What is a Vein Specialist Called? And Other Vein-Related FAQs

Chronic venous insufficiency is the primary root cause of varicose veins. Venous insufficiency is a medical condition wherein your vein valves collapse, and blood flows backward to pool in your leg veins. Healthy veins contain valves that act as one-way doors — they allow blood to flow towards the heart but not backward due to gravity. As such, when your vein valves malfunction, gravity forces blood to flow backward and accumulate in the leg veins. The continued accumulation of blood in leg veins leads to vascular dilation and the eventual formation of varicose veins, i.e., dense protruding blood vessels on the legs.

Chronic venous insufficiency is the root cause of most vascular problems. While spider veins and varicose veins are the most visible consequences of vein disease, you should also beware of other signs and symptoms that might be harder to identify. At its initial stages, vein disease leads to numerous benign signs and symptoms, such as leg heaviness, restless leg syndrome, frequent leg cramps, and leg swelling, with worsening symptoms at the end of the day.

The initial signs and symptoms of vein disease are usually misattributed to aging or exhaustion. However, the symptoms of vein disease continue worsening until you experience some severe complications. The advanced complications of vein disease include leg swelling, skin discoloration, leg ulcers, leathery patches on the skin, and deep vein thrombosis (blood clots in veins). If the blood clots in your leg veins travel to the lungs, you may also experience a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism.

Drinking water helps you remain hydrated, which is essential for overall health and vascular health. It improves your blood circulation and strengthens the veins, minimizing the risk of vein disease. However, if you already have varicose veins, drinking water won’t fix the diseased vein or remove the varicose veins. Once you have varicose veins, you must opt for minimally invasive procedures to neutralize the diseased saphenous vein.

Yes, you can wear compression socks all day because they apply pressure on your leg veins, pushing accumulated blood towards the heart. You should wear compression stockings in the following situations:

1. You have a high risk of varicose veins because of family history, pregnancy, hormone therapy, a medical history of vein problems, obesity, or a sedentary job. If you fall into these categories, wearing compression stockings will reduce the risk of vein disease.
2. You have spider veins and varicose veins. In this case, wearing compression stockings will push accumulated blood towards the heart and prevent more blood from accumulating. As such, wearing compression stockings can prevent the condition from worsening.
3. You have just undergone vein treatment. You need to wear compression stockings for a few days or weeks after your vein treatments to prevent vein disease recurrence and ensure a smooth recovery process.

As you can see, compression stockings are extremely vital and can be useful before, during, and after your vein disease diagnosis. However, compression stockings can’t treat active varicose veins or chronic venous insufficiency — that’s only possible with minimally invasive vein treatments in California. Furthermore, you should also consult our vein doctors in CA to be fitted for compression stockings — ill-fitting compression stockings aren’t useful.