Varicose veins are unsightly. They can also become more of a concern than just abandoning shorts for capris. Varicose veins will impede circulation, causing itching, venous ulcers and decreased mobility. In some instances they cause clotting that can invade the lungs, resulting in respiratory and cardiovascular changes.

There are a number of causes for these ropy blue veins, and some easily implemented ways to prevent them.

Varicose Veins

DEAL WITH AGING

Aging is not preventable, but some of its symptoms are. One very good way to prevent bulging leg veins is through regular exercise. A fitness program such as walking increases cardiovascular strength and concurrently, the vessels that move blood. Movement is the key to venous strength and flexibility.

Make sure your diet includes plenty of vitamin C-rich nutrients. Vitamin C and its components, flavonoids, ensure blood vessel strength and motility. Proper diet and supplementation is the complement to regular exercise. Both of these approaches can keep aging at bay and prevent or control the advent of varicose veins.

DUMP OBESITY

Overweight is one of the most obvious causes of varicose veins. The extra pounds of pressure put a strain on all bodily systems. Obesity is a direct precursor to hemorrhoids, a particularly bothersome form of varicose veins. Awareness of extra weight is not enough. A serious program to prevent or alleviate over- weight needs to be put into action at once. Obesity is a direct cause of major medical malfunctions, not simply varicose veins.

A two-prong approach will deal with extra pounds and the varicose veins that accompany them. Proper diet with plenty of fiber adds feelings of fullness and assists in bowel movements, a key to alleviation of hemorrhoids. A program of at least 35-40 minutes of fast walking, 5 days per week aids in weight loss. Cravings for foods seem, at times, irresistible. However, exercise is within immediate control of the individual. Walking tones and facilitates venous strength and health.

GET UP AND MOVE

Sitting for long periods is a direct cause of varicose veins. Blood tends to pool without movement. The veins have to strain to to move blood to the heart. Rise from the chair at least once every two hours and walk about. Sitting for long periods has become the subject of research, because so very often sitting is an all-day affair. Natural News (2012) reports that individuals who remain seated for long periods of time are twice as likely to develop diabetes, heart disease and ultimately, sudden death.

DON’T STAND AROUND

Constant standing, usually a job factor, causes pooling of the blood in legs and feet. The result is extra work for the heart while veins in the legs and feet bulge with pressure. It is essential for health that a person move away from the task and walk at least every hour. This may seem difficult on the job, but leg movement is imperative for proper circulation. Health and well-being are a key component to job satisfaction and productivity.

CONSIDER THE LIVER

Liver degeneration causes pooling of blood in the leg veins, because blood can no longer pass through the hard, fibrotic tissue that was once a healthy liver. Alcohol, prescription medications and acetaminophen all insult the liver and are a direct cause of its ultimate breakdown.

The advent of leg varicosities and hemorrhoids is often preventable, and certainly within common-sense control. The key to most conditions causing or aggravating varicose veins is movement. The human body is designed for activity, and usually somewhat more than the average person deems adequate every day. Mindfulness of movement can help prevent varicose veins.

This article was contributed by Mountain View Dermatology, a Boulder, Colorado dermatology center that helps patients prevent and treat varicose veins and spiders veins.