Help for varicose veins

One of the many things most of us dread about ageing is the cluster of blue, lumpy snake-like veins that grace our once smooth, youthful legs. One in 10 men and one in five women suffers from varicose veins, which are most likely to appear on the backs of the calves or anywhere along the insides of the legs. Although the main problem with these veins is that they're unsightly, sometimes they can actually cause legs to become swollen and painful as the condition progresses.

Why have I got them?
'Relatively little is known about varicose veins,' says Tony Chant, director of the British Vascular Foundation. 'We don't really know what causes them, despite the fact that varicose veins are such a common condition. We do know that there's a genetic component, though it can hop the odd generation,' he adds.

Varicose veins occur when there is a fault in the special one-way valves of the leg that help blood flow back up to the heart. If these valves leak or become defective, the blood flows back down the wrong way so that it pools in the bottom parts of the leg instead of moving up towards the heart. When you stand, the natural force of gravity causes pressure to increase inside the vein, making it stretch and swell.

This doesn't mean that varicose veins are actually caused by standing for long periods of time. 'You're born with a tendency to varicose veins and, as time goes on, the more you're in an upright position, the more pressure builds up in the lower leg, leading to bigger bulging veins,' says Chant.