WHAT ARE VARICOSE VEINS?

Varicose veins(or varices) refers to the dilatation of the veins of the legs.

Healthy veins pump blood back upwards to the heart, but in presence of varicose veins the blood flows through slowly down to the feet.

Varicose veins may cause feelings of fatigue, heaviness, aching, burning, throbbing, itching and cramps in the legs and these symptoms are often accompanied by swelling.

Varicosity results from a weakness of the vein. This weakness is generally hereditary: finding a relative with the same illness, often the mother or grandmother, is in fact frequent.