Vein Disease Prevention
The key to preventing vein disease is to prevent the veins from being stretched beyond their elastic point. Anyone who stands or sits for long periods of time without contracting his or her skeletal muscles is prone to developing vein disease. It is important to consciously contract the skeletal muscles when standing or sitting to pump the pooling blood out of the veins and back to the heart. It is also helpful to elevate your legs above you heart so that gravity can cause the blood to flow back to the heart without requiring the skeletal muscles to contract and the valves to prevent back flow of the blood. It is also important to keep from allowing a seat to obstruct the flow of blood in the veins by pressing on the back of the legs or and to be careful not to obstruct the veins by compressing the veins when crossing your legs. Blood that does not flow will clot and clots obstruct the veins causing damage to the vein walls and valves from over stretching.
The most effective prevention is to wear prescription graduated Compression Stockings when sitting or standing for long periods. Compression stockings must be accurately sized in order to prevent varicose veins. They cannot be pulled off the shelf. They come in different strengths of compression with the greatest compression at the ankle and less compression as they progress up the leg in order to route the venous blood back to the heart. They function similar to standing in a swimming pool where the greatest pressure is at your feet and less pressure as you progress to your waist. Graduated compression stockings narrow the diameter of the veins resulting in better flow of blood back to the heart and maintain the touching of the valve leaflets so that they function to maintain flow toward the heart.
Vein disease is a progressive disease, which will lead to elephant texture skin, brown pigmentation, dermatitis, and ulcers if it is not prevented from developing or progressing. No food, herb, or medicine will prevent or cure vein disease. Once the valves and vein walls are damaged, they are damaged. Some surgeons sew new valves inside veins; however, the surgery is very difficult and does not work well. The valves in veins are like wet toilet paper and do not hold stitches well. Anyone who has genetic vein disease, has vein disease from injury, is pregnant, or spends long periods standing or sitting needs to be wearing graduated compression stockings to prevent the development or the progression of vein disease. The disease process is called venous insufficiency.
