Body Essentials - Treatment for Spider Veins & Cankles

Treatment For Spider Veins & Cankles

The past few days, I have noticed some pains in the back of my knee. I know I have always had little visible veins in the back of one of my knee, but it didn’t hurt. Now, it does, which is actually really annoying. In times past, I have heard that after I get home from work, especially after standing and walking for periods of time, I should put my feet up and relax. With everything going on, I barely do that every day. I think the pains started when I started doing hair on a more consistent basis since I was on my feet for hours at a time. I started taking some pills Horse Chestnut to help with the circulation, but I haven’t been consistent in taking them. I’m only now down to about 3-4 pills when I have had the bottle for a yr :-/ I know, not good. But now that it has become painful, I decided to do research to find more ways to promote healthy circulation in the veins of my legs.

What I found is AMAZING and not in a good way. I need to get treatment for this ASAP. Let me break this down in layman’s terms. We know that blood flows back and forth through the veins from the heart through the feet and back to the heart, etc. (I’m only focusing on the legs) However, persons who experience spider veins, where you can see veins in the legs that looks like webs, are experiencing a deterioration in the one-way flap that allows the blood to pass back and forth in the veins. As muscles relax, the venous vale closes and disallows blood to be circulated back to the heart. When this occurs, you may feel pain in the area, spider veins will become noticeable on the skin, leg may feel heavy, itching and you may experience swelling. DO NOT SCRATCH THAT ITCH, it may lead to ulcerations. If this goes untreated you can develop a blood clot. This is known as Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI) *google it*

Of course, now that it hurts and limits my ability to do some exercises, here’s what I found:

1. Micronized Diosmin (Micro Dio) has been found to increase venous tone by reducing blood pooling which leads to swollen leg veins. Micro Dio (as my shortened name for it) is a nutraceutical product used and tested in Europe.

Random Info: Pharmaceutical grade diosmin is extracted from the rinds of sweet oranges. The sweet orange, a hybrid of the pomelo and tangerine, was originally cultivated in southeast Asia. It was then brought to Spain in the ninth century and later to Florida by Spanish explorers during the 1500s. (Resource: http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2009/sep2009_A-Prescription-for-Beautiful-Healthy-Legs_01.htm)

2. “Micronization is a technique that reduces the size of particles and therefore improves the rate of dissolution and absorption of otherwise poorly soluble drugs and other compounds.

One problem with most diosmin products on the market has been their poor absorption and poor bioavailability, which leads to the necessity of taking extremely high doses in order to obtain even modest clinical efficacy.” (Resource: http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2009/sep2009_A-Prescription-for-Beautiful-Healthy-Legs_01.htm)

3.                  Exercise helps stem the progression of varicose veins and increases overall circulatory health. Aerobic exercise has beneficial effects on varicose veins, particularly when the activity utilizes the calf muscles of the leg. However, conversely, strenuous exercise that increases abdominal strength is not good for the legs either. Such exercises like yoga, crunches, lunges and weightlighting is not good in promoting healthy circulation in the legs. Rather, walking and running helps in pumping the blood through those “clogged” areas of the veins in the leg and helps with circulation. (which sucks, because I usually do crunches and lunges during the week and weightlighting when I go to the gym… #nobueno)

4.                  Avoid High Heels (looks back at my aldo pumps) I have worn flats the past few days, all day and usually when I get in to work I change my shoes, which is why I had to look back at my pumps I wore in to work. I have flats at my desk, the Dr. Scholls one that fits in the mini pouch, those are great.

5.                  “Graduated compression socks and hosiery have been a proven prescription in the prevention, management and treatment of the many stages of venous insufficiency. Women should also wear compression hose to reduce the development of varicose veins and help their leg circulation during pregnancy and the post-partum period. If your occupation requires long periods of standing or sitting without activity, compression hosiery is important to add to your daily wardrobe” (Resource: http://healthyveins.org/prevention-and-management/ )

So some additional research for me, would be finding stores that sell these products. More info to come, stay tuned. I will you posted on how my treatment is going. Can’t believe I just said that. I wouldn’t suggest that any of you play doctor, but speak with your doctor and discuss your options. This information provided is solely to widen your knowledge on the area and to do what you can prior to being seen by your doctor.

Live on Purpose, people. MuAh & CiAo!