Varicose Vein Prevention in Jersey City, NJ
Along with being unattractive, varicose veins can make you feel uncomfortable with achiness, swelling and stinging. At Vein & Skin Studio in Bayonne, Dr. Zbigniew Moszczynski provides varicose vein prevention and treatment to residents in and around this New Jersey city. He is a board-certified phlebologist and general surgeon who is highly skilled, and specializes in diagnosing and treating varicose veins.
Varicose veins are enlarged veins that can be seen under the skin on your legs, and often appear swollen. The best way to prevent them is to learn how your veins function. Your veins are the vessels in your body that carry blood from your cells to your heart. They also allow the blood to carry carbon dioxide and other waste from your cells.
How Do Varicose Veins Develop?
Varicose veins can develop if your blood does not steadily flow through them. Small amounts of blood may pool in your veins, resulting in them enlarging. People who develop varicose veins usually see them in their legs or lower extremities.
How to Prevent Varicose Veins
Below are 8 tips that you can use to prevent the development of varicose veins.
1. Flex your calf muscles while you are standing. Maintaining blood circulation in your legs is the best way to delay the development of varicose veins. Your calf muscles are considered the center of your venous circulation. When you flex and point your feet so that your calf muscles strongly contract, you move 1 cup of blood out of each of your legs. Squeezing your feet together and lifting yourself up on your toes do the same thing.
2. Do not wear tight, binding clothing every day. Knee-high socks or nylons and girdles can prevent the flow of blood up your leg. The walls of your veins have to expand to get around the barrier that these types of clothing make. Due to this, the valves become loose and can begin to fail, which allows blood to pool and varicose veins to develop.
3. Wear a graduated support hose. You can find special knee-high nylons, pantyhose, socks or tights at many pharmacies in a variety of fashions. These are good for your legs because they gently apply graduated pressure from the foot to the knee, which reduces the expansion of the vein wall. The pressure is strongest at the ankle, and it gradually lessens as it reaches the knee. A prescription is not required to buy graduated support hose.
4. Maintain a healthy weight. According to a majority of research, obesity is a factor that causes varicose veins to develop. If you are overweight, you may need to consider losing a few pounds. You could achieve this by eating a healthy diet with reduced calories and participating in an exercise program.
5. Take care while exercising. Well-toned leg muscles pump out more blood as you walk or move than weak leg muscles. You are at a lower risk of your veins expanding and causing valve damage when more blood moves out of your legs. However, you should be careful during strenuous exercise. Pressure to the abdomen can block the flow of blood to your heart. When you lift heavy weights, for example, breathe out. Otherwise, the abdominal pressure will increase, and your veins will expand to go around the blockage.
6. Do not wear high-heeled shoes daily; they are harmful to your veins. When you wear a heeled shoe that is higher than 1.5 inches every day, your calf muscle cannot effectively pump blood out of your legs. To understand how your calf works, feel how it contracts when you walk in low heels and then how it feels in high heels. Your feet simply move forward when you wear high heels, and your calf does not contract as you walk.
7. Reduce the effect of hormone changes during pregnancy. Hormone levels elevate during pregnancy, and estrogen makes the collagen fibers and smooth muscles in your body relax, which might contribute to the expansion of the vein wall. Also, the amount of blood in the many systems of your body increases as much as 40 percent. Physicians often ask female patients if they are pregnant when they report that varicose veins have suddenly developed. At five weeks pregnant, a woman may not know about the pregnancy but might notice that her veins are changing rapidly.
8. Reduce the effect of hormone fluctuations in your body during your menstrual cycle. Both ovulation and premenstrual hormonal changes make the wall of your veins relax. During this time, more blood flows your veins, putting pressure on the valves. If you have thought that your veins look worse at certain times, this is why. Some patients who are taking estrogen replacement hormones or the pill will notice the same thing with their veins. In situations such as these, exercising, wearing support hose and controlling your weight can help prevent the relaxation of the vein walls.
It is never too late to begin preventing issues such as varicose veins from occurring. Dr. Zbigniew Moszczynski and his caring staff here at Vein and Skin Studio invite patients from Bayonne and the surrounding areas in New Jersey to schedule a consultation to learn practical ways to prevent them. At Vein & Skin Studio, highly-skilled specialist Dr. Zbigniew Moszczynski understands the pain relief that many patients seek from varicose veins. Contact us today if you live in Bayonne or the surrounding New Jersey area.
