Question:
I apologize if this was posted recently. I think I saw it, but I couldn't find it in ...anyway...I noticed today that I am getting vericose veins! That has been a huge fear of mine and I've heard there is nothing that can be done about them. Is this true? Do they go away after the birth, like stretch marks and hemmoroids (sp?)?

Answer: -There are a few things that *might* alleviate them a bit. Try raising your legs above the level of your heart for at least 10 mins. a day. Try not to cross your legs at the knees. Also, wear support hose, if possible. I've had varicose veins for years (genetic), but they got worse during pregnancy. Since I have them on my calves and above the knee, I wore full-to-waist support hose early on in pregnancy, then switched to thigh-highs later on (I *had* to wear them, because I developed phlebitis in one of my veins). I purchased them at a medical supply store, on the advice of my doctor. The support hose helped to alleviate some of the discomfort of pressure on the veins, and I've actually had one doctor tell me that wearing them all the time would help to prevent them from getting worse. As for whether they go away or not -- it depends on your body. With some women, they remain, while with others the weight loss and change in hormone after birth is enough to make them go back to normal. -That is simply NOT TRUE! My mother had varicose veins for years . . . big, bulgy and, according to mom, painful. About 2 years ago she had laser surgery (day procedure) and they are completely gone! No scars or anything. -Yes, you could remove them with laser surgery or by having them stripped. But...if you've had problems with thrombophlebitis (inflammation of the vein walls, accompanied by clots forming due to the pooling of blood) in a surface varicocity, it may not be a good idea to have them removed. If you remove the surface veins, the blood has to flow through deeper veins. The extra volume of blood not only might cause *those* veins to become varicose, but it may also increase the risk of developing thrombosis of a deeper leg vein, which is more dangerous. If you do decide on surgery, it is often recommended that you wait until after you're done having children, since the extra blood volume and the hormones produced during pregnancy can cause a recurrence of varicose veins.