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Pregnancy does not cause varicose veins, but if you have the underlying valve problem, they may become more visible during pregnancy. However, they would have come anyway sooner or later. This is true for 98% of all women.

HOWEVER – there is a special group of patients who DO get varicose veins because of pregnancy. These are called “ovarian” or “pelvic” vein reflux and typically cause Vulval Varicose Veins or varicose veins of the Upper Inner Thigh or spreading over the backs of the legs at the top of the thigh.

As noted above, pregnancy does not cause varicose veins, but does make them worse. Therefore the sooner the veins are fixed:

• The less damage will be done to the skin of the lower legs by the pump failure
• The fewer number of veins will have lost the valves so the quicker and less extensive the treatment will be
• The smaller the extent of the inflammation so the easier the treatment and the quicker the recovery.
• Why suffer during pregnancy whilst allowing the veins to worsen?

HOWEVER it should be done with proper precautions and using the latest techniques which give complete and permanent relief.

Varicose veins are not really the problem in themselves. They are only there because there is an underlying Leg Pump failure. As with any pump in the body, or anywhere else for that matter, if the pumping action isn’t working then effects will be seen – and will worsen as the pump fails more. Therefore treatment should be aimed at fixing the leg pump. This will get rid of the varicose veins and will also make the leg pump properly again – and so will reduce the risks of the symptoms of Leg Pump Failure coming back again (ie: varicose veins, aching legs, venous eczema, lipodermatosclerosis and venous leg ulcers).

Standing still for long periods of time probably does not cause veins. However, if there is underlying leg pump failure, then standing is most likely to make both the symptoms and the speed of deterioration of the varicose veins worse.

This is the one “commonly known” fact about varicose veins that does appear to be true. Varicose veins do run in families. However, it is not necessary that every person in the family will surely get varicose veins. Similarly, even if there are no varicose veins in your family at all, you can still have leg pump failure, failed valves and varicose veins.