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Take the testAching legs are an unpleasant symptom of varicose veins. Find out why this symptom occurs, and what you can do about it, including self-help, natural/herbal remedies and conventional treatment.
Aside from the visible symptoms, there are a number of other symptoms that can also be attributed to varicose veins. One of these is aching in the legs.
This symptom is often worse at night or at the end of a busy day, particularly for people who have been standing up all day; though people who have been sitting down all day can also be affected as this slows down circulation.
It can be and annoying, unpleasant or upsetting symtpom and in severe cases can reduce quality of life.
In most cases it is normal for varicose veins to cause some aching in the affected areas. This is because these veins are essentially damaged veins. They are often stretched, enlarged or swollen and this causes their valves to leak which allows blood to flow backwards, further damaging the vein. This also means that blood can begin to pool around the damaged vein. These veins have to work even harder to overcome this damage and pump blood against gravity towards the heart.
All of this, not surprisingly, can begin to cause pain and aching as pressure and toxins build up in the legs.
However, if this ache is severe, starts suddenly or suddenly gets worse you should consult your doctor to make sure you are not experiencing any complications or underlying health issue.
There are a number of things you can do to alleviate this symptom. Here are our self-help tips for aching legs:
There are a number of natural or herbal remedies you can try to relieve aching legs.
Horse Chestnut is great for varicose veins. It improves blood flow in veins and manages the symptoms commonly associated with varicose veins symptoms such as tired, heavy or aching legs. Horse Chestnut extract is available in A.Vogel’s Venaforce tablets, or in Venagel, for external use on the affected area. This can be great for soothing aching legs at the end of a long day.
Please note: Venaforce is not suitable for pregnant women, but Venagel may be used safely.
If self-help or herbal remedies do not help your aching legs, then a visit to your doctor may be necessary. One important reason for this is to confirm the diagnosis and make sure that there are no other causes of your leg pain that need to be addressed.
If your doctor can confirm that your aching legs are the result of varicose veins, then they may choose to treat the veins. Conventional treatments available for varicose veins range from wearing compression stockings or tights to a number of surgical options. These treatments are detailed on our varicose veins treatment page.
Quick and simple tests to assess how well your working memory, short-term memory and long-term memory are working.
Take the testAs the A. Vogel Circulation expert, I recommend Venaforce® horse chestnut tablets and Venagel, to help ease the symptoms of varicose veins.
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