Varicose Veins

"Absence of pain does not mean absence of disease"

These are the swollen or stretched veins that protrude from the skin like small sections of rope. Normally, veins direct oxygen-poor blood back to the heart and lungs to become oxygen enriched. Healthy veins function as one-way valves that keep the blood moving in the right direction. Sometimes a vein may become incompetent, allowing blood to leak back down, away from the heart and lungs, and pool in the leg. This ?Varicose Vein? becomes enlarged, causing congestion within the vein. This congestion can result in fatigue, swelling, throbbing, heaviness, aching, restlessness in the legs, cramping at night, and itching and burning of the skin. In advanced cases, these problems can lead to skin rash, pigmentation changes, inflammation, ulceration, and bleeding.