Bulging veins and other nasties

Centres around diet, rest and support tights, because these varicosities tend to be temporary (though they may return with each pregnancy). Since constipation can aggravate haemorrhoids, your doctor will suggest you include more liquids and fibre in your diet.

Instead of adding wheat bran to everything, try adding more fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet. Wheat bran is not a water-soluble form of fibre and can be irritating to the gut, whereas the fibre in fruits and vegetables is water-soluble and works to bulk up stools and make them easier to pass. Fruit and vegetables also have the advantage of helping to strengthen the vascular system, and will help varicosities in other parts of your body as well.

Try some of the following suggestions as well:

• Wear support stockings and avoid squatting or standing for long periods. Your growing uterus can put additional stress on the pelvic veins, so put your feet up as often as you can. At rest, avoid crossing your legs. At work, get up and walk around frequently and, while sitting, flex and extend ankles often. If you can, try elevating the foot of your bed 10 cm to help blood flow back to the heart.
• For quick relief and to reduce swelling, apply an ice pack, or a pack of frozen peas. A discreet way to ease piles is to soak a few sanitary towels in water and freeze them. Use as necessary to relieve the pain.
• Cherries, blackberries, European blueberries (bilberries) and hawthorn-berries are all rich in flavonoids and chemicals called oligomeric procyanidines, which reduce vein fragility, increase the muscular tone of the veins and strengthen the venous walls. Foods such as raw garlic, onions and parsley will improve the elasticity of your veins. Include these foods liberally in you daily diet.
• Try homeopathic Hamamelis 6 three times daily for up to a week, or until symptoms improve. Calcarea fluorica 6 taken three times daily for up to a week may also improve tissue elasticity.
• A herbal ointment made from horse chestnut will reduce swelling. Or try one tablespoon of arnica tincture or lotion diluted in a litre of cold water – apply twice daily to the affected areas using a saturated washcloth.