Having bulging, twisted veins on your legs can be embarrassing and uncomfortable. But varicose veins are only the beginning. If left alone, varicose veins won’t go away on their own. They can also lead to more serious health problems down the road.
However, you don’t have to continue living with vein symptoms. There are effective treatments that can help your varicose veins disappear. Vein treatments also help prevent further complications and improve your vein health.
This article explains what happens to your leg veins when you have varicose veins and what you can do to help them disappear, boost your circulation, and protect your vascular health.
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What Causes Varicose Veins?
Vein disease, or venous insufficiency, is the underlying cause of varicose and spider veins. When tiny valves in your veins weaken, vein disease can begin to develop.
Vein valves malfunction when your veins are placed under strain.
This can begin due to a range of reasons, such as being overweight, too sedentary, or having high blood pressure. Whatever the reason, your veins will then struggle to pump blood back to your heart.
When vein valves become damaged, they likely will not repair themselves, so varicose veins do not disappear on their own.
Can Varicose Veins Go Away on Their Own?
Varicose veins won’t naturally disappear on their own, and you shouldn’t ignore your symptoms. Waiting for them to disappear on their own can worsen your symptoms and overall condition, leading to chronic venous insufficiency (CVI).
Are Varicose Veins Dangerous?
Varicose veins themselves aren’t dangerous. However, they are far more than just a cosmetic concern. They are essentially a major warning sign that your veins aren’t healthy. While uncommon, varicose veins can lead to more serious issues like blood clots or skin ulcers.
Varicose veins are linked to a range of symptoms, some of which are painful, can impact your sleep, or stop you from living a healthy, active lifestyle. Common symptoms include:
- Throbbing or aching pain in the legs
- Swelling
- Numbness
- Leg cramps
- Restless legs
- Itchy skin
If you notice these symptoms, you might have early-stage chronic venous insufficiency. If you ignore the early symptoms, it’s important to see a doctor. If left unaddressed, vein damage can worsen. And so will your circulation.
As a result, you may notice symptoms of more advanced chronic venous insufficiency start to develop: swelling, a feeling of numbness or heaviness in the legs, followed by skin changes, including itchy skin, a venous rash, thickening of the skin, and discoloration.
Chronic venous insufficiency can put you at risk for serious health conditions, and in that way, varicose veins can be dangerous. If you leave varicose veins untreated, you are more at risk for venous ulcers, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and pulmonary embolism.
When Should You Worry About Varicose Veins?
If you have varicose or spider veins, that means the valves in your veins are malfunctioning. As such, it’s a good idea to see a vein specialist. An experienced doctor will be able to identify how much damage is present and recommend a personalized treatment plan to help prevent further damage and support your vein health.
Don’t wait until your symptoms worsen and varicose veins progress into advanced stages of CVI.
Request a consultation with a vein specialist near you
What You Can Do to Keep Your Veins Healthy
Will varicose veins go away faster with certain medications and treatments? What about lifestyle changes and natural remedies?
Ultimately, the only way to eliminate varicose veins is to address the underlying cause of your vein symptoms with an effective procedure. Vein treatment options include minimally invasive treatments that work by collapsing or sealing off the damaged veins and rerouting blood flow to healthy veins.
The benefit of vein treatment is that you are treating the varicose veins, and also reducing your risk for serious complications, such as a blood clot or leg ulcers.
Varicose vein treatment will also address the leg pain, swelling, cramping, and other symptoms while helping those bulging, twisted, and branch-like veins disappear so you can feel confident about how your legs look again.
In addition to vein treatment, there are other ways you and your doctor can support your vein health and help your varicose veins disappear faster.
- Medications: Your doctor might prescribe blood thinners if you have a blood clot or a history of blood clots to reduce your risk of DVT or a pulmonary embolism.
- Home remedies: Wearing compression stockings and elevating your legs will increase blood flow. Your vein doctor will likely recommend these home treatments to improve the outcome of your procedure.
- Vitamins: Vitamins C, E, and B3 (niacin) are helpful for supporting vein health. These nutrients can be found in fruits and vegetables, including green leafy vegetables, kiwi, berries, bananas, and citrus.
- Exercise: Staying active will boost circulation and strengthen the muscles that help your veins pump blood back to the heart. Walking, swimming, and yoga are excellent options for keeping your veins healthy.
While exercise, eating right, and other lifestyle changes such as reducing stress and avoiding smoking can help, varicose veins won’t go away on their own.
These healthy habits will help prevent vein damage from occurring again and support your vein health and circulation, leading to a healthier heart, brain, and immune system. But to make your varicose veins go away and to reduce your risk of dangerous complications, see a vein specialist for treatment.
Get Treatment for Your Varicose Veins
At USA Vein Clinics, we treat the underlying cause of varicose veins and spider veins with non-surgical, outpatient procedures. If you would like to learn more, schedule a consultation at a vein clinic near you — we have over 160 locations across the country. Our experienced vein doctors can provide you with the expert care and treatment you need to eliminate varicose veins.