's fortunate, but you should not rely solely on this. If your legs are frequently uncomfortable, there is a high possibility of varicose veins, so it is best to get an accurate diagnosis.

 

Varicose veins are a vascular disease caused by abnormal dilation of some veins in the calves. Blood from the heart travels through the arteries to the very tips of our feet, then returns via the veins. During this process, the calf muscles must pump strongly, and the valves must prevent blood from flowing backward.

 

However, in elderly individuals with weakened muscle and valve function due to aging, or workers such as department store employees and flight attendants who must stand in the same position for more than 8 hours a day, blood cannot overcome gravity and reach the heart, causing it to pool in the legs and leading to abnormal dilation of the blood vessels.

 

Especially in summer, symptoms worsen. When the temperature rises, blood vessels dilate, causing more blood to remain in the legs and compressing surrounding muscles, skin, and nerve tissues. Fortunately, since people often wear shorts or skirts that expose their legs, they notice abnormalities and visit the hospital more frequently. This is why there are many patients with varicose veins in the legs during July and August.

 

When varicose veins occur, blue veins protrude unevenly on the legs, blood pools in one area, causing swelling and pain in the legs.

However, not all patients with varicose veins experience these symptoms. Dr. Im Gong-min, a thoracic surgeon at Gangnam Nanuri Hospital, said, "If there is an abnormality in the perforating vein valves connecting the veins or if there is a problem with the superficial veins near the skin, the swollen blood vessels may not protrude to the point where they are visible."

 

In the early stages with mild symptoms, symptoms can be alleviated through medication, medical compression stockings, and other treatments. However, if symptoms do not improve with these measures or if severe swelling, ulcers, or skin color changes occur, surgery should be considered.

 

Surgery is broadly divided into thermal therapy and non-thermal therapy.

Heat therapy is a method that involves inserting a catheter into a blood vessel to burn and eliminate problematic vessels using laser or radiofrequency.

In endovascular treatment, there are methods to block problematic blood vessels using medical adhesive (VenaSeal), stimulate the blood vessels to inject medication (ClariVein), and occlude the blood vessels.

 

To see the full treatment effect, lifestyle management must also be carried out. Director Yoon Kang-jun of Gangnam Pedro Hospital emphasized, "In particular, regular leg muscle strengthening exercises should be maintained," and recommended low-impact activities such as cycling and swimming.

 

He also added that "lifting the legs higher than the heart during breaks or massaging by sweeping from the ankles toward the knees are also good methods."