Now that winter is winding down, it’s easy to get lost in thoughts of a long-awaiting tropical vacation. Sandy beaches. Toasty temperatures. And maybe a pina colada.

Unfortunately, some of us get an unpleasant introduction to summer when we try on the swimsuit only to discover that a new varicose vein has decided to make an appearance. There it is, bulging for the world to see. There’s no easier way to ruin the mood than to think of everyone seeing those veins while you enjoy the sun in your swimsuit.

T he good news is that varicose veins can be treated. And now is a good time to come in and have them looked at before summer. You can also keep them from getting worsewith compression stockings. The concept is fairly simple: Strong elastic stockings apply pressure to your leg muscles, easing venous pooling. When your legs are in motion, that mild pumping action — aided by the pressure hosiery — enables blood to flow away from the legs, where clots may form.

Compression hosiery gently squeezes the muscles, even while a person is sitting, as well as when moving about. To reduce the pain, swelling, and discomfort of varicose veins, a doctor may recommend that the patient wear stockings that extend from foot to thigh.

Compression socks may work for some milder cases of varicose veins, but sometimes a more aggressive treatment may be required. The best idea is consult with a doctor. So if you have a vacation coming up during the months ahead, and are worried about unsightly varicose veins, give us a call and we’ll see what we can do.

In the legs there are deep veins which return 90% of the blood back to the heart and superficial veins which return the remaining 10%. It is the superficial veins that can have valves failure that allow blood to pool in the distal legs, this causes an increased pressure in the legs resulting in increased symptoms including pain with standing or sitting for prolonged periods of time, achiness, heaviness, swelling, cramps at night, edema, skin changes, and ulcerations. The technical name for this is Chronic Venous Insufficiency(CVI).

Compression stocking do exactly what the name implies, namely compression. If you can compress the superficial veins and stop the pooling of blood and force the blood to return the the heart through the deep system, then often time the person experiences a reduction of the symptoms associated with CVI. The big problem with compression stockings are that wearing them is for some patients uncomfortable. Either they are too tight and seem to be pinching in areas or they are simply too hot to wear.