Varicose Veins Are a Disease – Here's What You Need to Know About It

If there’s one thing everyone knows about varicose veins, it’s this: they can be unsightly. Each of us wants to feel comfortable in our own skin. We want to have the confidence to wear shorts or t-shirts and not worry about feeling like everyone is noticing our flaws. But that’s hard to do when you’re feeling self-conscious about prominent veins on your legs, arms or elsewhere. Sure, you’re probably noticing and worrying about them much more than anyone else is, but that doesn’t change the fact that they can make you feel uncomfortable.

No one wants to feel that way, so many people who suffer from varicose veins consider doing something about it, but few people understand the truth of the matter. Varicose veins are an actual disease, and it’s one you don’t have to ignore. You can get help for your veins, but before you do it’s important to understand the difference between real help for vein disease and half-measures that don’t address the actual problem.

Some providers might tell patients to wear support stockings, but that isn’t a solution. Support stockings don’t fight the disease. They simply try to cover up the most obvious symptom it causes. This, of course, is not the best course of action. Sadly, the misconceptions about varicose vein disease are many, and providers who don’t specialize in vascular diseases may not have enough information about the disease.

There are many individuals who believe that the development of varicose veins is a natural one and that it’s something that happens to everyone as they age. This, however, is no accurate than assuming going bald or developing osteoporosis is something that happens to everyone as they age. Sure, these are developments that happen to many people when they get older, but they’re not automatic. Not everyone loses all their hair as they get older, nor does everyone develop varicose veins as they age.

There is a common misconception that because varicose veins create a cosmetic problem, that they are a purely cosmetic issue that isn’t covered by insurance. Again, this is not true either. Because it’s a disease, treatments are often medically warranted and may actually be covered by the majority of insurance plans. You should always check with your insurance and care providers to be certain, but there is a good chance your insurance will cover some or all of the cost of varicose vein treatments.

And why should you get your veins treated? For most patients, it’s about a desire to look better and feel better about how they look. This is perfectly understandable, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t get your veins treated to help you feel more confident about the way you look. If that’s the case, you can either get your veins treated right away or wait until you’re feeling more comfortable about the treatment.

But the disease can cause more serious problems than that. Often, because so many are unaware that varicose vein disease is, in fact, a disease, they don’t even realize that some unpleasant symptoms they’re experiencing are caused by it. Varicose vein disease has the potential to cause aches, feelings of heaviness in the legs, itchiness, burning, swelling, skin disruption and even ulcers in some who suffer from it. That’s a lot more than just skin-deep cosmetics!

If you have varicose veins and you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, then the time to wait and consider your options is over. The presence of these symptoms can be dangerous to your health, signaling a medical condition that you should have taken care of.

So, what should you do to address the problem? Well, some providers may, unfortunately, be under the misconception that there is no real effective treatment for the problem. This is why they may recommend support or anti-embolic stockings that are properly fit and are gradient compressed. But these “treatments” require a prescription and still don’t address the heart of the problem.

Dr. Syed Bokhari at the Advanced Cardiovascular Care actually treats the disease with a variety of advanced medical varicose vein treatments depending on your needs. He performs highly safe and effective medical procedures to close varicose veins instead of just putting stockings over them for support. Once the veins have been closed effectively, patients can look and feel better without having to worry about the blood flow. That’s because the blood that was previously flowing through your veins will simply begin moving through other normal, healthy veins.

Call us today to make an appointment with Dr. Bokhari to discuss how best to treat your varicose vein disease problem.